Elevator Pitch

You’ll hear many different ideas regarding your elevator pitch, also called an elevator speech. The elevator pitch is your concise way of telling someone, such as a potential employer, who you are and your work interests in the time it would take you to ride an elevator (15-45 seconds). It is the start of the process of “selling” your skills and yourself for an internship or job.

You must be concise—do not give unimportant information. Below is a basic format that certainly can be altered as you see fit. Ignore what is not applicable to you.

You’ll offer your “pitch” when someone says, “can you tell me a little bit about yourself”, typically at a job or internship fair or networking event.

It is crucial that you do not memorize these statements. Rather, you should have them practiced enough that it’s comfortable for you to share naturally with the person you are meeting.

• Hello, my name is _________________________________________________________________ and I am completing a ________________________________ degree in _______________________________________ at The University of Akron, with a minor in (if applicable) __________________________________________.
• I am interested in a career in (or position as a) __________________________________________ in the _______________________________________________________________ field (industry). I have had an internship (or employment) as a ________________________________ with ______________________________________ and learned a lot about ______________ ________________________________________________________________________________.
• I have developed skills in ______________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________because of my involvement in_____________________________________ .
• I’m wondering if you could tell me more about ____________________ (position available or internships; you should do research on the companies that are at a career or internship fair ahead of time).