Professional Pitch Draft

The single most powerful professional tool you can use in your career is the ability talk about yourself as an asset to drive your value. Practicing, iterating, and refining your pitch is how you carve out the narrative of you.

Create a 60 second video of your professional pitch, built according to the guidelines below.

Later in the course, you’ll get feedback on this pitch from your peers. Watch your video, make note of how to improve it, and record it again as many times as needed.

Assignment

Submit a link to the video:

Guidelines

A professional pitch is a clear and brief message about you. It conveys who you are, what you do, and how someone can benefit from your value by sharing your impact on tech. A well prepared and practiced pitch is powerful and influences opportunities to your favor.

How to prepare

  1. Know your why. Be able to talk about your purpose on this planet. Your why separates you from all other applicants by being able to share your life’s vision and mission. More importantly, when applying you need to be able to share your purpose (value) while coupling it with their vision and mission.
  2. Write it down. Include your past in your story, although do not go into the details, rabbit holes, or focus on it too much. You want to show potential employers that you have accomplishments and work experience that will benefit their company, product and team. Share your love of technology, why this skill is your passion, and the current impact you are making as a technology professional.
  3. Format it. Make sure that it answers three questions, not necessarily in this order: Who are you (name and history), what you do (job title), and what value you bring (your why/passion). Prepare a few different variations that you can use depending on who you are meeting. Master a few talking points for longer conversations.
  4. Practice it out loud. Make it smooth until it no longer sounds rehearsed. It will feel awkward at first, but this is the only way to get a polished pitch. Read it out loud all the time to whoever will listen, or just in front of a mirror. Try it out on friends and fellows students, and video record it for self-assessment critique. Muscle memory will win everytime when you are nervous, you will default to what you have practiced when you feel nervous.
  5. Be confident with your body language. Practice and then practice some more. It makes you feel comfortable and confident. Remember this is your story and own it! Be confident and look everyone in the eye, stand tall, smile, use your hand gestures (no hands in pockets or crossed arms over chest), control how much you are moving.
  6. If applicable, remove the name of where you studied. We are honored to be a part of your journey but we are not your skill, your stack is your skill. It is important that you work on your own personal branding, and when you use the name of your school in your story it highlights that you just graduated as a technology professional. Approach the market with the force of “I am a _{Software Developer / Cybersecurity Professional}” vs. I just graduated. Remember that you may be new to the industry but not brand new to the concepts required; you come with experience, professionalism, and passion.

For the purpose of on campus presentations, keep your pitch to under 60 seconds. You will be scored on timing, fluid and natural delivery of your story, and clearly stating the who, what and why of yourself. Remember to start with what you are…. with a background in X (and X if applicable) and your contribution and impact as a professional, on a team, and why technology is your passion. Tell your unique story!

TA’s will be grading you on your submission of a 60 second pitch that has been rehearsed to follow the above guidelines.