The best city of Chicago jobs are in demand, so when opportunity strikes, you have to seize the moment. Whether you’re actively or passively seeking new opportunities, you always need to have an elevator pitch prepared that perfectly emphasizes your extensive skills and experience.
When you’re at networking events, job fairs or literally in an elevator with a hiring manager, you need to sell yourself fast. Since you have so many years of experience, summarizing it into a quick speech can feel impossible, but it’s actually easier than you think.
Four Tips to Highlight Your Experience in an Elevator Pitch
Customize It
You probably feel rushed to cover a lot of ground, but scaling back a bit can actually make your speech more effective. All the skills and experience you’ve acquired throughout your career won’t be relevant to the job at hand, so eliminate irrelevant details. This will let the other person know exactly what you’re looking for and better highlight your fit. For best results, create one general elevator pitch that can be easily personalized to fit specific opportunities.
Explain Why You’re Unique
Hiring managers are frequently on the receiving end of elevator pitches, so yours needs to stand out. Describe why your skills and experience give you an edge on other candidates. Think about specific traits in high demand and use this to stress your value. You’ll capture their attention quickly if you have something to offer that other candidates don’t.
Use Examples
Saying you have certain skills is great, but really drive your fit home by sharing an example or two. This offers a glimpse at the depth of your experience, so the hiring manager really understands where you’re coming from. If possible, include numerical values, as they leave no room for misinterpretation.
Get to the Point
A good elevator pitch should be roughly 60 seconds or less. If yours goes longer, you risk being cut off before you’re able to wrap things up. Keeping it short and succinct also makes your main points stand out, which will increase your chances of being remembered. As noted above, you don’t have time to wrap up your entire career, so just summarize what’s most important.
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