20-second elevator pitch
Question:
I was recently at a networking function looking for employment opportunities in marketing. A vice president from a great company walked up to tme and said “What do you do?” I froze and blurted out a few words. I completely embarassed myself. How do I deal with a similar situation in the future so as to make a great first impression?
Answer:
I am reminded of a true story about aone brief conversation between a rich old man and a young naive university graduate.
It was a summer of 1998. I was running my own lawn-care business. One particular client was a very rich man who owned a mansion on a corner property with lots of grass and who paid very well. Oddly, he would stare at me doing my work from his veranda.
One hot day in July he called out my name and gestured me to come to the house. He sat me down, handed me a cold glass of water and said: “Would you like to know the secret to my financial success?” I said “Yes.”
Then he said six words. “Show up” and “do a reasonable job.” He explained further.
Show up
Do what you say you are going to do. Most people do not follow up on commitments. For those who do, they stand out automatically.
Do a reasonable job
Most people don’t even do any job. They don’t even try. Either they procrastinate or they are perfectionist and never even get started. By doing a reasonable job you make things more manageable and are more likely to get started and build your momentum.
You must continue to show up to these functions and do a reasonable job. Here is how you do it.
Next step
Write your elevator pitch based on this modem: “Hello my name is Mirna. I am a marketing research analyst with experience in the financial services industry. I am particularly strong at excel modelling. I am interested in employment opportunities in banking and telecommunications. How about you?”
Weekly remedy
If you love networking read The Frog and the Prince. If you don’t love networking read Don’t Dine Alone.
Email your questions to: info@Dr-Career.com. Listen to Career FastTrack “Live” Mondays at 5.30 p.m. on CiTR 101.9 FM or online at citr.ca
In February 2008, the founder of MPLOYR and MPLOYR Express set out to create a free employment website like
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