How to Write an Elevator Pitch for an Interview (With Examples)
An elevator pitch is a crucial tool you can use to set yourself apart from other candidates and win over the hiring manager in a job interview. This concise speech can help you highlight your job qualifications, express your personality, and convey your enthusiasm, all in a matter of seconds.
Read on for a how-to on drafting a short but impactful statement that will make a lasting impression and boost your chances of getting the job.
What is an elevator pitch?
An elevator pitch is a brief summary that encapsulates who you are as a candidate. It’s called an elevator pitch because it’s roughly the length of an elevator ride–a minute or less. It’s useful for making connections and helping people remember you during a brief interaction. In the context of a job interview, your elevator pitch should help an interviewer get an understanding of your key skills and what you can bring to the table, along with your broader career goals.
How is an elevator pitch used in a job interview?
One of the most common opening lines in job interviews is ‘tell me about yourself.’ An elevator pitch is the perfect way to respond. It helps a hiring manager quickly comprehend your capabilities, personality, and career trajectory while directing them on what questions to ask next. In a job interview, an elevator pitch:
Summarizes your skills
Skills are among the most important aspects an interviewer looks for since these capabilities directly determine whether you can perform the job’s duties. Summarizing your skills in your elevator pitch helps the hiring manager check this important box.
Provides context on your career
Another very common interview question is ‘why do you want this job?’ You can use your elevator pitch to share where you’ve been in your career up to this point and demonstrate that this position is a practical next step.
Offers a glimpse of your personality
While practicing and refining your elevator pitch is a good idea, you don’t want it to sound like you’re reading from a script. Instead, it should feel like you’re talking to a friend. Speaking in your natural voice gives the interviewer a sense of your personality, which can be useful in gauging culture fit.
Sets you apart from other candidates
It’s the norm for interviewers to talk with many similar candidates. Everyone who’s made it to the interview stage has met the same set of minimum requirements, so it’s not surprising that multiple interviewees could have backgrounds that closely resemble one another. You can leverage your elevator pitch to differentiate yourself from other applicants by including a memorable detail or unique aspect of your background.
Qualities of a good elevator pitch
A good elevator pitch is…
Succinct
Brevity is the whole point. Remember, this is meant to be a statement you can make during a short interaction like riding in an elevator or waiting in line. Being a clear communicator is a sign of being a clear thinker; articulating your elevator pitch in a concise manner demonstrates your ability to clearly communicate complex topics.
Specific
Your elevator pitch should be distinct to you. If a close friend or family member were to hear it, they should instantly be able to tell you’re the person it’s describing. Including specific details makes your pitch memorable while conveying your distinguishing characteristics.
Unique
How are you different from every other applicant in the pile? What makes you uniquely qualified to do this job well? A good elevator pitch communicates why you’re the person a hiring manager should zero in on for this particular role.
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How to write an elevator pitch for an interview
1. List the basics
It’s easy to get started on your elevator pitch by assembling the core details: your name, your current job and/or industry, and an overview of your experience. Stating the number of years you’ve been in the field is a fast, effective way to summarize your experience level.
2. Highlight your selling points
Next, identify what makes you a good fit for this role. It’s a great idea to reference the job description and hit on the top two or three requirements. For example, if the job listing states that a master’s degree is a plus, and you have one, you’d want to call attention to this in your elevator pitch.
Related: How to Sell Yourself in an Interview
3. Outline your goals
This part requires a bit of strategy. Your elevator pitch should express your career goals, but it must do so in a way that incorporates the position you’re interviewing for. Too much information can be a bad thing. For example, if your goal is to one day run your own business, but you’re applying for a manager position, it’s not a great look to indicate that you’ll ultimately want to leave the company. The key is to give an impression of your general aspirations that are driving you to apply for this position.
4. Sprinkle in unique facts
These are the interesting details of your life that you might tell a friend over coffee or use as your “fun fact” during an icebreaker exercise. Choose details that are relevant to your career or that give you credibility as a candidate. Things like serving in the Peace Corps, speaking another language, or having won a recognizable award are all strong pieces of information to include.
5. Write a first draft
Take all of the information we’ve covered thus far and combine it to form a first draft. Don’t worry about how long it is at first. You’re almost certainly going to cut it down in the next step. Just focus on getting all the details on paper in words that sound like your voice.
6. Edit
Now, it’s time to turn your first draft into a polished, succinct elevator pitch. Look for lines of text that can be shortened and details that can be omitted. Remember, we’re looking for the strongest, most compelling information about you as it pertains to this specific job. Other less important details can be discussed later in the interview.
Edit your pitch until it’s between 75 and 150 words; for most people, this amount of text takes between 30 seconds and one minute to read out loud.
7. Practice
Once you have a final (or close to final) draft, practice reading it out loud. To make it sound more natural, some people may find it helpful to turn each sentence into a bullet point and ad-lib talking about that point. That way, your pitch feels fresh each time rather than repeating the same scripted phrases repeatedly, which can come across as sounding contrived.
Elevator pitch example #1
“My name is Martha Mayer, and I’m a computer engineer with four years of experience. I help my company’s software team troubleshoot bugs in my current job. My goal is to work more closely on programming, which is why I’m interested in this role. I’m familiar with C and Java and am currently enrolled in a Python boot camp. I am proficient in Mandarin Chinese, which I pursued because of its potential to help me collaborate with developers worldwide.”
Elevator pitch example #2
“I’m Ed McDaniel. I’ve been working as a lab technician for two years, and I’m looking for an opportunity that will allow me to participate more actively in research. I’ve worked on genotyping and DNA extraction and have a strong knowledge of lab equipment maintenance. Before becoming a lab technician, I got certified as an EMT, which is what initially sparked my interest in biology. I hope to one day work in an oncology lab, contributing to advancements in cancer research.”
Elevator pitch example #3
“My name is Victoria Mendez, and I’m a social media manager for a packaged foods company. I’m passionate about using social media to connect with consumers in new and creative ways. In addition to all the major social networks, I have experience with graphic design, video editing, and ad management. My proudest moment in my five-year career is creating a meme based on one of our snack foods that was shared more than 5,000 times.”
Writing the perfect elevator pitch for a job interview is a bit of an art, but mastering it will put you ahead of the curve when it comes to impressing the hiring committee and landing your next great professional opportunity.
