Selling Yourself to an Employer in 30 Seconds

When you're on the hunt for a job, it's a good idea to start familiarizing yourself with the top people within a company through research. Take the time to search through LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. and read about the head of the firm, so that way you will immediately recognize them and be able to strike up a small conversation with them. Imagine you go to the company to turn in a portfolio, and - bam - in comes the CEO or the head of the branch at the PR firm. So, what would you do? Stand there and awkwardly stare at them wishing you had their job. No! It's time to sell yourself. By pitching yourself to them, it could help you get an interview faster and make a great first impression.

For all you freshmen and sophomores who have never heard about elevator pitches before, it is basically a 30 second speech or three to four sentences that summarize your best qualities or why the person you are pitching to should hire you. The basics to include are your major, classification, an end goal and don't forget your name! An end goal is the most important because the purpose of the pitch isn't to provide a narrative about yourself, but to meet with the employer about you getting a job.

As far as other parts to your elevator pitch, I recommend sharing a fact or skill that is unique about you. I know that can seem tricky, but sometimes the way you change up the wording or utilize basic skills in unique circumstances makes you stand out. Another way to approach what to include is, what are you best at or what are you passionate about? It's much easier to talk about something you love rather than something you are only bringing up to impress employers.

Elevator pitches are a great thing to have in your back pocket for whenever you may run into someone important. If you treat it as an awkward situation, then it will become awkward and you're less likely to have a positive impact on the employer. Also, make sure to not sound too scripted because it just adds an artificial tone to it. Talking to an executive member of a PR firm and pitching yourself is something to be proud of, especially if you do it successfully.