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Creating Your Elevator Pitch for an Employer in a Virtual Environment

Register for the Employing Those Who Serve Virtual Career Fair on April 18.

By Rachel Dhaliwal, GCDF, Career Coach, APUS and Jaymie Pompeo, GCDF, Senior Career Exploration Specialist, APUS

You may have heard that when approaching an employer, you should have an elevator pitch prepared. While this is good overall advice, it’s important to also know how to tailor that information for the situation you may find yourself in.

For instance, the traditional elevator pitch should be up to 30 seconds long. However, if you are presenting yourself in a virtual environment, 30 seconds of speech, typed out, would be off-putting. So how do you pare your content down for a virtual space?

Let’s talk about the Past-Present-Future formula, and how it can be used in constructing these introductory statements for a virtual setting.

Past

Ask yourself, “What am I bringing to the table?” Think of your relevant work history and/or education that has brought you to this point. Include also any internships or volunteer work that would be relevant to the position or employer. For instance:

Student A: “Hello, my name is Mack Truck and I have 13 years of logistics experience…”

Student B: “Hello, my name is Susan Cue. I have my Master’s in Emergency and Disaster Management…”

Student C: “Hello, my name is Alexandra Bell; I’m a military spouse with 4 years of varied customer service experience…”

Present

What are you doing academically and professionally right now? If not immediately, when would you be available to work?

Student A: “…I’m currently pursuing my B.A. in Homeland Security. I will be transitioning out of the Army September 1st…”

Student B: “…and I’m currently working towards my AEM certification. I’ve also been assisting with Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts in Houston as a FEMA reservist…”

Student C: “…I am looking for opportunities to work while pursuing my AA degree in Business Administration…”

Future

What is your target goal, industry or job? If you have a specific role in mind, reference it. If you have a preferred location, be sure to mention it.

Student A: “…and I’ve applied for your Maritime Security Officer 1 position at Norfolk.”

Student B: “I’m interested in your entry-level emergency management positions in the Northeast.”

Student C: “Can you tell me more about your military spouse work-from-home program?”

Putting It Together

Let’s take a look at how these simple steps come together to form fantastic opening statements for a virtual conversation:

Student A: “Hello, my name is Mack Truck and I have 13 years of logistics experience; I’m currently pursuing my B. A. in Homeland Security. I will be transitioning out of the Army September 1st and I’ve applied for your Maritime Security Officer 1 position at Norfolk.”

Student B: “Hello, my name is Susan Cue. I have my master’s in Emergency and Disaster Management and I’m currently working towards my AEM certification. I have also been assisting with Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts in Houston as a FEMA reservist. I’m interested in your entry-level Emergency Management positions in the Northeast.”

Student C: “Hello, my name is Alexandra Bell; I’m a military spouse with 4 years of varied customer service experience.  I am looking for opportunities to work while pursuing my A. A. degree in Business Administration. Can you tell me more about your military spouse work-from-home program?”

These concise opening statements work for a virtual environment because they provide relevant and useful information upfront, which allows the employer to respond in an immediately productive way.

Now that you feel more confident in approaching and starting a conversation with a potential employer, come try it out at our Employing Those Who Serve VCF on April 18th.

If you would like to work with your career coach on this or other important considerations for a successful VCF experience, reach out to us today at careerservices@apus.edu.

Register for the Employing Those Who Serve Virtual Career Fair on April 18.

Rachel Dhaliwal is a Senior Career Coach with 10 years of experience in higher education. In addition to supporting students and alumni throughout their career journey, Rachel also serves as the university point of contact for those interested in the federal Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program. She holds a B.S. in psychology from Troy University, as well as the Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) and the EQ-i 2.0/EQ 360 Certification credentials.

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