You’ve made Aliyah or gotten your work permit for Israel. Now what? If you have been searching for a job in Tel Aviv like so many others, you’ll find the job market is pretty competitive. So how do you stand out when you network, ESPECIALLY if the interaction is just a minute!?

Cue the elevator pitch (aka elevator speech). Done right, the short blurb can introduce you to new professional and career connections, but done incorrectly, can make you overlooked, or worse yet, tarnish your brand.

So why is it called the elevator pitch? (maybe for our Tel Aviv purposes we should call it a Bus-Stop Blurb?) No one has the time to listen to someone else ramble on about all their accomplishments, so this speech is ideally 30-45 seconds in length, roughly the time it takes to go from the bottom to the top floor of a building, you guessed it, in an elevator (or in our case, one stop to another on the Kav!). Ideally, you will engage the listener and intrigue them, making them to want to know more.

What should you do?
Be passionate.
Share your skills.
Mention your goals.
Know your target audience and tailor your speech accordingly.
Practice, Practice, Practice!
And...have your business card ready.

What shouldn’t you do?
Don’t speak too fast.
Don’t ramble on and on and on.
Don’t be boring in your content or tone of voice

Example:

Hi, My name is Tamar *shakes hand* I’m graduating with an MBA specializing in Human Resource Management this month from Hebrew U in Jerusalem. I have always been fascinated by psychology in the workplace, and particularly how to optimize potential and productivity at work while enjoying what you do. I am skilled at communication and strategic thinking, as well as empathizing with people and their needs. My goal is to recruit for a firm specializing in matching Olim with meaningful jobs.”