Develop the Perfect Personal Elevator Pitch

  • 1 min read

A personal elevator pitch is a short summary to define you, to define what you are looking for. It is an important part of your personal brand because your elevator pitch should sell you successfully to prospective employers.

The elevator pitch should include who you are, what your work experience is, and why someone should hire you. In other words, it should include what makes you unique from others. You should clearly state what you have studied, where you have worked previously or where you are working currently, and what you are looking for right at that moment. The elevator pitch shouldn’t be long, like a five-minute conversation. It should be thirty to sixty seconds long. It should be very concise.

Drafting a great personal pitch comes with practice. It doesn’t happen overnight. You should get help on how to make your personal pitch so you can explain clearly to others your values as well as what you are looking for.

Begin your personal pitch by stating who you are “My name is … and I am a …” Then, explain what you do. For example; “I work at … and help businesses do XYZ”. Afterwards, highlight your success stories. “My name is John Doe and I am salesperson with a strong track record in the insurance industry. I help my current organization sell…” Try to highlight 2-4 of your success stories.  Explain the impact you made in your current or previous organization. What value did you add to the ongoing process? Finally, end your personal pitch with a call-to-action. State what you want from the other person. Do you want to be introduced to someone else or are you looking to get an interview? Be specific.

Remember to avoid industry jargon in your elevator pitch. You should make it as clear as possible so anyone can understand you. I highly recommend practicing your pitch in the mirror first and then practicing with family members, friends, and advisors to get their feedback and see what they are thinking about your pitch and revise it accordingly.

A personal elevator pitch is a living speech. The things that you want for your career might change eventually, so you should always update your pitch according to what you have done and what you are looking for.

Now, I want you to put together your own elevator pitch. After practicing this pitch in front of the mirror first, practice it with other people to make it natural.

Picture of Ceren Cubukcu

Ceren Cubukcu

Ceren Cubukcu is a top 5 bestselling author of Make Your American Dream A Reality: How to Find a Job as an International Student in the United States. She recently founded her consulting business to help more international students find jobs in the US in addition to her self-service digital event ticketing platform, Etkinlik Fabrikam (My Event Factory), to offer her webinars. 

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