Every week I speak with highly qualified candidates who resist narrowing their job search to one specific job, and instead are hoping to cast their job search net wide for more opportunities. But, without a targeted job objective coupled with a compelling Elevator Pitch, recruiters and hiring managers won’t be clear as to what you can do for them and as a result, won’t hire you.
If you are unfocused in your job objective, Marc Cenedella, Chairman of The Ladders (the premier mobile and online job-matching service for career-driven professionals) recommends in his article Seeking VP, Anything:
“In the job search, you must be precise and concrete about your value and career goals, and shape an elevator pitch that reflects them”
You have 30 seconds to grab your target audience’s attention. Do this by creating a compelling Elevator Pitch that speaks to your key talents and your career goals.
Using your job title doesn’t cut it as it doesn’t tell your audience anything about you and how you add value to organizations. Instead, craft a compelling Elevator Pitch. Cenedella recommends that instead of: “I’m a saleswoman”, shift it up to note what you can do: “I’m a sales management professional looking to lead a 100+ person sales organization, and am particularly interested in opportunities leading sales teams going through the transactional-to-relationship-selling transition.”
By targeting your job search to a specific career objective you will increase your job search success. A compelling Elevator Pitch will open doors to job opportunities as people will understand who you are, your areas of expertise, and how you contribute to organizational success.
Author: Joanne Loberg of JL Careers Inc. is a Certified Executive Coach, Internationally Certified Career Management Professional and highly skilled workshop facilitator. She specializes in coaching professional and executive clients, and providing career advancement strategies. Copyright JL Careers Inc. All rights reserved.
Need help crafting a compelling Elevator Pitch?
Connect with Joanne Loberg, Certified Executive Coach, for a complimentary telephone consultation. She’ll interview you to determine what you need to do to start putting your best foot forward when networking. We’ll begin identifying how you add value to organizations and then move to honing your Elevator Pitch.
Wishing you much career success!
Joanne
