Personal Elevator Pitch for Students
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Jenna from The Intern Hustle provides a guide on creating a personal elevator pitch, ideal for students preparing for networking events or class assignments. She emphasizes that elevator pitches should be concise, under 30 seconds, and tailored to the audience. Jenna shares tips on structuring an effective pitch, including introducing yourself with a hook, sharing unique experiences, and asking engaging questions to keep the conversation going. She offers examples of how to modify your pitch based on the situation and closes by encouraging viewers to practice and refine their approach.
Takeaways
- 😀 Elevator pitches should be concise, lasting around 30 seconds, like the duration of an elevator ride.
- 💼 Modify your elevator pitch depending on the audience and situation; it’s not one-size-fits-all.
- 🎓 Start with a brief introduction that includes your name, school, and field of study, followed by a hook to grab attention.
- 💡 Share unique experiences or accomplishments to stand out and provide context in your pitch.
- 🏀 Personalize your pitch with relevant details that relate to your career goals, like specific internships or work experiences.
- ❓ Always end your pitch with a question to engage the listener and keep the conversation going.
- 🤝 Tailor the closing question based on who you're speaking to—whether it's a recruiter, a mentor, or someone you want advice from.
- 🔄 Your elevator pitch should evolve as you gain experience and progress in your career journey.
- 📚 Asking for recommendations (e.g., books or podcasts) can be a great way to continue the conversation in more casual situations.
- 👍 Respect the other person's time and avoid a lengthy one-sided pitch; focus on listening and engaging in meaningful dialogue.
Q & A
What is the purpose of an elevator pitch?
-An elevator pitch is designed to introduce yourself in a concise and memorable way, typically within 30 seconds, to quickly communicate your value and engage the listener.
Why is it called an 'elevator pitch'?
-The term comes from the idea that you should be able to deliver your pitch in the time it takes to ride an elevator with someone, usually around 30 seconds or less.
What should be the first part of an elevator pitch?
-The first part should include a brief introduction of who you are, such as your name, where you go to school, and what you're studying. You can also lead with a hook like 'I'd love to get your thoughts on something' to grab their attention.
Why is it important to customize your elevator pitch based on the scenario?
-Customizing your elevator pitch allows you to tailor your message to the person you're speaking to and the context, making it more relevant and engaging for them.
What makes a pitch memorable?
-A pitch is memorable when it highlights unique value, such as relevant experiences or accomplishments, that sets you apart from others with similar backgrounds.
How can you make your elevator pitch more engaging for the listener?
-You can engage the listener by asking a relevant question at the end of your pitch. This keeps the conversation going and encourages the other person to contribute.
What example did Jenna give for a unique experience in her own pitch?
-Jenna shared her experience of completing a strength and conditioning internship with the Chicago Bulls, but explained how it shifted her interest away from training athletes toward the business side of professional sports.
How should you modify your elevator pitch based on who you're talking to?
-You can modify your pitch by adjusting the unique experiences or accomplishments you highlight, and by tailoring the closing question to fit the person's expertise or background.
Why is it important to include a question at the end of your pitch?
-Including a question at the end engages the listener, making the conversation interactive and giving them an opportunity to share their thoughts or advice.
What advice does Jenna give for avoiding a one-sided conversation?
-Jenna advises being respectful of the other person's time and not turning the conversation into a long, one-sided monologue. Instead, aim for a balanced conversation where you listen and engage based on their responses.
Outlines
💡 Introduction to Personal Elevator Pitches
The speaker, Jenna, introduces the concept of a personal elevator pitch, emphasizing its importance for students preparing to meet recruiters or attend career fairs. She explains that an elevator pitch should be concise, fitting within the timeframe of a typical elevator ride (around 30 seconds). Jenna stresses that a one-size-fits-all approach is not effective and suggests modifying the pitch based on the situation and audience. She mentions that the video will cover how to structure a personal elevator pitch and provide examples for different scenarios.
🚀 Crafting Your Personal Elevator Pitch
Jenna explains the structure of an effective personal elevator pitch, beginning with a brief introduction and a hook to grab the listener's attention, like saying, 'I’d love to get your thoughts on something.' This approach ensures that the person remains engaged. She then suggests highlighting your unique experiences or accomplishments to make the pitch memorable. Jenna uses her own experience—transitioning from a strength and conditioning internship with the Chicago Bulls to exploring business in sports—as an example of crafting a narrative that stands out.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Elevator pitch
💡Personal introduction
💡Unique value
💡Context
💡Hook
💡Scenario-based modification
💡Career transition
💡Engagement question
💡Tailored question
💡Professional networking
Highlights
Elevator pitches are not one size fits all and should be tailored based on the scenario and person you're speaking to.
An elevator pitch should be concise, typically 30 seconds to one minute, just like the time it takes to ride an elevator.
Begin your pitch with a hook, such as 'I'd love to get your thoughts on something,' to capture the other person's attention.
Briefly introduce yourself, including where you go to school and what you're studying, as part of your pitch.
Highlight a unique experience or accomplishment that makes you stand out, such as an internship or a key personal interest.
Your pitch should include a narrative that is memorable and specific to you, rather than just stating common details like your major or job title.
Tailor your elevator pitch to your goal and the person you're speaking to, modifying your story and closing question as needed.
Close the pitch with an engaging question that invites the person to continue the conversation or offer advice.
Examples of closing questions include asking for career advice, internship opportunities, or thoughts on a career pivot.
For career fairs, ask recruiters about their hiring process and how to follow up, making your pitch more actionable.
If you're talking to someone you're interested in building a relationship with, ask questions that help you learn from their experience.
If the conversation is casual, ask open-ended questions, like recommendations for a book or podcast, to keep it engaging.
Focus on being concise, respectful of the other person's time, and ready to listen after delivering your pitch.
Always customize your elevator pitch based on the scenario and keep practicing to improve and refine your approach.
An elevator pitch is a dynamic tool that should evolve as you grow in your career and gain new experiences.
Transcripts
hey there it's jenna from the intern
hustle and in this video i'm diving into
the personal
elevator pitch if you're a student
watching this there is a chance that
you've been given an assignment for a
class to create your own pitch
or maybe you're preparing for how you're
going to introduce yourself to
recruiters at an upcoming career fair
whatever your situation this video will
help to give you structure
to create your own personal elevator
pitch hit that like button if you're
ready to dive in
and if you're new here don't forget to
subscribe and hit that bell to be
notified
for new videos every single week on this
channel
this needs to be stated up front
elevator pitches
are not one size fits all and i'm not
just talking about person to person
i mean even for your own personal
elevator pitch you should be modifying
it based on your scenario
you wouldn't give the same pitch to
someone that you're hoping to get an
internship with
as you would to someone that you're just
chatting with at an event and getting to
know
so stay tuned to the end of this video
because i'm giving you examples for how
to close out your personal elevator
pitch
depending on the scenario that you find
yourself in but let's back up
why is this commonly referred to as an
elevator pitch what does an
elevator have to do with your personal
story and how you introduce yourself
the idea behind it is that you need to
be able to deliver your personal pitch
to someone in the amount of time that it
would take you to ride an elevator with
them
typically 30 seconds definitely aim to
keep it under a minute so if you happen
to step into an elevator with someone
whom you admire
want to learn from would like to work
for want to pitch a business idea too
your job is to pitch them concisely in
that short window of time that you're
riding the elevator with them
so let's get to the pitch what you
should include and how to keep it
concise
well i do believe in starting it off
with a brief introduction of who you are
including details like where you go to
school and what you're studying
i actually like to lead with a short
statement that grabs their attention
something like i'd love to get your
thoughts on something or i'm curious to
hear what you think
a statement like this hooks the other
person right from the beginning because
you already told them that you want to
hear from them
now they have to pay attention they
can't just zone out during your pitch or
they'll miss the context that they need
to provide their thoughts back to you
so the beginning of your pitch could
sound something like hi i'm jenna ziff
and it's so nice to meet you
i'd love to get your quick thoughts on
something i'm currently a junior at ohio
state studying exercise science okay so
now that i've set the stage
the next component of the pitch should
be highlighting some of my unique value
this could be in the form of relevant
experience i have
maybe an accomplishment or a shared
interest to the person that i'm speaking
with
the idea is you want to give them
something to remember you by
in my case a lot of people could be a
junior at ohio state
studying exercise science that's not
memorable
same goes for after you graduate when
you're introducing yourself to someone a
lot of people could have the job title
software engineer or
accountant or marketing manager that's
not memorable the key to pitching
yourself well is to include something
that makes you stand out to continue
with my example
when i was a junior in college i had
just finished a summer strength and
conditioning internship with the chicago
bulls
and i was struggling with this idea that
i didn't want to pursue that as a career
path anymore
i learned more about myself during the
internship and my
interests shifted so now i was starting
to explore what other career paths i
might be interested in
and having conversations with people
around that
so given that information here's what i
would insert into my pitch to grab their
attention and help me stand out a bit hi
i'm jenna ziff and it's so nice to meet
you i'd love to get your quick thoughts
on something
i'm currently a junior at ohio state
studying exercise science
this past summer i pursued my interests
and did a strength and conditioning
internship with the chicago bulls
it was a great experience but i learned
that i no longer want to pursue a career
training athletes
i've become increasingly interested in
the business side of professional sports
and i've since added a business minor to
my studies
now i've shared some more of my unique
experiences and provided more context to
the person that i'm speaking with
can you see how a narrative is forming
that's key to a good personal pitch
you need to be able to speak to a
specific piece of your story in a
concise
way narrate and paint a picture for the
person that you're speaking to
by this point you've set the stage with
a brief introduction including that hook
at the beginning
you've shared something unique and
provided some context
the final step is to close it out and
ask the person that you're speaking with
a question
and the question part is important
because it engages the person and it
keeps the conversation going
and depending on the scenario and what
you're hoping to get out of this
conversation
it's also your opportunity to make an
ask of the person for purposes of the
example that i've been giving you with
my personal pitch
let's say that the person i'm talking to
is an assistant athletic director at
ohio state that i bumped into on campus
given that they're currently working in
sports
and involved on the business side of the
industry they're a great person for me
to learn from and ask questions of
here's how i might close out my pitch
with them hi
i'm jenna ziff and it's so nice to meet
you i'd love to get your quick thoughts
on something
i'm currently a junior at ohio state
studying exercise science
this past summer i pursued my interests
and did a strength and conditioning
internship with the chicago bulls
it was a great experience but i learned
that i no longer want to pursue a career
training athletes
i've become increasingly interested in
the business side of professional sports
and i've since added a business minor to
my studies
given your position i'd love to hear
from you what do you think are the most
important areas for me to focus my
studies on going forward
and how can i best position myself for
an internship with a university athletic
department
that's it that personal elevator pitch
is about 30 seconds and it's concise and
gets the other person
talking and sharing earlier in this
video i mentioned that elevator pitches
are not one size fits all
and that you should modify your pitch
based on the person that you're talking
to and what your goal is for the
conversation in doing so you may pull
from a different experience
or accomplishments when you're speaking
about your unique value so that you're
providing the right context
and this is definitely something that
will evolve as you do and as you
continue on through college and into
your career and you also should be
tailoring your question at the end of
the pitch to fit the scenario
so here are some examples of how i could
shift the question at the end of my
pitch
depending on who i'm speaking to if it's
someone who works at a company that i
really want to get an internship with
i may have said do you have any
suggestions for me on how i can increase
my chances of landing an internship with
your company if it's a professional that
i would just like to build a
relationship with and learn more from in
a general sense
i may have said what's an example of a
time when you pivoted in your career
and what advice would you give to me as
my career goals are changing and i'm
navigating this transition
if i'm at a career fair talking to a
recruiter i may have said i'm currently
in the process of searching for my next
internship
what does your hiring process consist of
and how can i follow up with you if it's
a stranger that i just met at an event
i would focus on asking a question to
learn more about them and guide us into
more meaningful conversation
i may have said what's a book or podcast
that you found beneficial and would
recommend to a college student like
myself
speaking of questions that lead to more
meaningful conversations i did an entire
video on this where i give you even more
examples
so check it out next i have linked it in
the description below when it comes to
your personal elevator pitch
focus on telling a part of your story in
a concise manner
but always make sure that you're
tailoring it to the person that you're
speaking with and you're engaging them
with a relevant question so that you can
move
past the introduction one more time
here's the breakdown of a good personal
elevator pitch
briefly introduce yourself and include
that hook at the beginning
something like i'd love to hear your
thoughts share some of your unique value
with the goal of providing context and
being memorable and close with a
question that engages the other person
and keeps the conversation going always
remember to be respectful of the other
person's time
don't trap them in a super long
one-sided conversation that leads to
nowhere
most people like being helpful so the
best thing you can do is ask them a
question that's relevant to them and
allows them to share some of their
expertise with you
if they engage and they keep the
conversation going then continue to
follow up with questions from there
just make sure that after you deliver
your pitch you've taken the time to
listen
and practice situational awareness now
go forth and make me proud of your
personal elevator pitch
if you're feeling bold practice your
pitch in the comments below
and if you haven't already join
thousands of students in recent grads
around the world who receive the intern
hustle's weekly email newsletter
full of internship tips and inspiration
you can sign up at the internhusel.com
thanks for watching if this video gave
you some new insights today please give
it a like and share it with a friend or
two
hit that red subscribe button and bell
below so that you don't miss out on
future videos
in support of your hustle i'm jenna from
the internhusel.com
and i'll see you next monday
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