How and why you should develop your career elevator pitch

Simply rattling off your job title and a few credentials won’t get you that longed-for networking connection. Follow this guidance.

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Think pitches are only for salespeople and entrepreneurs?

Think again.

In many professional situations—from job interviews to conferences to networking—you have to be able to say who you are, what you do and why you’re great at it in a very short period of time. It allows you to have some something interesting to say and talk about when people ask what you do. More than that, it can also be an entrée to that new business deal, your ideal job or an important collaboration.

The trick is making it short and easy to understand, yet compelling and memorable.

Sounds easy enough, right? Well, try condensing all your education, work experience, expertise and passion into about 30 seconds. Not quite so easy.

The good news is that if you spend a little time crafting your career elevator pitch now and memorize it, you’ll be ready any time the opportunity to use it arises—which could be more often than you might think.

The basics of a good elevator pitch

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