Elevate Your Elevator Pitch

Introducing yourself can be a challenge! But the good news is it gets easier the second you have an elevator pitch prepared. 

With an elevator pitch, you will be able to quickly provide an overview of your experience and the type of work you are looking for. It gives a snapshot of who you are, what you do, and what you want to do. 

If you do your elevator pitch well, it leaves the listener interested and wanting to know more. The upside is you can get a ton of mileage out of your elevator pitch by using it during networking events, interview openers and social media bios. Multipurpose for the win! 

I usually encourage my clients to separate their elevator pitch into 3 sections (Present, Past, Future) to help ensure they cover the most important areas and to ensure their pitch doesn’t turn into a ramble session.

Present / Brief Introduction aka THE HOOK!

Don’t be afraid to add a punch of fun or a neat detail here, this is where you’ll grab your listener’s attention. If you aren’t excited, why will they be? For example, you can include things like:

• Your name and current/previous job title
• Why you love what you do
• Biggest accomplishment

Past / What led you to where you are now?

You can include things like:

• Education
• Years of relevant industry experience
• Previous job title(s)
• Accomplishments

Future / How does your journey prepare you for where you want to go?

You can include things like:

• What types of roles are you looking for moving forward and why?
• How does the job you are looking for align with your career goals?
• Optional: A memorable fact about yourself!

Now you just need to put it all together!

Try keeping your elevator pitch between 30-35 seconds. Practice, practice, practice! You can always try video taping yourself and play it back. Remember to smile while you say it, so you sound natural and enthusiastic.

This template is just a starting point, it may not be your final elevator pitch, but it will give you a simple framework that you can tweak for different scenarios.

PLUS it will also help you answer the “Tell me about yourself question”. Bonus!!

Need a bit more help getting the juices flowing?

Check out my blog about how to write a career story.

Jen Narayan, Career Consultant

careerrealtalk.com