The 1-Minute Pitch

By Kristiana Henkel

This Wednesday is Employer Day and when you walk up to talk to a recruiter you’ll be asked that dreaded question. “Tell me about yourself.”

It is such an open-ended, difficult question to answer. How do you summarize who you are to them in the 30-60 seconds you have to answer that question? The answer is much easier than you would think. You just need to write your one-minute pitch.

A one-minute pitch, (or elevator speech as it is also known) is an invaluable tool to develop for networking events such as Employer Day. It is also useful for interviews and those times you find yourself presented with a networking opportunity.

Building and writing your pitch is very simple. You will want make sure to include a few key details.

• Your Name
• Your Major
• Your overall skills and knowledge
• Your Career Goals

Here is an example of a one-minute pitch that we have written:

“I am a junior majoring  in Business Administration at Florida Institute of Technology. I have done well in my Finance courses, such as Options, Futures Markets and Investment Analysis. I am also a member of Collegiate Entrepreneurial Organization and I enjoy doing day trades in my spare time. I’ve actually become a successful investor on my own by following industry trends and company reports. I am now looking for an internship in a brokerage firm.”

The most challenging aspect of a one-minute pitch is practicing it to a point where it sounds natural and develop a way to adapt to the different situations you find yourself in.

To help you write your own one-minute pitch we have created a worksheet hosted in our Career Resource Center under Job Fairs. While you are there check out our other resources to help prepare you for your future career!