One of the best ways to stand out in an interview is to deliver a knockout elevator pitch. Interviews are a competitive game, and you can’t afford to sit back and give the bare minimum when answering questions. You need to go above and beyond to sell all you have to offer. In most interviews, there’s a small window of opportunity for you to seize and deliver your pitch, and it’s usually when the interviewer asks the inevitable: ‘What makes you right for this position?’.
Read on to learn how to create an unforgettable elevator pitch.
An interview elevator pitch is when you take 45-60 seconds to sell yourself in an interview. It’s the one opportunity you have to highlight all your best qualities, achievements and skills. The aim of an elevator pitch in an interview is to convince the hiring manager you’re the person they need to hire based on your skill, passion and personality.
The best interview elevator pitches will incorporate a variety of techniques to blow the interviewer away.
The best elevator pitches for job seekers will make the pitch about the company, as well as about you (the interviewee). It’s important to understand the company’s mission and values and to reflect them in your answer. You can talk all day long about how great you are, but unless you explain why that matters to this specific company, your pitch will fall flat.
The point of an elevator pitch is to be short and succinct, straight to the point. Your pitch will lose impact the longer you take to deliver it, so work on cutting down your sentences and removing filler words. 60 seconds is long enough to put across the most important points, but it’s not so long that the interviewer falls asleep. Less is more.
The most effective technique for an elevator pitch is to include tangible examples of your success and achievements. Try not to be vague and say things like ‘I’m really hard working’ as this doesn’t bring your character to life or differentiate you from other applicants. Pick examples that relate to the job you’re applying for.
Examples of tangibles:
Experts estimate 70-93% of all communication is non-verbal, so it’s not just what you say, but how you say it. That means everything about your pitch needs to ooze confidence from your tone of voice to your facial expressions to your body language. Even if you’ve written the best pitch in the world, it won’t be effective unless you deliver it with confidence. This isn’t to be confused for arrogance or cockiness, but just a level of self-assurance in your ability to positively impact the company.
Don’t let your elevator pitch just fade out. Finish it strongly. In one sentence, you’ll want to summarise the main points of your pitch and close by expressing your eagerness to work for the company. It’s vital you don’t miss this step. Often, interviewers will hire a candidate not because they’re more qualified (although that helps), but because they expressed more passion and a stronger desire to work for the company. In the eyes of an employer, you can teach skill to a passionate person, but you can’t teach passion to a skillful person!
Of course, no elevator pitch is complete without practice. It’s not just about learning your pitch by heart, but it’s also about practising the delivery ie. your tone of voice, body language etc. Make sure your pitch sounds as natural as possible, and you’re able to deliver it with a smile on your face.
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Vanessa Ramkissoon | Recruitment Content Expert
