Elevator Pitches
29 What is an elevator pitch?
Before you dive too deeply into building your network you will want to be able to develop a strong elevator pitch to clearly articulate your career plans and future goals.
An elevator pitch is a short summary that explains who you are and what you are passionate about, and connects this information with your future goals. The best elevator pitches are stories that tell people who you are and why you are pursuing a career in your specific field. They display passion and enthusiasm, and will enable you to start a conversation with anyone who is interested in learning more about you. If you have a great story those you speak with will be more likely to remember you. If you are memorable, you are more likely to get the job or internship you are seeking, and more likely to come to mind when someone hears of an opportunity that matches your specific interests.
When do you use an elevator pitch?
Elevator pitches are typically prepared for use at career fairs where you meet with representatives from various companies and organizations that are looking for interns and/or employees. However, you only have time for a short interaction. In fact, I have heard of career fairs where students stand in long lines just to have the opportunity to speak with a representative from a popular company for just a few short minutes.
Elevator pitches should be memorized and your ability to give yours should be practiced until you can deliver it with fluency. The goal isn’t to be able to recite your elevator pitch like a robot, but to know it so well that you can access it easily and modify it quickly for a variety of situations.
The usefulness of having a strong elevator pitch is often overlooked, as it can be used in all networking situations, and elevator pitches can be modified and used in your LinkedIn About section or modified and included in your cover letter. They can also be used to answer the most common interview question, “Tell me about yourself,” and they will help you build your network.
When you meet people that can help you with your career interacting with them using a version of your elevator pitch makes sense. But your elevator pitch comes in handy even when meeting people that you never think could help you with your career. For example, a student told me he was out helping his dad with yard work and a new neighbor approached to say hello and introduce himself. The new neighbor asked the student what he was studying in school and the student replied with a modified elevator pitch. It ended up the new neighbor had a close friend who worked in the same industry the student was looking to break into. The neighbor passed along his friend’s contact information and the student contacted him and asked if he had time to talk to him about his career. The student met with the business professional and ended up with an internship.
The elevator pitch is also very useful at family gatherings and holidays as someone is bound to ask you, “What are you studying?” and “What are you going to do with that?” Learn to embrace these questions from friends and family and learn to see them as your chance to practice your elevator pitch.
Example Elevator Pitches
Here is my elevator pitch which I also use as my teaching philosophy, and is modified for my LinkedIn About section:
My name is Amy Zufelt and I am currently a faculty member at Western Michigan University where I teach business communication courses that focus heavily on employability skills. I believe higher education has a responsibility to their students to prepare them for the job search and how to conduct themselves professionally. As a first-generation college student, I was on my own as I learned to navigate the university and the professional world. In every category, but one, I was considered a high-risk student, nonetheless I graduated from a highly ranked public university. However, I graduated without a resume, nor the skills necessary to conduct myself in the professional world. I have some successes and I have had some failures, and ultimately, I learned the hard way how to be successful as a professional. It is my goal that my students avoid some of the missteps I made along the way by providing them with the opportunity to hone employability skills in the classroom.
Here is an example of a student’s elevator pitch:
Hello, I am Frank Carlson. I grew up in Sheboygan, Wisconsin with parents who were in and out of jobs due to the recession. Because of this, we did not have extra money to spend on entertainment. When I was 12 years old, our local movie theatre started a new promotion, where tickets on Tuesdays dropped to just $5. This allowed families like mine affordable access to the moviegoing experience, and soon enough I had fallen in love with the cinema. Nothing compared the smell of fresh popcorn as I entered the lobby or the energy of a theatre full of people excited to see a summer blockbuster on the big screen.
The day I turned 15 I applied to work at Marcus Theatres. Despite my age and inexperience, they took note of my passion. I started off just ripping tickets but eventually I learned and excelled at every position at the location. I grew into a driven leader with strong interpersonal relationship-building skills, and a passion for fostering growth as a trainer of new hires.
During high school I focused on my work at the theatre more than my education, but once I graduated, I was ready to adjust my priorities. I was accepted as a part of the business scholars’ program at Concordia University, Wisconsin. I am in my last year of this program and will be completing my master’s degree in conjunction with my undergraduate degree this spring. Due to my enthusiasm for professional development, I chose Human Resources and Strategic Leadership as my academic focuses.
While pursuing my education, I never lost my passion for the movies and still worked at the cinema. During the summer of my sophomore year, I was offered the position of Human Resources Intern at the Marcus Theatres Corporate Office. Here my focus has been on upskilling employees in the field through the development of the Career Pathways project.
In conclusion, as I stand at the cusp of completing my master’s degree and furthering my career in Human Resources, I’m excited to chase my passion of helping others realize their full potential, the same way that ambitious fifteen-year-old chased his passion for the big screen.
As you can see, these example elevator pitches contain a lot of details and specific keywords that make them memorable while demonstrating the individual’s skills and qualifications.
Activity: Examine the Elevator Pitch Examples
- Circle the keywords and phrases in the example elevator pitches. Why are these words/phrases important?
- What makes these elevator pitches memorable?
- Do you have suggestions that would improve these elevator pitches?
- Look online for additional example elevator pitches. Which do you like? Why do you like them? What can you take from these examples and incorporate into your own elevator pitch?
Activity: Elevator Pitch Preparation Worksheet
Complete the worksheet below to prepare to write your own elevator pitch.
- What are your career goals?
- Why are you passionate about your chosen field?
- List industry keywords you think are important.
- Do you have a story that demonstrates your passion?
- What powerful and vivid words and phrases can you include that help your listener envision your story?
Activity: Write Your Elevator Pitch
Using your brainstorming and notes, craft your own unique elevator pitch.
Activity: Use Generative AI To Help Write Your Elevator Pitch
- Copy and paste your resume and cover letter in generative AI. Prompt with the following: “Please write an elevator pitch based on the above information.” While generative AI will not provide you with a final elevator pitch, it will give you a nice rough draft. Continue editing and revising until you are comfortable with your pitch.
- Copy and paste your elevator pitch draft into generative AI. Prompt with the following: “This is my elevator pitch. What five suggestions do you recommend to improve it?” Consider the recommendations and incorporate them as appropriate.
- Once you have a pitch you are comfortable with ask generative AI to help you incorporate your keywords into it. Prompt with the following: “Here are some keywords I would like to include in my elevator pitch: x, y, z. Please write a new pitch that includes these words.