What Type of Elevator Speech Do You Have?

An elevator speech isn't just for pitching a product on a sales team. A quick, 30-second speech contains a lot of meaningful, important words you must convey to a potential employer while on a job search. Your speech can occur at a networking event, an industry conference or social events where you present yourself to an employer. Review three examples of pitches to have ready at a moment's notice.

Tell Your Story

Your elevator speech convinces another person that you deserve a further look. Telling your story involves three succinct points you make in a short amount of time, almost like a verbal cover letter. The first part explains what you did, the second part tells someone what you're doing now and then finally what you want to do in the future. Each part iterates your experience as it relates to your job search.

For example, a prospective chef might say, "I fell in love with cooking when I was helping my mom cook Thanksgiving dinner at age 4. Then I took some culinary classes in high school before having an internship at Chez Smith in New York. Working for Chef Smith prepared me to run my own kitchen, so now I'm ready to expand." This elevator speech is concise, to the point, and tells someone precisely what you want and how you got there in a few words.

Explain Your Benefits

When you explain your benefits in an elevator speech, the generic formula goes "I do A for B to accomplish C." You fill in the variables depending on your situation as a problem solver. For instance, "I manage a sales team of 10 in a 200-person office furniture manufacturing company where we grow our B2B sales revenue 5 percent every quarter." This type of elevator pitch tells someone precisely what you do and why you do it while listing a solid benefit.

Focus on Your Target

You may have a niche to focus on when you deliver your elevator pitch. You could hone in on your IT specialty by saying, "I manage IT processes for a growing, medium-sized architectural firm as we expand our capabilities to cloud computing and mobile apps for productivity while increasing cybersecurity." This shows your target market to be medium-sized companies that need help migrating computer systems to the cloud while doing so securely and effectively. A company that needs assistance automating key processes needs your help, and that's your angle with this specific pitch.

Tips

One major key to an elevator speech is practice, practice and more practice. Rehearse your speech until it becomes second nature; however, you still have to tailor your speech to the company or person in front of you. Avoid buzzwords and overly technical jargon in your speech while updating your speech as your career changes. Focus on one or two of your main attributes to drive home the point about how you're a perfect fit for an employer.

Treat your elevator speech as if it's your verbal business card. It identifies you, specifically, and no one else. That's why it should stand out from the crowd even as you're one of many people seeking a job at a networking event or conference.

Photo courtesy of milwaukee jobcamp at Flickr.com