Last Thursday I attended SA Beverly’s presentation on building a personal brand. This presentation was definitely very informative, and I’m glad I went. On the surface level, it was very useful because it was all about how to market yourself to employers and to land an internship or a job. I was slightly skeptical going in because, having been to a few similar events with different organizations, I was worried that I would simply be hearing the same information again though. I was happily proved wrong however, because Beverly’s presentation was much more about personal experience and what has worked for her.

For example, I can’t even count how many times I’ve had the concept of an “elevator pitch” explained to me. And conceptually, it seems simple—have a short, sixty second long blurb about yourself and all your relevant experience. But I’ve always had a lot of trouble figuring out how to use my elevator pitch in conversation with employers at career fairs and other events. Beverly was the first person to explain it in a way that really clicked with me. You’re not supposed to walk up to an employer and just start reciting your elevator pitch like it’s some sort of shopping list; it’s meant to be a jumping off point for the recruiter to ask you some questions about your experience and what you’re looking for. Most of the time, you can expect to not even get through the entirety of the elevator pitch. This explanation really clarified for me what a career fair is supposed to be like. Until hearing this, career fairs always felt so formulaic and robotic to me, but this explanation really helped me see how to make our interactions feel human in this setting.

This was just one example of the many ways this event helped me view the recruitment process in a new light. I genuinely hope to see more events like this one in the future!