Competency #13: I Can Give a 30-second “Elevator Speech” About my Strengths

Imagine you’re going up an elevator, and your destination is the 10^th floor.  Maybe it’ll take 30 seconds or more to arrive.  Now imagine an important employee or contact from the company you’d love to work for sharing the elevator with you. You’re both staring off into space or at your own shoes.  Allow that little voice in your head tell you to seize the moment (you’ll likely never get one like this again) and--- address your fellow elevator passenger.

The Wikipedia Definition

An elevator pitch, elevator speech, or elevator statement is a short summary used to quickly and simply define a person, profession, product, service, organization or event and its value proposition. In your case, as a potential employer, it would be a short, creative statement about how and why you’d add value to their organization- even if you’re not stuck on an elevator.

The name "elevator pitch" reflects the idea that it should be possible to deliver the summary in the time span of an elevator ride, or approximately thirty seconds to two minutes. The term itself comes from a scenario of an accidental meeting with someone important in the elevator. If the conversation inside the elevator in those few seconds is interesting and value adding, the conversation will continue after the elevator ride or end in exchange of business card or a scheduled meeting”.

A variety of people commonly rehearse and use elevator pitches to get their point across quickly. Sometimes, we call this your personal brand statement and can be used as the answer to the “tell me about yourself” opener so many interviewers use.

There are many formulas for constructing your message, but here’s a simple one, and you can just fill in the blanks:

S  Identity: Hi my name is ________.

S  Brand Statement: I am a descriptor function professional.

S  Strengths: I have______________ experience/strengths

S  Value Proposition: I am proud of the fact that _____________ and I’m confident I can_______ at your company as well.

S  Next Step and Closure: I’d like to speak with you and learn more about how I can contribute to your organization.  Thank you for your time. I look forward to seeing you again.

Here’s an example:

Hello, my name is Sam Sneed

I am a programmer and business analyst

I have 15 years experience writing a variety of programming languages for both profit and government agencies.

I’m proud of my ability to manage the unique relationship between the end-use customer and the programming department and have received many compliments about my ability to help users in an easy-to-understand language. As a business analyst for you, I can increase both internal and external customer satisfaction in a variety of ways.

I’d appreciate an opportunity to speak with you and convince you how I can add value to your organization.

Of course, this will need to be adapted depending on your purpose and audience.

So, be proactive and develop an “elevator speech/pitch/personal brand statement today.  You never know when you’ll need to use it. Once you’ve created one, it’s easy to write another.