If you’ve been job hunting for any length of time, you’ve probably heard of the “Elevator Speech”. It is your short marketing speech (your job search objectives) and can be used in a variety of situations such as cold calls, job fairs, meeting someone at a networking event, yes – even an elevator! The actual length of the speech varies depending on who you speak with and what you read (30 seconds, 90 seconds, 3 minutes). I think the length is less important than the content (although 3 minutes would be a very long elevator ride). The suggestions as to style and content vary as much as the suggestions on length. Regardless of the length and format, it is an essential part of your job search toolkit. This post I’ve listed several resources to help you with this aspect of your networking tools.
- The Elevator Speech is the Swiss Army Knife of Job-Search Tools – This article, by Quintessential Careers, offers a comprehensive review of the topic with background/history, several suggested formats and several examples. The article also offers links to other resources.
- Creating a 30-Second Elevator Speech – A short article (in pdf format) by Womenwork.org (the National Network for Women’s Employment), provides a very good overview of this topic.
- How To Write an Effective Elevator Speech - Edugree.com’s take on writing your elevator speech. The article starts with a brief (and interesting) history of the term, followed by sections on Know your Audience, Know Yourself, Outline your Speech, Finalize your Speech and Practice. The most important point is that your speech is generally targeted, so you will need to tailor it depending on the situation.
- What is an Elevator Speech? - This article, posted on the Scottsdale Job Network Site, provide seven basic components of a job search elevator speech. This is followed by the “Do’s and Don’ts” of elevator speeches (this part delivered by Quintessential Careers).
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[...] Be Prepared – You should be prepared to tell your recruiter about your current work experience and exactly what type of job you want. This is a good place to practice your elevator speech (see “Do you have your 30 second Elevator Speech?“). [...]