Imagine you step into an elevator and someone you professionally admire is standing inside. You exchange pleasantries, and she casually asks, “So tell me about yourself.”
It’s a broad question we’ve all heard, and a great answer can create new opportunities in both your professional and personal life. But you only have 30 seconds to impress this person with your abilities. Are you able to articulate your strengths and accomplishments in that time? And can you naturally integrate an “ask” into conversation?
Talk about pressure! Perfecting a response to such a general inquiry can be quite challenging, and it requires some thoughtful preparation. Having a strong answer to this question can help in many settings—in interviews, at networking events, etc.—not just in elevators.
To help you draft and complete an exceptional elevator pitch, you’ll want to follow these three steps:
Step One: Brainstorm Your Skills
First things first. Let’s brainstorm your best qualities, skills and past performance highlights that you should mention in your elevator pitch.
Answer with what comes to mind first. This is not exclusively for professional experience—maybe you are highly organized and efficient in your personal life. Maybe you volunteer regularly in your community. List everything that you’re proud of or passionate about.
- What do you enjoy doing? What are you great at?
- What positive feedback have you received from an employer and/or a teacher?
- What are your greatest accomplishments?
Step Two: Personalize Your Answer
A personalized elevator pitch will make you memorable and relatable. Think about how you can stand out and look special amongst a large candidate pool. What makes you special and worth investing in over another applicant? We can refer to this as your unique value proposition (UVP).
Your UVP can be a professional qualification or certification, but it can also be a personal characteristic, such as intellect. Just make sure you quantify your claim with detailed, factual information. For example, Young African Leaders Initiative suggests if your UVP is that you are highly intelligent, make sure you follow that claim with quantifiable, relevant proof.
To develop your UVP, answer the following questions:
- What does a hiring manager desire? Whether applying to an actual position or imagining your dream position, what is the objective and/or purpose of that professional position? Think about why the position exists and how it functions. What is the goal of someone in that position? You can follow an actual job description or imagine what a hiring manager would desire from such a candidate.
- What do qualified candidates offer? What type of skills or abilities does a person need in this position? This can be anything from education to professional and life experiences. Think about what the perfect candidate would embody. You can follow the requirements listed in an actual job description or imagine what an ideal candidate would provide.
- What unique abilities do you offer? While only listing skills, talents and/or hobbies that are relevant to the desired position, make sure to include extra details about yourself beyond the requirements included in the job description. What do you want to mention that is not detailed through your general qualifications and abilities, but that makes you unique?
Once you’ve done that, take your answers and compare them to see where the overlap is. These overlapping qualities will form your UVP.
Step Three: Define Your Goal or “Ask”
What is your professional goal that you are currently working towards? This is a pivotal part of your elevator pitch. If the person with whom you are speaking is a hiring manager, your boss or someone who can help you attain your professional goals, what would you like to ask them? While your goal can be hugely aspirational, your “ask” requires someone else’s assistance, so remember to keep it reasonable. Ask for an informational interview to explore potential opportunities, rather than directly asking for a job, which could be seen as requesting preferential treatment. An elevator pitch is not an opportunity to set an expectation of another person; it’s an opportunity to prove yourself!
To find your “ask,” you may want to consider the following questions:
- What are your short-term and long-term professional goals?
- What is your career objective?
- What will help you achieve this objective?
Put it All Together
Once complete, go back through these three exercises and highlight or circle the top points you want to emphasize in your elevator pitch. Pick one top point from each step and then place each part together in a smooth and natural dialogue. Be sure to practice giving your elevator pitch in front of a mirror and with friends, family or colleagues. While having a written script is helpful for drafting what you wish to say, you won’t always have it in front of you, so try to keep things easy and conversational.
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