If I have learned one thing while working in higher education, it’s that everyone and their mother has a different opinion about what is best as far as Career Services is concerned.  On most American college and university campuses, career services serves as the in-between between a student who has yet to graduate and their professional career after graduation.  They provide resume workshops, career advice, and other tips and tools so that you’re successful after graduation.

When it comes to career services advice, I actually disagree with like…a lot of what some career counselors would suggest. For example color in your resume? YES PLEASE. Two page resume? YES PLEASE (as long as its all important and relevant).  Elevator speech should be 60 seconds to get you hired? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

One of the fellows I met at the summit this weekend accepted a precarious challenge from me.  He told me about his company, YouFolio. He just told me the name of it and I said, straight up – I’ve got 15 seconds, give me your best elevator speech about what YouFolio is. He delivered the perfect elevator speech.  What made it so successful you might ask? It made me want to give him MORE than just an elevator ride.  His ‘elevator speech’, or elevator pitch as some call it, made him more interesting to me. It made me want to ask MORE about his company.  There was no end to the conversation immediately following his elevator speech.

And I think THAT is the key component of an elevator speech – using it to continue the conversation, not to get a job.