You never know when you’ll need to spout your elevator pitch. Opportunity never comes calling at the right time. You need to have an elevator pitch for your resume, and you need to be ready to tell someone what you do in an instant.
What Is an Elevator Pitch?
Your executive bio, executive resume biography or your elevator pitch is a brief 30-second bit about what you do, how you do it and who you are. You’re telling any potential employer or contact why you’re the perfect candidate. An elevator pitch concisely explains why you’re the man or woman for the job.
The Hard Part
Talking about our individual abilities and accomplishments for 30-seconds shouldn’t be too tough. Still, most people find condensing years of experience and hard work into 30-seconds of chatter difficult. You’ve done so much, but you have so little time to articulate it.
If you’re back on the job market, you’ll want to create the perfect elevator pitch immediately. You never know when a great contact or opportunity will come up so you must be prepared.
With this in mind, here’s how to develop a perfected pitch:
Decide What You Want
Before you write out any pitch, you must focus on what your desires are. Clarify what you want in a job. Choose what kind of employment you’re interested in. Each industry and profession will require a different type of elevator speech.
Write It Down
Once you’ve clarified what you’re looking for – you can begin to write down your pitch. Grab a piece of paper and start scribbling. Begin by jotting down bullet point ideas about what you’ve accomplished, your abilities, personality and more.
Once you have a long list, you can start going through it, crossing off items of lesser importance. Once you have narrowed it down to the most important bullet points, you can begin to craft these tidbits of information into a concise, 30-second speech.
Cover the Bases
Next, you’ll want to read over your first draft and see if you’ve covered the bases. You must answer the fundamental questions someone looking to hire you is considering:
- What do you do?
- Who are you?
- What do you desire?
If you believe your elevator pitch has covered these basic questions, move on to the next tip.
Tailor Your Words
Once your first draft is complete and the basics are covered, you’ll want to continue combing and improving. Start by tailoring your words to relate to the individual(s) you’re going to speak to. Add in benefit-focused wording to ensure your audience understands how you can help them.
Use the Mirror
Grab your piece of paper and head to the closest mirror, preferably with a little privacy. Stare yourself in the eyes and start giving your pitch. Let confidence flow through your veins and honestly believe what you’re saying. Monitor what areas of your quick speech sound great and which ones need tweaking.
Tweak It to Perfection
Not everything sounds as good on paper as it does when spoken. Most individuals find they need to reword and tweak things after hearing it out loud. It’s important to keep sentence short, speak in clear vocabulary free of industry jargon and keep things conversational.
Once you’ve tweaked your speech to perfection, you’ll want to continue practicing. Polish your words until you can spring into action and lay down your verbal biography in front of anyone at any time. Practice always makes perfect.
Understand Your Audience
Lastly, you shouldn’t be afraid to create a couple of variations. Most people would slightly change their speech when speaking with an old colleague than in front of an interviewer. The more you practice the pitch, the more comfortable you’ll feel when a slight tweak or change is needed.
It’s Not Easy, But You Can Do It
Anything relating to your executive bio is not going to be easy. You’re going to have to work to create the perfect resume and elevator pitch. If you’re struggling to do so, professional help may be needed.
This guest post is by Erin Kennedy, MCD, CMRW, CPRW, BS/HR, a Certified Professional & Executive Resume Writer/Career Consultant, and the President of Professional Resume Services, Inc. She has achieved international recognition following nominations and wins of the prestigious T.O.R.I. (Toast of the Resume Industry) Award. Find Erin at http://exclusive-executive-resumes.com.