What Are You Giving? “Elevator Pitch”

Imagine how you would start describing yourself to the human resources recruiter for your dream company? What talent do you bring to the table that makes you the ideal candidate for your dream position? The answers to these questions can be briefly exchanged so that you can make a mark on anyone. Therefore, you need to prepare your elevator pitch!

The duration of said pitch should be no longer than a 30 second elevator ride, but still should give a brief overview of one's educational and professional successes along with one's goals and set of skills.

I. Why and when to use an elevator pitch?

Elevator pitches work well to put in a good word for you with someone who interests you professionally, at an educational level, or in your career. They can be used when participating in a networking event, on online professional profiles, even at a career fair.

II. What aspects does an elevator pitch have?

An elevator pitch should include but is not limited to academic highlights, professional highlights, work experiences, brilliant extracurriculars, your skillset, and your professional goals.

Example - Context: Seeking a Job Opportunity, sourced from Indeed 2022

“Hi, I’m Tom. I’ve spent the last eight years learning and growing in my role as Media Planner, where I’ve developed and optimized strategic media plans for our top client and managed a subset of planners as a Team Lead. One of my proudest achievements was a pro-bono project that was recognized as a top non-profit campaign last year. I’ve been interested in moving to non-profit for quite a while, and love what your company does in education. Would you mind telling me about any media planning needs you may have on the team?”

Example – Context: Seeking a Mentor, sourced from Indeed 2022

“Hi, I’m Molly, so nice to meet you! I’m a Graphic Designer at ABC Inc., where I’m passionate about creating beautiful, intuitive designs for a variety of marketing collateral for our top-tier clients. Before that, I got my Masters in Graphic Design. I’m looking for experiences to learn more about career paths and ways to grow into assuming an Art Director role in the next few years. Your work with XYZ brand has inspired the ways I think about design—I would love to talk more about a potential mentorship with you if that’s something you have time for and would be interested in.”

You can begin to craft your elevator pitch free online tool by Business First Impression, and also learn more about elevator pitches at Indeed.com