If you’re looking for a job, one of the first tasks on your to-do
list should be crafting an ideal “elevator pitch.” It’s the 30-second
speech that summarizes who you are, what you do and why you’d be a
perfect candidate. You should be able to reel off your elevator pitch at any time, from a job fair to a
job interview even at a cocktail party conversation with someone who might
be able to help you land a position. Regardless of where you are in your career path, having a well thought out elevator speech is critical.
1. Clarify your job target.
Nail down the
best way to describe your field and the type of job you’re pursuing.
Until you can clearly explain the type of position you want, nobody can
help you find it or hire you to do it.
2. Put it on paper. Write down everything you’d want
a prospective employer to know about your skills, accomplishments and
work experiences that are relevant to your target position. Then grab a
red pen and mercilessly delete everything that’s not critical to your
pitch.
Keep editing until you’ve got the speech down to a few key bullet
points or sentences.I recommend 3 to 4 bullet points
3. Format it. A good pitch should answer three questions: Who are you? What do you do? What are you looking for?
“Hi. I am Jessica Hill. I am an accountant with 10 years
experience in the insurance industry and I’m looking for opportunities
in the Dallas area with both insurance and finance companies.”
That speech would take about 15 seconds. Jessica would then want to
use her next 15 seconds to add details about her unique selling
proposition, special skills and specific ways she could help a potential
employer.
If you are a new grad Hi. I'am Jessica Smith . I have the experience and the attitude to excel in this production
assistant position. I have almost two years of television production
experience — including two summers interning at The Ellen Show, where I
was exposed to all aspects of TV production and worked so hard the first
summer that they invited me back for a second summer and gave me more
responsibilities.
4. Tailor the pitch to them, not you. It’s
important to remember that the people listening to your speech will
have their antennas tuned to WIFM (What’s in It for Me?) So be sure to
focus your message on their needs.
For example, this introduction: “I am a human resources professional
with 10 years experience working for consumer products companies.” The
pitch would be more powerful if you said, “I am a human resources
professional with a strong track record in helping to identify and
recruit top-level talent into management.”
Using benefit-focused terminology will help convince an interviewer
that you have the experience, savvy and skills to get the job done at
his or her business.
5. Eliminate industry jargon. You need to make your
pitch easy for anyone to understand, so avoid using acronyms and
tech-speak that the average person or job interviewer might not
understand.
The last thing you want to do is make your listener feel stupid or uninformed.
6. Read your pitch out loud. As Fast Company’s Deborah Grayson Riegel recently pointed out in her article “The Problem With Your Elevator Pitch and How to Fix It,”
writing is more formal and structured than speaking. If you’re not
careful, your elevator pitch can come off sounding more like an
infomercial than a conversation.
Reading it aloud then tinkering with the words will help you sound more authentic.
7. Practice, practice, practice (then solicit feedback). Rehearse
your pitch in front of a mirror or use the recording capabilities of
your computer, so you can see and hear how you sound.
This might feel awkward at first, but the more you practice, the smoother your delivery will be.
8. Prepare a few variations. You might want to say
things slightly differently to an interviewer than to a former
colleague. Also, sometimes you’ll just have 15 seconds for a pitch (kind
of a short elevator ride), other times you may have a minute or two.
So focus on mastering a few key talking points then work up ways to customize your speech for particular situations.
9. Nail it with confidence. The best-worded elevator pitch in the world will fall flat unless it’s conveyed well. When you give the speech, look the person in the eye, smile and deliver your message with a confident, upbeat delivery.
Get your pitch right and you might soon find yourself riding an actual elevator at your new job.
Reference: http://www.forbes.com/
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