Have you ever heard of an “elevator pitch” or “elevator speech”? It is one of the latest and greatest ways to organize your introduction in a job interview.
An elevator pitch is essentially a sales pitch in which you describe to the employer within a short amount of time about yourself. This is a great tool to use when asked by an interview panel to: “Tell us a little about yourself”. According to the book Elevator Essentials by Chris O’Leary, it says that the length of an elevator speech should be the time-span of a typical elevator ride which is 30 seconds or less. At the most, it should be 2 minutes in length.
In general, elevator pitches are used when trying to sell a product, idea, project, etc. They are a popular tactic used in the business world when trying to get people to invest in products or companies. In an interview, you typically are trying to sell….yourself. Therefore, the basic principles apply when creating an elevator pitch.
Basic content of an elevator speech:
1. Who you are
2. What skills do you have to offer
3. What is it you are seeking
4. What personal qualities make this opportunity a good fit for you
I recommend trying to organize an elevator speech prior to an upcoming job interview and seeing how it works out. If anything, it will help you prepare for the interview and will ensure that you will not ramble or falter on the first question 🙂
Below is an article from Forbes on the topic:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2013/02/04/the-perfect-elevator-pitch-to-land-a-job/