Do you have a personal elevator speech? Honest to god, I hope you don’t. Elevator speeches are needy, and as we’ve established before, no one wants to hire a needy person.
- Describe yourself in a clear and concise way to potential employers and clients.
- Understand your strengths and weaknesses.
- Don’t do business with anyone who will only give you 27 seconds to talk.
When someone asks me about Punk Rock HR, I keep it simple. That’s how conversation works and I don’t want to be rude. I say, “I’m a former HR professional. I provide anti-establishment career advice. I make money on the internet because the economy sucks.”
You want to talk more? Great. If not, let’s talk about something else. I don’t care. You shouldn’t care, either, because you are awesome and you don’t want to work for someone — either an employer or a client — who wants you to distill your existence into a soundbite.
Barf.
Take that elevator speech everyone tells you to write about yourself and throw it down a flight of stairs.
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Once again Laurie, You are right! I never even heard of an elevator speech until I joined Twitter. Not something I believe in!!
Unemployment is bad, The economy is bad, People are trying to reinvent themselves like crazy, to come accross as someone(who they are not) It is nuts! I am living the madness after losing my job since January, No one is hiring, It is Bad. These times Force us to re-evaluate everything: People, Places, things, wants, needs, and they also make you live simply and Keep the costs LOW. You are a joy to follow! Keep up the great work, I really want to meet you someday!
Shennee:)
No elevator speech, but I haven’t been consistently good at marketing myself either. I like for my work to speak for itself. I haven’t been in the job market for years, but after thousands of interviews I can tell a prepared elevator speech from a genuine answer to my question. Elevator speeches are not conducive to conversation. They are almost like that part of windows start-up where you are waiting for the blue bar to stop moving across the screen so you can get to work.
I guess it all depends on how you define “elevator speech.” I like the idea of not doing business with anyone who won’t give you more than 27 seconds to talk, but realistically, that might be the length of an introduction that can lead to more conversation.
I teach my clients to craft a pitch of about 20-35 words – a basic and direct introduction, along the lines of how you introduce Punk Rock HR. I refer to this as an “elevator pitch” – keeping in mind that the elevator might be in a very short building!
Less is more! I agree that being able to capture what you do and what you have to offer without boring your audience to tears is the first crucial step to success!
DING DING DING! Thank you. I hate the elevator speech schtick. It’s garbage. It’s so painfully obvious when people are giving their elevator speech, I have to force myself to not physically cringe. Ever try to ask someone a non-yes-or-no question immediately after they give their E speech? It’s hysterical. Their eyes get huge and their tongue literally twists into a knot. I used to do that for sport. Alas, I am less evil now. A little.
Oh my gawd. I thought I was the only one.
I hate all rehearsed answers. It drives me batty when someone asks the “answer” to an interview question (like, “What should I say when they ask what sort of culture I’m looking for?). I mean, how about just…answering the question? Because if they don’t like the answer, you shouldn’t work there.
Too polished is never attractive.
@shennee Good luck with your search!
@TimG I really feel for job seekers who feel that they have to ‘market’ themselves. The system of finding a job in America is so broken.
@Miriam Your advice is so great. Everyone should visit your site. I just disagree with the notion that job seekers must WOW an employer in the first 30 seconds. Who holds the power? Companies cannot exist without talent and labor. Until we bring confidence to our interviews, we will continue to propagate this dysfunctional cycle of recruiting.
@Jenn You are evil. Going into law might be dangerous!!
@Kerry Too polished makes me feel sorry for the job seeker. Too polished = too eager. No thanks.
Hate the idea of an elevator speech. Reminds me of those late nite commercials with those used car dealers.
However I do believe in order to speak confidently about yourself you need to be comfortable in your own skin. Thus didn’t happen for me until my late 30s and it really made a Hugh difference in my life.
So embrace who you are (flaws and all) and be true to youself and your personality will shine through for all to see. Whether you take the elevator or the stairs.
Isn’t the cliche of the elevator ride is when you’re kissing up to the boss and you find out he’s a racist asshole, cheating on his wife, talking about the T&A in the office, etc. and you’re left with a sick feeling in your stomach– but can’t resist the temptation to use it to your advantage???
I know I have many a developed fantasies about elevators (c’mon, no self-respecting guy doesn’t), but I know I don’t have an “elevator speech”. That’s a good thing, right?? the speach part, I mean. lol
Tell it like it is… and keep the answers short and to the point. I don’t, and I’m pretty sure you don’t, want a droning story about your second cat Fluffy2, cause Fluffy1 was killed in a tragic air balloon accident over god knows where and………. then there was….. and….. Shut Up!!!!!
Having a fake-ass elevator speech just seems so…..well, fake ass.
I understand the premise – be prepared, be focused and be concise when opportunity knocks. But just being confident and knowing who you are and what your strengths should be a great foundation. The rest should come easily – and naturally.
I think this goes hand in hand with understanding what to do in an interview. People who are smart, self-aware and able to assess a question (or situation) critically are going to kick ass. People who aren’t as intuitive about their goals or their focus are going to fail.
Up until I was probably about 30, I over-rehearsed for interviews when i was going to be the job applicant. I prepared answers, stories, examples, down to the pauses and jokes (i.e. showing the interviewer my human side – gag me – what was I thinking?). I thought I was just being prepared, but actually, I was uber-prepared to the point of excessiveness.
After I got offers and even accepted some jobs that were NOT a good fit for me, the light finally dawned. Why would I want a job where they were hiring the ‘fake’ me; how did I think I could be happy or they could be happy with me? Obviously, I should have I wanted them to want to hire the real-me based on what I truly say and answer – as in a conversation. After I stopped this ridiculous over-preparation, I, as the job-seeker, was much better able to assess if I was making the right decisions in accepting a job.
@HRJEFE Great advice. Youth is wasted on the young. I feel so much more confident in my 30s than I did in my 20s. If only I had fewer wrinkles… thank goodness for Picnik!
@MattyMat Remind me to stay off the elevator with you. CRAZY!
@Patrick I love the phrase ‘fake ass.’ I also love brokeass (one word) and dumbass. Also, I really love assbag.
@Rool OMG, such good advice. We can’t wear two masks — it never works out well and we make schizophrenic & unfortunate choices.
The elevator speech does seem kinda – Amway’ish? You don’t want to memorize it and say the same thing to everyone. Then you won’t sound real. But the concept, tone and tenor of your point can be provided in a believable manner.
My simple one is “I’m a laid off Data Network Engineer”. Plain and simple. No one knows what that is anyway, so no one asks any more questions
I read this post on Saturday, but have been thinking about it since. Errr – thus a great post Laurie!
I think the context of the phrase “elevator speech” twist this concept. The phrase sounds “canned” [never met anyone who thought messaging in a canned fashion was worth a hoot] and rehearsed. I loathe the thought.
However; in a job search – since I am in charge or the power – doesn’t it favor me to be ready (and on the fly – vary my message) to someone that might be interested? Might know someone that could use my skills? Provide some direction (usefulness TBD)?
The thing that comes to mind is the classic line from Jerry McGuire – “You had me at hello.” Why wouldn’t someone want to make a solid first impression with a little forethought?
Canned – no way, precise – you bet, authentic – better be, memorable – why not…. it’s just an “elevator ride”.
@LaidoffGuy When I first read your comment, I thought you wrote that an elevator speech seems Amish. Hey, either way, it works.
@David Thank you for the great comment and insight. You had me at hello!
Except that the Amish wouldn’t be found in an elevator! Ba-dum cha!
re: Elevator Speech,etc. I wonder what happened to the days when you sent you gave your prospective employer, started your relatively simple job with- -out having to constantly having to assess yourself, etc. You could choose just to work without self- -obsessing over skills, etc.