If you are asked to make a presentation, or bring a piece of work with you, it’s vital that you check the availability of materials and technical equipment in advance.

In fact it’s a good idea to have a fall-back method of showing off your hard earned work in a different way that you anticipate, if you have to.

Remember, it’s getting the message across that’s important, so if you have a PowerPoint on your laptop, will a projector be there and will the leads/power etc?

And if what you are promised doesn’t show up, what will you have in mind to overcome it.

As an example, will you have your presentation on a USB drive and/or a CD if your laptop fails?

Will you have a printed copy to use if the projector fails? Can you write out the critical points on a flip chart if everything fails?

And if there is no flip chart, could you speak from short notes or use an overhead projector instead?

This isn’t rocket science.

BTW, if you are flying, put at least one set of your stuff in your hand luggage and one in the hold.

This time could be the one where you are in Miami - and your case is in Lisbon!

Even if you have a crystal clear idea of where you are going for your assessment center, it’s worth a double-check.

It could be that you have been there before and if so this bit might well be a breeze.

And you could easily fall into an assumption that it is exactly where you think it is – or it sounds pretty close anyway. That’s when you need the double-check. What might sound right to you, might be not quite what you expect when you show up.

If you haven’t been there before, there are a couple of options. One is to do a dummy run before the actual day of your assessment center and get clear where you are going.

Or, if it’s not that close-by, you might want to stay over and spend a little time, the day before, checking out where you go.