What's Your Elevator Pitch?
I've been job hunting for months and I'm at the point where my strategy lies somewhere between assaulting a person until I get the job and dropping on my knees to grovel in tears. Or some combination of the two.
Today I've been spending time working on my cover letter and it reminded me of the elevator pitch. A couple years back, I was in a Starbucks with my two cousins (who are brothers). After the older brother explained to the younger what the elevator pitch was, the younger brother decided to give it a try. Silence. We all start laughing as he tries to work up a second attempt, which never came.
I was thinking of approaching the cover letter as an elevator pitch: something to jump off the page and explain under pressure why I should be hired. As is my want when I'm experiencing fatigue, I thought I'd share this experience with you guys.
Do you have any good elevator pitch stories about getting hired, making a sale, getting into a school, or even getting a date?
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Comments:
May '12
Re: What's Your Elevator Pitch?
One of my MBA prof's said to imagine you are stuck in an elevator with Mark Cuban and have his undivided attention to pitch your business to him for 2 minutes and use that as a scenario to build your speech.
Regarding cover letters I recommend to not have a generic one. Personalize each cover letter to the position. Use it to tailor your skills and experience to solve their problem(s).
Best of luck, whoever hires you is going to do well.
Jun '10
Re: What's Your Elevator Pitch?
Man, that bests Claire's rule 5 by another 50%. I understand the EP should be able to be accomplished in 30 seconds.
Ditto on that sentiment.
Edited on February 15, 2013 at 10:49pmSep '10
Re: What's Your Elevator Pitch?
Speaking quickly you speak at 150 words per minute. Speaking more confidently 120 words per minute. 2 minutes of pitching means 240 balls to throw at your batter.
Choose wisely. Craft it on paper, then practice, practice, practice in front of a mirror. And buy the book Sweaty Palms, about the lost art of interviewing.
Edited on February 16, 2013 at 12:40amAug '10
Re: What's Your Elevator Pitch?
A good cover letter should match your qualifications and skills to the job requirements. Be as specific as possible;
Requirement A_________Qualification A
Requirement B_________Skill B
etc
This approach has worked very well for me in the past, when I used to change jobs quite frequently - sometimes voluntarily, sometimes not...
Jul '11
Re: What's Your Elevator Pitch?
I am an IT contractor. I have gotten many gigs (jobs) over my 30+ year career, so I have more experience at this than many. What works (at least for me) is confidence. You have to have confidence in yourself. You have to be confident that you can do the job and that you are as good if not better than anybody else in the running. If you can come across as confident and transfer some of that confidence to the person reading your cover letter or reviewing your resume or interviewing you for the position then you will most likely get the job. In the end that is all any employer wants, just somebody that they can be confident can do the job.
Oct '10
Re: What's Your Elevator Pitch?
BrentB67: One of my MBA prof's said to imagine you are stuck in an elevator with Mark Cuban and have his undivided attention to pitch your business to him for 2 minutes and use that as a scenario to build your speech.
Regarding cover letters I recommend to not have a generic one. Personalize each cover letter to the position. Use it to tailor your skills and experience to solve their problem(s).
Best of luck, whoever hires you is going to do well. · 1 hour ago
Thanks Brent. Yes, I try to personalize it for the particular company. I know they're slogging through hundreds of letters and I want mine to jump off the page/screen. I hear it's best to put the letter in a pdf because you won't have to worry about anyone not being able to open it. Interesting tip I thought.
Mar '11
Re: What's Your Elevator Pitch?
Pseudodionysius: Speaking quickly you speak at 150 words per minute. Speaking more confidently 120 words per minute. 2 minutes of pitching means 240 balls to throw at your batter.
Choose wisely. Craft it on paper, then practice, practice, practice in front of a mirror. And buy the book Sweaty Palms, about the lost art of interviewing. · 33 minutes ago
All good advice. Also, a friend of mine from college printed business cards to give to prospective employers, and what he did different was to have a picture of him in a suit with a briefcase stepping off a Lear Jet with his hand outstretched as if to shake hands. It got him into a lot of doors.
Sep '10
Re: What's Your Elevator Pitch?
Bereket Kelile
BrentB67: One of my MBA prof's said to imagine you are stuck in an elevator with Mark Cuban and have his undivided attention to pitch your business to him for 2 minutes and use that as a scenario to build your speech.
Regarding cover letters I recommend to not have a generic one. Personalize each cover letter to the position. Use it to tailor your skills and experience to solve their problem(s).
Best of luck, whoever hires you is going to do well. · 1 hour ago
Thanks Brent. Yes, I try to personalize it for the particular company. I know they're slogging through hundreds of letters and I want mine to jump off the page/screen. I hear it's best to put the letter in a pdf because you won't have to worry about anyone not being able to open it. Interesting tip I thought. · 2 minutes ago
Go to Typography for Lawyers. Look at the before and after on a resume. Notice the difference?
Buy the book, find a professionally designed font to buy (yes, buy), use it in Microsoft Word to craft a professionally typeset resume, and away you go.
May '11
Re: What's Your Elevator Pitch?
Pseudodionysius
Look at the before and after on a resume. Notice the difference?
Oh, my. The first thing I noticed were the words "UCLA" and "Harvard." I am a very depressed sort of job hunter. It doesn't take too long before I start to feel really, really, out of my league. And it isn't that I think others will do a better job, just that they are willing to play a game that I'm just ... borderline incapable of.
Bereket,
I totally understand where you're at. I'm still jobhunting, and I'm currently employed. That point about sticking out is a very difficult one that I've wrestled with a lot. For me, I'm an interesting enough guy that once I get through the door, I'm past the most difficult part. But my resume just doesn't have much that sticks out. I've thought of being brutally honest in cover letters, but that lacks professionalism - it may impress, but it is just as likely to turn an employer off.
... on the issue of putting things on your resume that fall outside your profession, opinions seem to be mixed.
Edited on February 18, 2013 at 5:56pmMay '11
Re: What's Your Elevator Pitch?
Illiniguy
Pseudodionysius: Speaking quickly you speak at 150 words per minute. Speaking more confidently 120 words per minute. 2 minutes of pitching means 240 balls to throw at your batter.
Choose wisely. Craft it on paper, then practice, practice, practice in front of a mirror. And buy the book Sweaty Palms, about the lost art of interviewing.
All good advice. Also, a friend of mine from college printed business cards to give to prospective employers, and what he did different was to have a picture of him in a suit with a briefcase stepping off a Lear Jet with his hand outstretched as if to shake hands. It got him into a lot of doors.
I used to do the business card thing, but I don't think I distributed enough of them. What frustrated me most was how many people said things like "I really, really enjoyed meeting with you; if you had come in 5 years ago, we'd have hired you, but right now we're just trying not to lay people off."
Other people would just give me a really sad, quizzical look - "you are really interesting, but I have no idea what to recommend."
Dec '12
Re: What's Your Elevator Pitch?
Bereket Kelile
Thanks Brent. Yes, I try to personalize it for the particular company. I know they're slogging through hundreds of letters and I want mine to jump off the page/screen. I hear it's best to put the letter in a pdf because you won't have to worry about anyone not being able to open it. Interesting tip I thought. · 32 minutes ago
Yes, put your cover letter and resume in pdf. And name the documents: Kelile_cover_letter.pdf and Kelile_resume.pdf. Titling your documents Company_resume.pdf or resume.pdf will get you lost or ignored.
Your resume is your history and your previous experience. Your cover letter answers one question and one only....why should I, the reader, interview and hire you for the job I need filled. Unless your cover letter adds to your story, it will be discarded before it reaches the decision maker.
Dec '11
Re: What's Your Elevator Pitch?
BrentB67:
Regarding cover letters I recommend to not have a generic one. Personalize each cover letter to the position. Use it to tailor your skills and experience to solve their problem(s).
Bereket:
Listen to this excellent advice. Companies aren't interested in your personal goals; they want to know what you can you do for them.
Definition of capitalism: an economic system based on a free market, open competition, profit motive and private ownership of the means of production.
Oct '10
Re: What's Your Elevator Pitch?
Pseudodionysius
Go to Typography for Lawyers. Look at the before and after on a resume. Notice the difference?
Buy the book, find a professionally designed font to buy (yes, buy), use it in Microsoft Word to craft a professionally typeset resume, and away you go. · 1 hour ago
Thanks for the advice-and the book recommendation. I'm looking it up.
Oct '10
Re: What's Your Elevator Pitch?
Central Scrutinizer
Bereket Kelile
Thanks Brent. Yes, I try to personalize it for the particular company. I know they're slogging through hundreds of letters and I want mine to jump off the page/screen. I hear it's best to put the letter in a pdf because you won't have to worry about anyone not being able to open it. Interesting tip I thought. · 32 minutes ago
Yes, put your cover letter and resume in pdf. And name the documents: Kelile_cover_letter.pdf and Kelile_resume.pdf. Titling your documents Company_resume.pdf or resume.pdf will get you lost or ignored.
Your resume is your history and your previous experience. Your cover letter answers one question and one only....why should I, the reader, interview and hire you for the job I need filled. Unless your cover letter adds to your story, it will be discarded before it reaches the decision maker. · 1 hour ago
Thanks for that tip. That's a great idea.
May '10
Re: What's Your Elevator Pitch?
Bereket:
The best and easiest method to find a job is through friends and a network. Help your network help you by telling it specifically what you want to do.
May '12
Re: What's Your Elevator Pitch?
Bereket Kelile
BrentB67: One of my MBA prof's said to imagine you are stuck in an elevator with Mark Cuban and have his undivided attention to pitch your business to him for 2 minutes and use that as a scenario to build your speech.
Regarding cover letters I recommend to not have a generic one. Personalize each cover letter to the position. Use it to tailor your skills and experience to solve their problem(s).
Best of luck, whoever hires you is going to do well. · 1 hour ago
Thanks Brent. Yes, I try to personalize it for the particular company. I know they're slogging through hundreds of letters and I want mine to jump off the page/screen. I hear it's best to put the letter in a pdf because you won't have to worry about anyone not being able to open it. Interesting tip I thought. · 2 hours ago
I heard the PDF tip as well. Another tip I rec'd, but am hesitant to personally recommend, is to copy a sentence or two from the job description to your cover letter. Supposed to help with big companies that scan them to match.
May '12
Re: What's Your Elevator Pitch?
This may be old fashioned, but I find it still goes a long way, especially with more senior managers and executives, hand written Thank You note.
May '11
Re: What's Your Elevator Pitch?
Caroline: Bereket:
The best and easiest method to find a job is through friends and a network. Help your network help you by telling it specifically what you want to do. · 37 minutes ago
Good advice. Does your city have a local chapter of the Federalist Society? Conservatives have much to rally around... think of how refreshing it is when you meet a fellow conservative - some employer might think the exact thing when he meets you. I'm not saying to put that on your resume or anything, but meeting people at conservative-type functions is a good idea.
Aug '12
Re: What's Your Elevator Pitch?
Bereket - about twenty five years ago I was working in Washington DC at a small contracting firm.
I read many many cover letters and resumes while I was in that job. (Literally in the hundreds if not thousands.)
The *only* one I remember is from a guy who had spent the summer in India, who started off his letter with a short couple of very light paragraphs about what he did there, what he thought about it, how he reacted to the beggars, how it had impacted his thoughts about his career and about living in America.
In addition to the excellent practical advice you've gotten - if you want to stand out and be remembered let the cover letter also let people know who you are. Not just a list of your beliefs, like a dry list of qualifications, but when they get past the first two paragraphs they should feel like they've just had a small chat with you, and have an inkling of an idea of what you're like as a human being.
Then nail the requirements!
I know how hard it can be to be searching. Good luck, and I hope you succeed soon.
Aug '12
Re: What's Your Elevator Pitch?
Definitely feed their buzz words back to them. Though I would suggest using your own sentences.
BrentB67
I heard the PDF tip as well. Another tip I rec'd, but am hesitant to personally recommend, is to copy a sentence or two from the job description to your cover letter. Supposed to help with big companies that scan them to match. · 30 minutes ago