KISS: The Elevator Speech

Don’t think for a second that your elevator speech isn’t important! It is so important that it is one of the most critical elements of an effective job search.  No lie. It’s true. 

Here is a short list of simple things to remember when crafting your elevator speech:

1. Explain what you do in the words that an elementary school aged child can understand.
2. Keep it short – no more than 60 seconds. 90 seconds or more is too long.
3. Give the actual title of the position you are desire. Don’t assume they can figure it out.
4. Tell people the following things about you: Your name, your position, the value you bring to an organization, what industry you want to work in and where you want to work geographically.
5. Write your elevator speech out. Use it like a script; memorize it, love it, and use it, repeatedly. Because people are bad listeners, it may take a few times for your message to sink in. If you keep changing your elevator speech, they’ll never understand what you do and what you are looking for.  

Okay, the other truth to be told, is that writing an effective elevator speech is not simple at all.  It takes a lot of thought and rewrites. Yet, once it is done, this powerful script will serve you well for a long time to come. Cross my heart!