Telling Your Story

Elevator Pitch

As you start to build your network, know your story. An "elevator pitch" is a concrete, highly focused tool to help you introduce yourself and share your skills, abilities, and interests with others. As you craft your "pitch," determine the most relevant and noteworthy pieces about yourself, including your educational background, work experiences, and strengths. Draw your listener in by using specific examples and highlighting your unique strengths. Consider the following example as you develop yours:

"My name is Michael Pepperdine and I'm currently a junior advertising major at Pepperdine University. Through my advertising and business classes I have developed a strong interest in the advertising field and would like to find a summer internship where I can further explore my interests. I have practical experience with advertising including a part-time position with the Graphic, where I collaborate with local businesses to increase and create ads for Pepperdine's weekly student newspaper. In addition, I interned last summer with a film production company in their marketing department, where I researched and analyzed various movie posters to help develop and design an advertising campaign for a recently released feature film. I am very detail-oriented and organized and believe that I will be a great asset to the advertising team at XYZ Firm."

Create your pitch by using our Personal Pitch Worksheet.