How To Perfect Your Interview Pitch And Score That Dream Job

You’ve been scouring the job market for agessss, and finally – FINALLY – you’ve scored yourself an interview at your dream gig. HORRAH. There’s just one tiny snag; those probing interview questions always leave you stumped, and though deep down you know that you’re the right girl for the job, somehow when it comes to the interview you can never quite get that across.

Well lady pal, that’s where your interview pitch comes in. But, er, what’s that when it’s at home?

To break it down, your interview pitch is a 30 second speech that summarises who you are, what you do and why you’d be a perfect candidate. In other words, it’s the perfect response to that tricky ‘tell me a bit about yourself’ question. You should be able to reel it off at any time, from a job interview to a cocktail party convo.

Sounds simple enough, right? But condensing 15+ years of your life achievements into a 30-second statement that packs a punch can feel as challenging as trying to stuff an elephant into your tote bag. We get that, but it is doable.

Fail to prepare

The key to your interview pitch is (surprise, surprise) preparation, so before you step foot into that interview room, and er, certainly the night before the big day, you best make sure yours is word perfect. How do you do that? To start, careers coach Carmel Morrissey recommends closing your eyes and imagining that you’re sharing an elevator with your dream employer (no not Mr Grey, stay focused!) they turn to you and say that you have until the elevator reaches the top floor to sell yourself.

Remember you should highlight where you have been, where you are and where you are going, always keeping it relevant to your audience.

So, what do you do now? Press the emergency button and hope some hunky fireman swoops in to save you? No. “Show your personality,” Carmel instructs. “Maintain eye contact and ensure you have a good tone and that you sound enthusiastic,” she explains.

Now, that you’ve got the basics sorted, you’ll need to pack your speech full of deadly achievements that showcase all your amazing attributes to your potential new employer. “Compare your elevator pitch to the job description if you are applying to a role and ask yourself if it relates to its core competencies,” says Carmel. In other words, have a mental list of achievements that correlate with the skills and experience your interviewer is after, and be ready to reel them off when the time comes.

Unsure what to include for maximum impact? Look to your CV and from there “summarise your education, relevant experience, major achievements and attributes,” she recommends. “Remember, it should highlight where you have been, where you are and where you are going, always keeping it relevant to your audience.”

Write for the job

Then, to make things easier for yourself, you should write your interview pitch out. Fill a page with what you would want to say, and cut it in half. Keep editing until you have a third of a page which includes at least three main highlights of your career. If needs be, grab a red pen and mercilessly delete everything that’s not critical to your pitch. Got it?

Now that you’re full prepped, the very last step is to take some time reading your elevator pitch out loud with friends and family, or even in front of the mirror. Now, go get that dream job.

By Jennifer Conway.

• advice
• CV
• Interview
• work