An elevator pitch could be your chance to present yourself to a potential employer. What do you need to know about delivering it?
The term “elevator pitch” can mean different things in different situations. The idea is to make a good impression on anyone you meet at career fairs or networking events by giving them a snapshot of your strengths and most relevant skills. An effective elevator pitch should give people just enough information to interest them and provide a call to action to initiate follow-up contact, seek more information and maybe even schedule a job interview.
In these situations, an effective sales pitch, when combined with the right body language, can make a positive impact on your job search. Just be sure to practice your elevator pitch before you deploy it in real life. To perfect, go over it with family and friends or even ask co-workers and colleagues for feedback.
Your elevator pitch should be 20 to 30 seconds, ideally. In short, it should take up the time of an average elevator ride. An elevator pitch should contain the bare minimum in terms of details and should, as a sales pitch of sorts, grab the attention of anyone you are talking to.
You may have to give your elevator pitch many times before you are successful, especially at career fairs. This is not a sign that you are doing something wrong. It’s simply the way it is. The benefit of an elevator pitch is that it is short, it will be easy for you to perfect it as you use it.
Memorizing your elevator speech can be helpful at first, but as you gain confidence, you should start to personalize it for the person you are talking to. Different hiring managers and business owners will have different priorities, after all. To make a good elevator pitch great, you should also improve your networking skills.