Blog Archive Crafting (or Updating) Your Pitch

Blog Archive Crafting (or Updating) Your Pitch In this blog series, our mbaMission  Career Coaches  offer invaluable advice and industry-related news to help you actively manage your career. Topics include building your network, learning from mistakes and setbacks, perfecting your written communication, and mastering even the toughest interviews. To schedule a free half-hour consultation with one of our mbaMission Career Coaches,  click here. At this time of year, many second-year business school students are actively engaging in the full-time job search and therefore seeking advice on how to talk about themselves. To help, we share two suggested frameworks for developing your pitch (also known as your career narrative, your positioning statement, or your story): Option 1: Consider the approach explained in this video clip from communications expert Jodi Glickman. She talks about the importance of starting with your destination (i.e., help your listener quickly and easily understand what you want) and then delving into your background and, most importantly, how your background connects to your target destination. Option 2: Craft a story using your strengths (i.e., three to four key skills that are relevant to your target audience), your desired work content (i.e., how you want to spend your time and what you want to achieve), and the attributes of your target organization. The content of this statement should be based on your own self-discovery and understanding of your value proposition and what motivates you as well as what you learn about the needs of your target marketplace. Depending on the situation, you can fill in any gaps in this statement with details about where you worked in the past (including your recent summer internship) and specific accomplishments. Of course, the content, delivery, and length of this statement should be adapted with respect to several factors, including the following: Relevance: Are you a career switcher? Audience: How close are you to your target audience? What are their needs? What is culturally appropriate for that company? Delivery: Will this statement be delivered via email or phone or in person? Purpose: What is your goal for the interaction? Rememberâ€"this is about relationship building. Be conversational, and create a connection between you and your contact. Have you been admitted to business school? If so, do you want to get a head start on defining your career goals? Do you need help preparing for job interviews or learning how to effectively network with your target employers? Or maybe you want to be a top performer in your current role but are unsure how to maximize your potential. Let an mbaMission Career Coach help via a  free 30-minute consultation!   Share ThisTweet Career Advice