by Sam Blasbalg ’28 —
In the world of business, making an impactful first impression is crucial. Having a perfect elevator pitch is a skill that will separate a student from their peers when networking and searching for employment opportunities.
An elevator pitch is a brief, 30-60 second blurb that encapsulates your introduction, professional experience, and key strengths with an intention to spark an employer’s interest and segue into a conversation. In short, it is a way to sell yourself to a person in as much time as it would take, as the name implies, to ride a few floors in an elevator. These pitches hold power – a well done pitch could spiral into an informative conversation tailored to a potential employer’s interest, an email exchange or even a job interview. Here are some insightful tips on how to make your elevator pitch stand out, gathered from my academic experience in Lehigh University’s College of Business..
Know Your Audience
Ensure that an elevator pitch is adjusted for the correct audience. How you should introduce yourself to an accounting employer is different from a marketing employer. When delivering an elevator pitch, the information shared should be relevant to the position that is hiring or being discussed. Display relevant skills that showcase why past experiences are applicable to the role in question, and switch up the experience discussed on a case-by-case basis.
Add Insightful Experience Descriptions
Equally important in an elevator pitch is demonstrating how past experiences have contributed to personal and professional growth. Describing why the experience matters is a piece that employers want to hear just as much as the experience itself. Perhaps this experience deepened your leadership expertise. Or maybe it taught you how to collaborate with others when taking steps towards a greater goal. Adding in these extra explanations gives depth to your elevator pitch; not only is the experience illustrating our qualifications as a prospective employee, but how you used these experiences to strengthen your preexisting abilities.
Highlight Problem and Solution
Interviewers are interested in how you approach conflict. A great way to show this is by emphasizing examples of problem solving! Highlighting an example of a struggle that occurred in a past experience, and how it was overcome using a shift in mindset, strategy or teamwork, displays the depth you could bring to a company and the added value you possess.
Crafting and executing an elevator pitch can be intimidating, but remember that no one knows more about you than you do. Be professional, smile and be confident, and delivering a pitch will go smoothly.
Sam Blasbalg is a sophomore studying marketing and economics in Lehigh College of Business. Throughout her first year at Lehigh, she has taken classes such as Introduction to Business Communications, Business to Professional Tiers 1 through 3 and Organizational Behavior. These courses have strengthened her knowledge in components that should be included in an elevator pitch as well as grown her confidence in public speaking.
Currently, Sam is actively searching for and interviewing with companies as a potential intern, where she has to use her elevator pitch when interviewers ask her, “tell me about yourself.”