An important networking tool is your personal “elevator pitch”, a succinct and persuasive description of yourself you can deliver flawlessly. Don’t procrastinate doing this. When you find yourself riding in an elevator with a great contact, you’ll be glad you can smoothly roll it out. You can also utilize this pitch when attending career fairs, networking events, or work functions. Be sure to spend time writing down, structuring, and practicing your pitch, but don’t memorize it word for word. Sounding like a human, not a robot, is essential for the success of your pitch.
Your pitch should:
Last 30 seconds or less
Include your name
Tell what you do well, or what differentiates you
Describe what you’d like to do
Harvard Career Services suggests structuring your pitch by answering the following questions:
Who Are You?
What Do You Do?
What’s Unique About You?
What’s Your Ask? (What do you want to know or gain?)
*Optional: What's something memorable about you?
It's your turn! Use the personal brand worksheet that you completed in Chapter 2, along with the resources below, to help develop your "elevator pitch."
Additional Resources:
Attribution:
Content for this section was adapted (with additions) from
Management Communication Copyright © 2017 by Lisa Thomas, Julie Haupt, and Andy Spackman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution -ShareAlike and made possible by Management Communications Group, Marriott School Of Business, Brigham Young University.
References:
Career Success by Jenn Tardy. (2021, March 30). How to create the best elevator Pitch for job Interviews [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPqWJ6U8X_0