CreateYo our30se econdCommercial

(Alsoknow wnastheElevator Speech S )

Believeitornot, n your30 0secondcommercialcanplayakeyro oleinyoursuc ccessfulpursu uitofacareer. Thinkofitasananimated dbusinesscar rd.Thisshort t,thirtysecon ndspeechholdsalloftheinformationt that youbelieveiscrucialinor gofwhoyou rderforother rstogainanunderstandin u uare,whatyo ou'recapableof andwhythey yshouldgiveyouaninterv view.Whenyou y finallyhav vetheoppor rtunity(e.g.,jobfairs,beginning ofinterviews s,conferences,networking gevents,etc.)toexpressw whatmakesy youunique,itisimperative ethat youtakeadvantageofthe esituation.In ntheworldofimmediate communicati ion,yourabilitytoconveykey facetsofyourbackground dinabrieftim meperiodisvital. v Creatingyou ur30secondcommercialis i notjustanoption.Itisa anabsolutene ecessity. UCSanDieg gobioenginee eringstudent t nowworking ginindustry.

Tips:
t:Andalways saddresstheindividualby yhisorherpr ropername.Oldfashione ed Makeeyecontact mann nerscanhave eamajorimp pactfromthebeginning. Know wyouraudience:Betterye et,researchthem. t Findou utwhotheya are,whatthe eirneedsare, and howyoumeetthe em.Knowing gthatyouhav vedoneyour homeworkw willmakeyoustandout, ctiveandconf fidentwhenthe t timecomestospeak. effec Emphasizekeype ersonalitytra aits:Youknow wthatyouha avemanystre engths.However,itis impo ortanttofocu usonthoseth hatwillappea altothispartiicularaudienc ce. Prepareanoutlin ne:Youmaywant w toconsid derrespondin ngtothefollo owingquestio onswhen deliv veringyourele evatorpitch: a.Whatareyourkeystrengths sandpositive equalities? b.Whatdoyouha avetooffer? c.Wh hyareyouint terestedinth hiscompanyor, o moregene erally,thisind dustry? d.Ho owdoyouwo orktomeetth hetypesofpr roblems/challlengesfacing gthisindustry yorjob? e.Whatuniqueco ontributionswill w youmake e? Perfe ectyourpitch h:Finalizeacohesivepitch h,ensuringit canbeeasily yfollowedand dflowssmoo othly. Beprepared:Answeranyfollo owupquestio onsthelisten ersmayhave e. Keep pintouch:Providethelistenerwithcon ntactinforma ationandaskfortheircard d Neverundere estimatethepotentialofnetworking. n Starting S offon nthewrongf footcanprev ventyoufrom m achievingyou urgoals.Don n'truinyourchance c forsuccess.Althou ughpreparati ionisanimpo ortantfirststep, thebestway ytoguarantee eaneffective eelevatorpitc chisthrough practiceandfeedback.
March2011,JoeCribari, C UCSanDie egoCareerService esCenter page1o of2

Samples
Weak Ihaveexperienceinmarketresearch.Myinternshiphasprovidedmewithexcellentleadershipand communicationskills.Myobjectiveistoworkforacompanyinmarketing.Igraduatein2010from UCSanDiego. Strong IamcurrentlyasenioratUCSanDiegograduatingwithadegreeineconomicsthisJune.Ihavetwoyears ofmarketresearchexperiencewithexpertiseinresearchdesign,constructionofanalyticalmodels,anddata analysis.Ihaveinternedatmycurrentcompanyfornearlyayear,anddevelopedanewonlineresearch methodologyusingTwitter,LinkedIn,andFacebookthatwasadoptedbythedepartmentandsavesthe companyanestimated$150,000annually.

Undergraduate IamasophomoreatUCSDstudyingurbanstudiesandplanning.Iamcurrentlyinvolvedoncampuswith theUrbanStudiesClub,whereIamtheProfessionalDevelopmentChair.Iinteractwithindustry professionalstocoordinatementorprogramsandjobshadowingopportunities.Throughthisexperience,I developedstrongcommunicationandprogrammanagementskillsbyplanningsuccessfulactivitiesand organizingdiverseresourceformembersintheclub.Ihadtheopportunitytoparticipateinofficetoursof SANDAGandamcurrentlybeingmentoredbytheexecutivedirectoroftheSanDiegoHousingCommission. Beinginvolvedhasmotivatedmetopursuethiscareeranddeepenedmycommitmenttoservingunder privilegedneighborhoods.IaminterestedinaninternshipwithyourorganizationwhereIcanutilizemy leadershipskillsandurbanstudieseducation.Arethereanyopportunitiesformetogetinvolvedinyour organization? Graduate IamcompletingmyPhDinpsychologyandamlookingforapositionasaresearchcoordinatorinamental healthcenter.Besidesmyresearch,Ischeduledtimetotakeadvantageofinternshipsandvolunteer opportunitiesoutsidemylab.IcurrentlyinternattheInteractiveMediaInstituteconductingclinical researchprotocolsandwritingscientificarticles.Lastyear,IinternedforPsychologicalProducts&Services asaneditorialassistant,editingtwobooksunderdevelopmentinthepsychologyfield.Duringthese experiences,Iwasacknowledgedbymysupervisorsformyabilitytoworkeffectivelywithinadiverseteam environment,problemsolve,andshareinformationbothverballyandinwriting.Areyoulookingfor someonewiththeseskillsandabilitiesatyourcenter?

March2011,JoeCribari,UCSanDiegoCareerServicesCenter

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