What’s Wrong with My Pitch? (c) Amy Geffen
Your pitch is your 30 -120 second advertisement for you. It is your commercial that you can use when you meet new people, in your cover letter, in your resume, in your interview, in your follow up letter. It is pretty much the single most important piece of promotion for your job campaign. But sometimes your pitch may not be working for you.
What is wrong with your pitch?
1. Too short – If you just say who you are and what job you are looking for ..then it is too short. You need to be specific about yourself. Ten seconds is too short. Sometimes 45-60 seconds is long enough.
2. Too long – If you go on and on, people will get bored. They will tune out. They will stop listening and you will miss the point of the pitch. Two minutes is a long time. If you go beyond that you will lose them.
3. Doesn’t differentiate you – What makes you different? Do you make computers dance? Do you solve every problem that comes your way? Do you have a perfect record? Were you the first to do something in your company? The first to launch online learning? The first to use webinars?
4. Doesn’t talk about accomplishments – Don’t fall into the trap of simply repeating your job description. Everyone with your job title has the same job description. You need to differentiate yourself with the specific accomplishments. Use the P.A. R. method: what problem did you solve? what action did you take? what was the result? Talk about one or two accomplishments and your results that you are proud of.
5. Needs a specific job function – if you don’t know what you are looking for, the person you are talking to won’t be able to help you. You need to settle on one or two choices for a job function. That helps the listener to focus on your area of expertise.
Craft your pitch. Include some specific accomplishments. Practice your pitch so that it comes naturally. You don’t want to sound like you are reading it.
Amy Geffen is a Five O’Clock Club Certified Career Coach with over 30 years of experience in management, non-profits and associations. She has worked with finance, insurance and engineering professionals as well as lawyers, editors, marketers, students, and those over 50 experiencing ageism..
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