What To Say...
A 30-second introduction shares highlights about your interests, experience, strengths, accomplishments, and/or goals – all in 30 seconds! It captures the interest of the person you are attempting to engage and makes a strong first impression.
Your 30-second introduction should be conversational and natural so that you appear confident, enthusiastic, poised and professional. Although prepared in advance, it should never sound memorized - you want to engage the listener and give him/her an opportunity to see your personality.
Here are some questions to think about in developing your 30 second introduction:
What is your career goal?
What skill, strength, or experience do you have that would help you realize that goal?
What are you searching for in a job?
How can you immediately benefit the company?
The structure of a 30-second introduction can include:
HELLO: my name is…
CURRENT ROLE: For students, this could be degree, major and expected graduation.
WHAT I BRING: highlights from experience in terms of relevant knowledge or skills developed, accomplishments from school, internships, work, volunteering, research, or activities like clubs, sports, etc. In some cases, you can be explicit about how you would immediately benefit the company.
QUESTION: Your interest in this position or career field and what you want to learn from this interaction
I’ve done extensive research on your website about your internship program. I’m very interested in Research and Development. Can you tell me a little more about the project work done by summer interns?
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.
Examples: Hello, I’m Caitlin Jones. I am a junior health administration major from Central New Jersey. I’m interested in learning more about the internship opportunities available at ________. Your company is of interest to me because of _______________.
Hi! My name is John Smith. I am a senior Computer and Information Science major. I hope to become a computer programmer when I graduate in May. I have completed two internships where I worked on several program applications with a project team and I am excited to learn more about the career opportunities ___________offers.