The ultimate guide to crafting your elevator pitch

The ultimate guide to crafting your elevator pitchThe ultimate guide to crafting your elevator pitchYou just arrived at the office of your dream job for an interview. The elevator dings and you get in, only to landsee the CEO of said company is already in the elevator. You only have a few floors to go. Youve got 30 seconds to tell him who you are, what your experience is and why you deserve the job youre interviewing for.Sounds tough, right? While you probably wont be in this exact situation, (although you never know) its important to craft a personal elevator pitch so you can prove yourself while you have someones full attention in that tiny metal box.An elevator pitch is a 30- to 60-second statement composed of your job experience, aspirations and what you can do for a company. Its not easy to distill both your best traits and how you can help a future workplace into a short pitch, which is why its important to work on.No, its not always done in an elevator You could meet someone o f importance at a cocktail bar, conference or job fair and need to pitch them. The whole point of crafting this little speech is that, if you found yourself on a short elevator ride with an important employer, you could easily tell them why youre right for a job.Not sure where to start? Heres how to craft a compelling elevator pitch.Nail the basicsYour elevator pitch needs to answer three basic questionsWho are you?What do you do?What are you looking for?At a bare minimum, these questions should be answered. Depending on your situation and the amount of time you have to pitch yourself, you could elaborate on other things, such as what your best accomplishment was at your last workplace or an interesting, attention-grabbing fact about yourself.Its also helpful to address what problem you solve. Is there a need you see in the company that your acquired skills can help? What can you do for the team you would be working with? Depending on the position and amount of time you have, the mo re questions youre able to answer the betterKnow your audienceYou have to know who youre talking to, which is also why its important to have multiple pitches (see below). Youd probably have different things to say to the CEO in an elevator versus running into the hiring manager at a networking happy hour event.Knowing the audience also helps you use the right language. In general, your pitch should be understandable by the average person. Dont use technical terms or industry jargon, unless youre talking to someone you know will understand it.Craft multiple pitchesJust like its important to tailor your resume to the job youre applying for, you need to prepare different elevator pitches. The difference could be based on industry, who your audience is or what the setting is.Its helpful to have both short and long versions of your elevator pitch - sometimes you only have a brief 30 seconds, while other times youll have a few minutes. Be prepared to elaborate on your elevator pitch if a sked follow-up questions.Practice, practice, practiceI cant stress this one enough - you have to practice your pitch(es) You dont want to sound like a monotone robot, or come off as impersonal. You also dont want to be stumbling over words because, lets face it, youll probably be a little nervous in the first place.Practicing should help you build the necessary confidence to appear cool and collected even if youre freaking out on the inside.Always leave them with a geschftliches miteinander cardThis step is small, but important. Whether you have a business card with your current company, or make your own personal ones between jobs, you have to give the other party your card. If you run into them in public, or at some type of event, they need a way to contact you if they want to follow up. You could have had the best elevator pitch in the world, but if you didnt leave them with a form of contact, they wont be able to reach out.4 things NOT to doNow that weve covered what you need to know for an elevator pitch, heres what you should avoid.DontRamble or talk too fastForget to say your nameUse the same elevator pitch for every company, job or person you come acrossSound like an infomercialIts not always easy to talk about yourself, especially when face-to-face with a fhigkeit employer. Writing a solid elevator pitch can help you to overcome that obstacle, and be able to talk about yourself and career skills with ease. For even more guidance, take a look at these elevator pitch examples. (Note elevator pitches can also be a helpful tool for entrepreneurs looking to pitch their product or service).If youre between jobs and looking to use your elevator pitch as a way to get your foot in the door, take your best elements from it and use it for your cover letter. You could also pick up a few work-at-home side jobs to supplement your income - bonus, youll have more time to job search and practice those elevator pitchesJacquelyn Pica is a writer at The Penny Hoarder, a personal finance website that helps you make smart money decisions. Find her on Twitter JacquelynTPH.