Introduction: Imagine you’re traveling in the metro and you find the CEO of a company you’ve always wanted to work for sitting next to you. You desperately want to grab this opportunity and introduce yourself. But then you realize that he’s getting ready to get off at the next station. You have 30 seconds before he walks away but it is too short a time for you. You fumble for words and end up just waving at him. Does this sound familiar? This scenario is one of many in which an elevator pitch would come in handy. Whether it's bumping into an old acquaintance at an event or sitting for an interview, there are many situations, planned and unplanned, when you need to make the right first impression. An elevator pitch helps you do just that. What is an elevator pitch? How do you structure an elevator speech? Tips to craft the perfect elevator pitch: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Take your time Express confidence Improvise Keep it simple Don’t skip the pleasantries Key elements to make a compelling Elevator Pitch 1. Introduce yourself >> No need to launch into your resume. Just give your name along with your current role. 2. Mention the context >> To make it clear that why you are addressing that person. Like introduction, keep it brief 3. State your ask >> What do you want from the listener or state the essence of your message. TASK – Day 1 Ask the students to prepare an elevator pitch about self for next class highlighting the USPs, strengths and value they add on. How to crack a job interview? 1. Write a story about yourself 2. Who you are >> likes to engage to get things done. Include USPs, strengths 3. Mention skills and justify them with examples What interviewers are looking for? They know that you’ve got the basic essential skills and now they wish to check whether you have the attitude to fit in their organization. They are also checking how self aware you are in terms of your strengths and weaknesses. Finally, they are testing higher order skills such as thinking, communication, collaboration and leadership. Example standard questions: WHY US? The interviewer wants to know why you are keen to work with their company. Here, knowing about their main business in not enough. Look at their history, founders, achievements, clients, competitors and values. Mention 3 reasons why you want to work for their company. Introspect and reflect about what appeals the most to you about that company and job role. WHY YOU? This is where you talk about how you can make a difference and how your life experiences and values make you a good fit. Talk about 2 or 3 things from your story that make you distinctive or interesting. Do Not chronologically tick items off your resume but concentrate on selling yourself. Use Elevator Pitch here. YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES? Here, interviewers are looking to assess your self-awareness, honesty and clear thinking. DO NOTE: While listing strengths >> Share examples of how you’ve demonstrated them previously. While listing weaknesses>> be prepared to share steps you are taking to improve on each of them Strengths >> It’s NOT a good idea to list 7-8 skills. Such a long list is counterproductive as it will confuse the interviewer. Hence, narrow them down to top 3. Weaknesses>> Be Authentic. Sharing one or maximum two weaknesses are good enough. Remember the actions you’re taking to overcome those weaknesses. CAN YOU SHARE AN EXAMPLE OF WHEN ……………? Get ready for the CurveBall… A Curveball is a surprise or unexpected question. The trick to handle a curveball is to stay calm. Take a pause. Don’t hesitate to ask for a minute to think about your answer. Here, interviewer is trying to judge not whether you know the answer but if you have the presence of mind to stay calm under pressure. ANY QUESTIONS FOR US? If you have prepared questions that means you have done home work. TASK – Day 2 Share the feedback & highlight the plus points from their elevator pitch and guide the students to make it more impactful. Students must get ready to come up with more effective elevator pitch in next class. TASK – Day 3 Highlight the plus points, share feedback and make the students summarize everything discussed so far.
