Building and Delivering a Great Elevator Pitch

Updated July 24, 20231.2k

An elevator pitch allows you to present your skills and career path to an employer. How can you capitalize on it most effectively?

Elevator Pitch

One of the best skills you can build is your ability to get across who you are and what you do in a very short period of time. Especially if you’re at a networking event, where many job seekers are able to talk to potential employers, there are many situations where you’ll be able to show off your elevator pitch. Here’s how you can create a basic elevator pitch to use at job fairs and beyond.

What Is an Elevator Pitch?

An elevator pitch is essentially a sales pitch for yourself. It’s named an elevator pitch or elevator speech because you should be able your pitch give the whole thing in the amount of time it would take for you to take an elevator ride to the top floor of a tall business building (in other words, within about 30 seconds). Entrepreneurs often need elevator pitches to encourage investors in their startups, and you might need your own elevator pitch to explain your work background if you’re looking for a new job.

How To Create the Structure of Your Elevator Pitch

Now that you know what an elevator pitch does, how can you create your own? This is how you can create a good elevator pitch to make a great first impression.

Hook the listener

The first step is to make sure the hiring manager actually listens to the whole thing. That means the perfect elevator pitch should start with something that immediately brings the listener in. A question such as, “Do you know how most people shop for their groceries?” brings the recruiter in and engages them with whatever you’re saying.
Explain your job

Next, you’ll do a quick explanation of what you do. An effective elevator pitch describes your job; it doesn’t just drop your job title. “I’m a salesperson” doesn’t sound as good as “I help business owners connect with small businesses to provide individualized support for their needs.” It answers the question, “Who are you?” Remember that this description should also tell the person why they might want to hire you. This description needs to show how you can effectively manage their pain points.
Drop your best achievement

Next, include your best achievement. This achievement is your unique selling proposition. It shows the key points that indicate why you’re the right person for this job. Your achievement may be something like, “I studied body language for six years and have effectively utilized it to help over 100 individuals sell their businesses.” It showcases that you have talent and that you can use that talent to help the person you’re talking to.
Include a call to action

Lastly, you need a call to action. This may be as simple as handing someone your business card and saying, “Let me know if my skills would be useful at your organization.” You want them to follow up with you and call you in for a job interview. Ending your elevator pitch with a call to action helps you ensure this.

Elevator Pitch Examples

Here are a few helpful examples of elevator pitches that you can use to structure your own.

How often do you think the average person eats out every year? That’s actually one of the things I researched when I was with McDonald’s. We found out that the average person eats out 50 times a year, and that the biggest impact on this number was an effective marketing campaign. I helped build the marketing campaign in question, and we ended up with a 24% increase in business. I would be happy to sit down with you and talk about how my marketing skills could help your company.

I was one of the first users of Facebook, and ever since, I’ve been fascinated with social media. That’s why I’m so obsessed with creating and understanding social media algorithms, which is what I do every day. I actually created an algorithm that helped businesses determine their ideal job markets, which increased average sales by 43%. Let me know if you need help with your company’s social media appearances.

These are all great templates to work off when trying to determine how best to turn these steps into action.

When Should You Use Your Elevator Pitch?

An elevator pitch usually works best when you have around 30 seconds to prove yourself to someone and you’re actively talking to your potential employer. That means it’s best in situations like these:

Career fairs
Actual elevator rides
Job networking activities and opportunities

In other contexts, you’ll typically want to use a resume. The resume builder from ResumeNerd is a great place to start if you’re not sure how to write your own resume.

FAQ: Elevator Pitch

How long should I aim to make my elevator pitch?

Your elevator pitch should hover around 20 to 30 seconds. Remember, you should be trying to make this speech in the amount of time it would take you to do an elevator ride. This isn’t the only tool you use for your job search; it’s one way to talk about yourself. Practice your pitch a few times until you’re fairly certain you can keep it to around half a minute.

How frequently should I expect to use my elevator pitch?

If you’re going somewhere like a job fair, you’ll probably be giving your elevator pitch over and over. The best career advice you can get is to just keep doing it. It might not work the very first time, but the more frequently you use it, the better you’ll be at giving it and the more likely you’ll be to get the job interview

Is it a good idea to memorize an elevator pitch like a script?

Not usually. Treat this more like an interview question and less like a script. You’ll want to keep the four points from earlier in mind like bullet points. Tailor the elevator pitch to the person you’re talking to for the best results.

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About The Author

Cindi Cervone Carlson

Cindi Cervone Carlson is a Senior Vice President for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Cindi is responsible for developing, delivering, and implementing a dynamic, world-class organization dedicated to delivering outplacement consulting, training, support, and executive coaching. Cindi started her career at Challenger as a client who had lost her job. Over the past nine years, she has risen from an entry-level, part-time professional to Senior Vice President.