Imagine you’re in the elevator at the mall, a fresh graduate student looking for a job, and in walks the CEO of your dream company. What do you do? You only have about 15 – 30s to sell yourself.
In today’s world, seizing the opportunities you have is crucial to building your own path to success. Can you imagine not saying anything in that elevator and always thinking to yourself what if? At our upcoming Virtual Career Fair, we challenge you to seize the opportunity. We have a diverse number of employers seeking passionate and driven youths like yourself, the only catch is you have 30s to impress.
To help you do this, here are a couple of tips that you can incorporate in your 30s pitch.
Your three-point checklist:
-
Who are you?
-
Introduce yourself briefly: your name, your status (student/ employed/ looking for work), brief background (level of education, what you studied, where it was obtained)
-
What can you offer?
-
Are there any key skills or strengths that you want to highlight (try to stick to one or two points here, ensure that it isn’t repetitive)
-
Elaborate on one or two key accomplishments that you have achieved in school or at work. Ensure that it aligns with the skill(s)/ strength(s) you would have mentioned.
-
Follow this up with one sentence explaining how these skill(s) and/ strength(s) will help the company.
-
Why are you interested?
-
What do you want, what are you passionate about and where do you see yourself in the company? Do you have any goals in mind, if so, what vision do you have in mind to reach them?
Remember what you say is not the only thing that matters, but also how you say it.
Do’s |
Don’ts |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Remember to Practise! Practise! Practise!
Additional Steps:
-
Prepare for any questions that they may ask you after
-
You may be asked to elaborate on something you have mentioned. This invites a conversation and helps you build a good rapport with (hopefully) your future employer.
-
Prepare some questions of your own that you may have to show your interest in working at this organization.
Here is a sample outline that you can use as a guide to draft your own 30s pitch (note this is not the only way to deliver your pitch):
Hello! My name is [your name] and I am currently [studying/ working (include your current major/ job title)] at [name of institution/ organization]. I encompass a strong skillset in [your skill] because of my experience in [experience] where [accomplishment]. This has equipped me with the necessary tools to excel in [section/ project of interest in the company]. I would love the opportunity to work at your company. Are there any available entry-level positions?
References:
Mentee 30 second elevator pitch - NIH: Office of Human Resources. (n.d.). Retrieved May 23, 2022, from https://hr.nih.gov/sites/default/files/public/documents/working-nih/mentoring/pdf/mentee-30-second-elevator-pitch.pdf
Majumdar, S. (2022, May 18). The 30 second elevator pitch: Structure and Essentials. Veloxy. Retrieved May 23, 2022, from https://veloxy.io/30-second-elevator-pitch-essentials/
Develop a 30-second elevator pitch. Career Hub | Duke University. (2021, September 8). Retrieved May 23, 2022, from https://careerhub.students.duke.edu/resources/develop-a-30-second-elevator-pitch/