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Interviewing: Your Elevator Pitch Should Be Like Fishing

 

Most job candidates will develop and deliver an “elevator pitch,” a two-minute biography of their careers.  Is your two-minute “pitch” going to catch the interest of the interviewer? 

 

The analogy of fishing may be a good example.  Fishing is a challenging sport, and the person fishing has to determine the best bait for the current conditions.  They must be prepared with a variety of baits, or they may not catch anything.

 

You likely know some information about the job through the job posting and your research, but you may not know what specialized skills may elevate one candidate over the other.  You want to fish for that unique entry point or special interest the interviewer might have.  You will want to add your own “fishing bait” (career highlights) to your elevator pitch!

 

Your “bait” consists of significant accomplishments and skillsets that you bring to the table, skillsets that can put you above the competition.  The “bait” (highlights) that you add to your elevator pitch should be very short and consumable.  In a two-minute elevator pitch you will likely want to keep the biography portion to about ninety seconds.  This leaves thirty-seconds to sprinkle your “bait” throughout your biography.  Keep it short and to-the-point so that the interviewer does not get side-tracked.  The goal is to catch the interest of the interviewer with your highlights.  If the interviewer asks any follow-up questions, you have got the interviewer hooked.  However, you still need to work hard to land the job!

 

If you do not have a chance to give your elevator pitch, you can use your career highlights when discussing other questions to catch the interviewer’s interest. 

 

The main thing is that you want to differentiate yourself by providing your capabilities that place you above the other candidates.

 

Happy Fishing!