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When getting yourself prepared for a job interview, one thing that should be a must have in your toolkit is a 30 second elevator pitch. It’s a quick speech that summarises who you are, what you do and why you’d be a perfect candidate.

They call it an elevator pitch because it’s a speech that can be delivered in the time it takes to travel a couple of floors in a lift.

It should answer three questions:

Who are you and what do you do?

What’s your background? Where did you study? Where have you worked before that relates to this role?

Why should they care?

What’s in it for them? What skills do you have that will help this business to grow? What have you achieved?

What do you want?

Talk about your goals and how they align with the company you are applying to.

• Write it down.
• Try and commit it to memory, 
• BUT don’t get ready to reel it off like a drone.
  

Here’s an example of one:

“Hi, I’m Dave. I’m a programmer with a background in web development. I currently work at bigweb.com and my team and I have created a new Content Management System that makes web design really intuitive. I’m interested in working for a company that is looking for new business opportunities, and am after a new role where I can help the company attract new clients by making web design affordable and easy to understand."

If you know the content of your pitch you can work it into the conversation. This pitch helps you be more confident in your interview because you already have the answer to a lot of typical questions already wrapped up in this simple, punchy spiel.

Your career aspirations may change, so you should always update your pitch according to what you have done and what you are looking for.

Try practicing your pitch in front of the mirror and with other friends getting them to throw in questions to make it feel natural.