Honing Your Elevator Pitch

How can you make a good frst impression in seconds?

Imagine trying to answer questons such as “What do you do?” and “What is your background?” in less than a minute – while giving an outstanding impression of yourself.

This is the premise the elevator pitch relies on. While mostly associated with entrepreneurs, elevator pitches can be used anywhere and everywhere.

Whether physical or virtual, formal events such as career fairs, networking sessions and interviews are where elevator pitches have the potental to be partcularly efectve, mostly because it presents you as a focused person unafraid of outlining your strengths. This might just be the edge you need to stand out from the crowd. Take note

Contrary to most assumptons, an elevator pitch difers from a sales pitch.

An elevator pitch is designed to allow you to sell yourself to prospectve employers in a short tme while a sales pitch is a spoken descripton about a product or item you are trying to sell. Understand the two and get to know the diference.

60 seconds

A good pitch usually lasts around 60 seconds – a minute – but keep in mind that you shouldn’t just rush through and cram in as many words as possible in that tme. Instead, choose your words carefully before including them in the pitch, and practse!

Summarise yourself

How do you summarise yourself when such a queston is suddenly thrown at you? Many are lef hesitant when they’re given the spotlight and the opportunity to talk about themselves.

Before you start working on your pitch, come up with a rough idea of the kind of topic you want to talk about.

For instance, if you’re interested in an engineering positon, your theme should revolve around technical and numeral abilites, as well as the current trends on Artfcial Intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) or robotcs.

Focus your topic on your modules studied in the classroom, your thesis if you had one, or even your internship and work experience, if any. Recruiters are very invested in your learning takeaways and hobbies related to the work you do. As such, about three-quarters of your pitch should be dedicated to your academic background and work and internship experience.

Remember: don’t pack all your points into a vague statement like the insttuton you studied in and where you completed your internship or worked! Rather, create a sentence or two about yourself and your background before elaboratng on a few experiences – either personal or professional – to tell recruiters a litle bit more about yourself.

Be brief but not boastul – your pitch should be like a teaser. Although the person you’re speaking to knows nothing about you, you’re not looking to tell them everything in a minute or less; you’re looking to pique their interest in you as simply and clearly as possible.

It’s also important to portray an image of a competent jobseeker, so clarify your goals and what you’re looking for in a certain company. Practice makes perfect

One of the biggest factors in mastering a successful job pitch is how much Practce you’re willing to put into it.

Practse talking to yourself before you go to bed, or during your lunch breaks if you have the tme, and hear yourself out. Are you stll stammering when you talk? If the answer is yes, go through your pitch again, and refer to a script if you have to.

It’s always beter to fnd someone who is willing to help you identfy errors and issues with your fow, so contnue practsing untl you sound natural and not rehearsed. You could ask a friend if they can simulate potental situatons so you can practse and improvise if the situaton ever calls for it. Some key elements

• Keep it brief but detailed • Make it as clear and concise as possible • Be natural • Add quick anecdotes • Rehearse and practse • Adapt and customise your pitch according to the audience and occasion