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Career Corner
The Elevator Speech Marketing Tool

Gavin F. Redelman -- An elevator speech is a critical and effective self-marketing tool for setting yourself apart from the competition. Here's why no job seeker should ever leave home without one.

When you're on the search for a new job, it's important to pull out all the stops. The competition for jobs is fierce; in order to stand out amongst the crowd you have to market yourself in the best way possible. For some of us, that doesn't come as easily as others but creating an "Elevator Speech" concisely stating who you are and your most valuable assets can get you on the right track.

For those of you who haven't heard of an Elevator Speech, it's a speech designed to sell an organization or individual's brand to someone in the amount of time it takes to ride in an elevator with a stranger from the top of the building to the bottom floor. It should be engaging, persuasive and brief so that you could theoretically tell it to anyone you meet for career networking, job fairs, during job interviews if asked to talk about yourself, or in everyday situations where you might meet someone and describe what you do in your professional life.

An Elevator Speech should be:

Brief: This is something short and to the point that you can easily remember. The short version need only be 15 to 30 seconds but you can also create a longer, more in-depth version between 1-2 minutes long.

Persuasive and enthusiastic: If you're not excited about your "product", which in this case is yourself, then why should anyone else be? Present yourself confidently and build up the accomplishments you've made.

What you need to include:

Your name: Your recent position or career field. State your current position or professional title so people can understand what line of work you're in. If you're a student or recent grad it's okay to use that as your position.

A few of your top skills and recent accomplishments: This is where you really sell yourself. What makes you unique? What makes you an invaluable asset to any company or organization? Talk about what you see as your key skills in the workplace and some successful accomplishments you've achieved. You could include a promotion, recognition you received, a new program you implemented, sales goals you reached, and so on. It's important to be honest about your accomplishments but don't downplay your work either. Activities we take for granted in a job can usually be seen as valuable experience and achievements.

What you're looking for: If you are in the market for a new job or career change, think about how to mention what field or job positions you're looking for and how you are hoping to apply your previous experiences and skills (your transferable skills) in a new job or industry.

Create a sample Elevator Speech and test it out on friends and family to get some feedback. Make sure your speech really is a self-promotion and convinces individuals and employers of your invaluable competences.

An internationally recognized and respected career expert, Gavin Redelman, founder of RedStarRésumé and White Knight Content Marketing, splits his time between the USA and Australia. Known as a career strategist and master of “Achievement Based” resume writing, Gavin is also a prolific blogger and writer and has had articles published around the world in newspapers, journals, student and graduate publications and magazines, and recently published his 6th career EBook. For more information on résumés that get you noticed, visit RedStarResume.com

© 2013 Gavin F. Redelman

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