Senior Challenge #1-The 30-Second Speech
You might be asking yourself, what is a 30-second elevator speech?
It is the dreaded response to the question, “Tell me about yourself.”
Many employers begin an interview with this very common question. And many students answer with a very common answer.
My name is…
My major is…
I went to school at…
Career counselors recommend you plan ahead for each interview and prepare with a vivid and concise introduction. You don’t want to walk the interviewer through your resume or tell your life-story. We challenged Anthony Jacobsmeyer (Chapman University, 2013) to prepare his 30-second elevator speech.
Here is how he got started…
Anthony wrote down the following about himself.
- What are his strengths?
- Adjectives that describe him.
- What does he do best?
Spend time thinking through each of these areas. Consider asking a mentor, friend or teacher to help you with this and see what they would say about you. Remember, these are important pieces of information to know about yourself not just for your introduction, but an entire interview.
Next, Anthony took time to answer the following questions.
- Who am I?
- What do I do well?
- What have been my major involvements and skills I have learned during college?
- How do I contribute to a team?
- What am I looking for in a job?
Finally, Anthony was ready to begin putting his speech together.
Practice, practice, practice.
Check out Anthony's Elevator Speech!