From LinkedIn (link):
Had another excellent opportunity last week (13-FEB-2019) as a UW-Madison Alumn to give tips and tricks to L&S students at the SuccessWorks event: Get your Internship Together!
I met with L&S students to teach the perfect response to “Tell me about yourself” – known as the Elevator Speech. An Elevator Speech is a professional introduction of who you are. The goal is to convey your career objectives, personal passions, and work experiences, within 60 seconds or less! Sound ambitious and intimidating? It’s not! Below, I’ve highlighted 4 simple steps to craft the perfect Elevator Speech.
Infographic additional details:
1. Name, year in school, school, and declared major. Easy!
2. Define what drives you! What is your career goal and how does it relate to your passion? If your career goal is your passion, try again. For example, if you are passionate about becoming the CEO of Facebook, think outside of the box and consider what that career goal will give others. In that perspective you may give others a platform to increase quarterly profits and form strong positive public relations.
Moreover, be specific for what you’re applying for. Seems obvious, but I’ve found that different companies’ have varying definitions of “internship.” Is the position a full-year internship? A summer internship? A semester internship? Don’t say you’re looking for any position because that is often interpreted as desperate. Being specific will reduce ambiguity and let the recruiter know your exact availability. Finally, include the year. Examples: Summer internship in 2019, full-time position post graduation in May of 2019, or summer through fall semester internship in 2019.
- Thin example: “I’m passionate about being the CEO of Facebook, which is why I’m interested in becoming the CEO of Facebook.”
- Meaty example: “I’m passionate about leading large public companies in quarterly profits while building strong positive public relations, which is why I’m interested in becoming the CEO of Facebook starting in the 3rd quarter of 2019.”
3. Address experiences directly from your resume. Use each experience to showcase how you’re pursuing your passion. Tailor your resume with this thought in mind: If your experience doesn’t build upon your passion, it shouldn’t be on your resume. This can be a powerful exercise to re-work and strengthen both your resume and Elevator Speech. Just beware of being redundant! Avoid mentioning multiple experiences that highlight the same skill. Instead, shift focus on other talents from those experiences that complement your passion.
4. By completing your Elevator Speech with an engaging question, you can easily set yourself apart from other candidates! Here are 2 different engaging questions to try followed by a reason why the question helps:
– Question: Could you tell me the skills you’re looking for in an ideal candidate in this position?
– Reason: “Steer the ship” to learn about the specific skills of the position. Listen closely to the response and make mental notes of the professional buzzwords. Be sure to respond to future questions while addressing and incorporating those same buzzwords!
– Question: Could you tell me a bit about yourself? What do you do in the company?
– Reason: Transforms the interview into a conversation! Gives the floor back to the recruiter. You’re inviting the recruiter to talk about themselves…people love to talk about themselves! The goal here is to make a connection! If the recruiter sees themselves in you, make a mental note of it and be sure to follow-up with this connection in a thank-you email or LinkedIn message!
I recommend filling out steps 1-4 in bullet point responses. This will force natural speech flow and avoid sounding like a robot. On the other hand, if you work well with examples fill in the template below. However, don’t let this template stifle your creativity…color outside of the lines!
Elevator Speech Mad Lib Template:
Hello, my name is _(name)_. I’m a _(year in school)_ at _(school)_ studying _(major)_. I’m passionate about _(passion)_ which is why I’m interested in _(specific objective)_ in _(year)_. Last year I was involved in _(experience 1)_ which helped build my _(skill related to passion)_. Currently, I’m a member of _(experience 2)_ where I’m actively performing _(skill related to passion)_. I hope to use my experience from _(experience 3)_ to advance my knowledge of _(skill related to passion)_. Could you tell me the skills you’re looking for in an ideal candidate in _(specific objective)_.
Relevant Links:
Steven Gruber's 