Maybe it happened to you too: in a job interview, somebody asks you a not so easy question: ‘Who are you?’. It might seems a strange question, especially if you spent the latest minutes in trying to answer that question. But that is an opportunity for you to answer with your elevator pitch. What is it?

Let’s say you are going for your job interview, and you meet someone in the elevator, someone you do not know. Who knows, maybe he will be the person interviewing you? You want to leave a good impression, but you do not have much time since you are in the elevator. What do you do? You can present yourself with your elevator pitch.

What is the elevator pitch

The elevator pitch is a very short pitch of yourself. In 30 seconds maximum (the time of an elevator ride), instead of talking about the weather, you can present yourself and sort of “sell yourself”. I like to think about it as a shorter, spoken CV.

The main parts of the elevator pitch are the following:

• Personal information
• Job experiences/ school experiences
• Your competences
• Your personality
• Your objective

In discussing the main parts of the elevator pitch, we will make an example.

Personal information

Remember, we only have 30 seconds, so we have to be very, very concise.

In our example, Thomas, our fictional character, may just say: My name is Thomas and I am 40 years old.

That’s all, we don’t have to say much else other than our name and maybe age. If the person is interested in hiring you, you can always give them your CV where there are your phone number and email address (if you want to, check out this article where I speak about how to write a CV).

Job experiences/ school experiences

This is one of the main parts of the elevator pitch. It is the part where you say the relevant things you did in your life, whether they are your job experiences or school experiences. You might include them both, if you want to.

Our example, Thomas, might say: After I attended high school at Town ABC, I worked 5 years for the company DEF as an accountant, and then 10 years at the company GHI as supervising accountant.

In this case, Thomas said his highest degree of education, and the significant job experiences he had in his life. This way, the person he talks to can already imagine how Thomas spent most of his life, not in every detail, but already enough. The person can also have a first idea of the competences Thomas has, but Thomas can do something else about it, as we will see next.

Your competences

In Thomas’ case, everybody can more or less imagine what an accountant does. A supervising accountant would probably be the boss of other accountants. Thomas could add another phrase to his elevator pitch that explains his jobs as accountant and supervisor a little bit more, and what competences he developed during those 15 years.

He could say: I worked in teams first, and then I supervised projects.

This way, Thomas can explain a little bit more what he did as an accountant. But, he also expands on competences he developed, like working in teams, that implies communication skills. Supervising projects suggests that he has competences in project management and general management, and maybe a little in human resources.

I would suggests to use a phrase that expands on the experiences you described before, so you can say a little more on your job or school experience while also adding what you are competent about.

Then, it is time to talk about who you are.

Your personality

It is not easy to convey who you are in just a few words. Remember, this is just to give an idea of yourself to who you are talking to.

So, Thomas could say something like: I am a calm and quiet person, but I enjoy deep conversation.

Even if Thomas is more reserved than others, he still enjoys human connections (and probably working with others), especially when they are meaningful. 

Your objective

This is going to be maybe the most important part of your elevator pitch. It is going to be the last thing you say, and maybe one the few things the person who is listening to you will remember about you. This is the time to leave an impact.

If you are unemployed, your objective is to find a job, but you can say it in a meaningful way. You can show excitement for a future that is still unknown.

Thomas may say: I am looking forward to find a job where I can put to use my expertise and grow.

This is a general phrase, but you want to make it sincere, and that it suits you and what you said in the elevator pitch before.

Conclusion

All together, Thomas’ elevator pitch sounds like this:

My name is Thomas and I am 40 years old. After I attended high school at Town ABC, I worked 5 years for the company DEF as an accountant, and then 10 years at the company GHI as supervising accountant. I worked in teams first, and then I supervised projects. I am a calm and quiet person, but I enjoy deep conversation. I am looking forward to find a job where I can put to use my expertise and grow.

I tried to say it, and it was just a little bit more than 30 seconds. 

This article should have given you an idea of what the elevator pitch is and how you can make your personal one.