Attending NACUE’s Student Enterprise Conference?
It Is Therefore Inevitable That You Will Be Pitching Your Skills To Employers Or Funders.
Prepare A Perfect Skills Pitch With My Easy Guide Below.
We should all be able to answer this simple question: “Tell me about yourself” but after delivering a variety of workshops, running hundreds of mock interviews and engaging with audiences during Careers & Enterprise Fairs, I have concluded that not only is this question very tricky but it is also one of the most dreaded among jobseekers, students and aspiring entrepreneurs. Introducing your skills and experience seems simple enough but we often get flustered when under pressure. That is why it is crucial to set aside some time with to prepare your pitch. After hearing countless amount of pitches, here comes my secret to the perfect skills pitch….
Make It Unique
To start the process of creating the skills pitch, close your eyes and imagine the following: Imagine getting into an elevator and bumping into an influential person who could change your career drastically. Within 60 seconds of going down in the elevator how would you sell your skills to get your contact details? Think about it for a minute or so and then write down everything that comes to your mind. The information that you provide in this exercise will serve as the basis for your pitch.
Give It A Structure
During the elevator pitch exercise, it is natural that you will come up with lots of unstructured and unrelated information. It is a good start but some flow is needed. An impressive skill pitch should answer the 3 key questions:
WHO ARE YOU?
In other words, how would the you describe themselves? For example, current IT student, recent Creative Arts graduate, expert in coding, aspiring entrepreneur within tech industry.
WHAT SKILLS/EXPERIENCE/ACHIEVEMENTS DO YOU HAVE?
Identify 2 or 3 skills/experience/achievements that are worth sharing with the employer and instead of just listing them demonstrate how that would benefit the future employer.
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
In other words, what are your aspirations? For instance: part-time job, work experience placement, full time job within certain industry, apprenticeship.
Practice It
Once the first draft is available, you will need time to practice is. As much as skill pitch looks great on paper, you need to have a chance to say out loud to brush up on your confidence and body language. As with everything in life: the more practice the easier it gets! The beauty of the skills pitch is that can be used within a variety of professional situations giving you the edge to stand out.
Interested In Finding Out More?
Great! I will be at the NACUE’s Student Enterprise Conference delivering an interactive workshop on “Express Yourself: Pitching Skills to Employers”. During the workshop, you will:
- Identify their strengths
- Explore methods of effective presentations
- Prepare your “skill pitch”
- Practice your pitch during networking simulation
Get Your Ticket for the Student Enterprise Conference Now!
