Kevin Bemel ·
Are You Competitive Using this Simple Job-Hunting Tool?
How to Write an Elevator Pitch that Delivers Results
3 minutes to read
As you go through daily life, people will ask you what job you’re looking for. To capture their attention and increase the likelihood they’ll help you, create a brief summary of your Unique Value Proposition (UVP). It’s called an elevator pitch because you can say it in length of an elevator ride.
Make It Straightforward
Besides chance encounters, you can also use your elevator pitch in informationals. It gives you a natural response when the person asks about you. And, it will serve as an ideal answer to the first question you’ll usually get at a meeting to discuss a job.
Make it simple, not clever. People outside your field need to understand it. Give it a conversational tone. Practice saying it but avoid sounding prepared and sales-like. Change the wording when rehearsing so you have two or three ways of saying the same thing. Target at least one to people outside your field and another to those in it.
You’ll find advice that says an elevator pitch ought to range from 15 seconds to three minutes. Don’t worry about the precise length. First, create a short version of a single sentence. Pare it down to only essential words. Then build a long version of 200-300 words, piggybacking it on the short one. This longer one will answer, “so tell me about yourself” or “why should I hire you?”
Begin by getting crystal clear about your UVP. You can’t write an effective elevator pitch when you don’t know what you have to offer and the job you want.
A Competitive Job-Hunt Sells Benefits not Skills
Build your elevator pitch in three parts:
1. Benefit. Start by breaking their expectations. Say something different and authentically you. Until you get the person to relate to you as an individual rather than a stranger nothing else matters. Use your status as a veteran but turn the tables on how people think about us. For example, “I’m a veteran. After five years of having my fellow citizens take care of me, I'm looking to bring my skills and experience to the private sector for their benefit.” How many civilians ever heard a statement of service like that?
Once you have the person’s attention, introduce the most compelling problem you’ve found in your field. Identify the type of organization you’re looking to serve and what it needs. Craft your words in a way the person will identify with the problem. Pose it as a question. This will engage his mind searching for an answer.
Next, give your solution. In most cases, that means someone with your background solving the problem. This gives you the opportunity to state the job you want.
2. Unique. You’ve shown how you can benefit the type of organization you want to work for. Now, make the case for you specifically. Examine your UVP. Choose one accomplishment that stands you head and shoulders above the competition. Form a powerful phrase explaining what you did. If possible, use a metric.
In your long version, follow it with a statement or quote that will cause them to nod their heads in agreement. Relate it to a well-known problem in the field. Say it in a way that explains why you care about solving the problem.
3. Ask. You have the person’s attention. He knows the kind of job you want and the type of organization you can help. Most people stop here.
To be competitive, take it to the next level by making it clear what you need. If the person works at the kind of company where you want a job, ask for a meeting. Don’t get into specifics right then and there. Set it up for later in the week or the following week at his workplace. Among other reasons, this will give you time to research the company and plan how you’ll handle the meeting.
Often you won’t be speaking with someone involved in your field. As such, ask, “What advice do you have for me?” or “Who do you know that I should contact?” Direct the person to how he can best help you. In all cases, get the person’s card or contact information so you can follow-up.
Once you have your short and long versions, practice them so you sound conversational but not canned. Record yourself then listen and critique your performance. Try your elevator pitch out on someone who knows nothing about your field. Does what you say make sense?
Work until you can give your elevator pitch comfortably. Now you’re a competitive job-hunter. You’ve taken your first major leap toward getting a position you’ll love.
What distinguishes you for other job-hunters?
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