Vocations · Professional Development

Thirty seconds that make
them ask a question.

Most people introduce themselves with a job title and then trail off. A good introduction has five short parts: who you are now, what you focus on, one proof with a number, what you want next and a question that hands the conversation over. Write each part, and the builder times the whole script, flags filler and prints a card to practice from.

Add an introductionWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Job search kit, $29 for 34 items.

Your introductions

The worked example is made up: a tight 30-second career fair version, a 60-second interview answer with no closing question and a club draft full of filler words. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Vocations · Professional Development$5

What you finish with
A record per introduction: setting, target seconds, audience, five parts written as spoken and four practice checks. Counts words and seconds aloud at 150 words a minute; lists every version against its target; prints a practice card; flags scripts over target, proof with no number, no closing question and filler words.
Who it is for
High school and college students heading to career fairs and interviews, job seekers and anyone introducing themselves at work.
Format
Browser builder with a saved record per version. Prints a practice card, one version, all of them in a table or a blank sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Job search kit ($29) and the Vocations Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Professional Development space in Caveat Vocations.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Pick the setting and the seconds you have.
  2. Write each part as you would say it.
  3. Put one number in the proof.
  4. End with a question about the listener.
  5. Print the card and say it aloud three times.

Add an introduction

The shape

A 30-second introduction1Who you are nowOne sentence, present tense.2What you focus onThe thing you want them toremember.3One proofA specific result, with anumber.4What you want nextTied to the person you aretalking to.5Hand it overA question about them or theirwork.6Then listenThe introduction is only theopener.A 30-second introduction1Who you are nowOne sentence, present tense.2What you focus onThe thing you want them to remember.3One proofA specific result, with a number.4What you want nextTied to the person you are talking to.5Hand it overA question about them or their work.6Then listenThe introduction is only the opener.
At about 150 words a minute, 30 seconds is roughly 75 words. Most first drafts are twice that.

Change it for each listener

Keep one version per setting. A recruiter at a hospital, a hiring manager and a new club need different proof and a different question. The parts stay the same; the details change.

Not memorized word for word

Practice until you know the five parts, not every word. A script recited exactly sounds recited. Knowing the parts lets you shorten it on the spot when someone is in a hurry.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Labor, CareerOneStop. Networking and the elevator speech (careeronestop.org).
  2. National Association of Colleges and Employers. Career fair preparation for students (naceweb.org).
  3. Purdue University Center for Career Opportunities. Crafting your elevator pitch (cco.purdue.edu).
  4. Yuan, J., Liberman, M., and Cieri, C. (2006). Towards an integrated understanding of speaking rate in conversation. Proceedings of Interspeech 2006.

The worked example is made up. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.