For many, the idea of selling yourself to a future employer can be uncomfortable, and even daunting. After all, highlighting your own qualities and skills can seem unnatural. However, knowing how to pitch your achievements and career goals at an interview, career fair or assessment centre could be crucial to landing a graduate job.
A personal pitch is basically a quick and concise introduction to yourself, your background and any relevant experience that you have had – having one ready can be a great tool particularly for graduate interviews, careers fairs and when networking.
Creating one can help you gain a better understanding of what employers want and can ensure you process the right information so you can demonstrate how you meet the job requirements quickly and concisely.
How to sum yourself up
Introducing yourself to someone may sound simple, but it can be really easy to get flustered when you are under a little bit of pressure. You may only have a couple of minutes before someone important needs to catch a train, move-on to someone else or get on with other activities.
Think about your top five or so experiences while at university, work or in your personal life and consider what you learnt from them to determine which ones you should focus on getting across.
The majority of your pitch should be spent giving a brief run through of your work and academic history, making sure to highlight your most important experiences and what you learnt. You can finish it off by talking about why you want to work in the industry and by outlining some brief career goals.
Practice makes perfect
In this instance, practice really does make perfect, especially when you are likely to be under pressure when pitching yourself. It’s best to find a family member, or a friend, and practice selling yourself to them. Often a second opinion can help you refine what you are saying and highlight any odd phrases or signs of nervousness.
Striking a balance between being well practiced and sounding like it is natural can be tricky, but you really do not want it to come across as though you are reciting something. Keeping some flexibility within your pitch will ensure it comes across well and means you can add or avoid something if you choose.
If you’re a graduate looking to kick-start your career, have a chat with Discovery Graduates and see how they can help get you started
