STUDENT ENGAGEMENT:

Students will be building an “elevator pitch” that they can use to open discussions with professionals about their future career plans. The tool that they will be using to do this is very similar to a game that many young people have played at some point: Mad Libs. To refamiliarize students with how Mad Libs work, it may be fun to do one or two Mad Libs with the class. The official Mad Libs website provides a number of free, printable Mad Libs that can be downloaded and used for this purpose. You can find these here: intoolkit.com/madlibs (https://www.madlibs.com/printables/)

 

DIGGING IN:

Ask students to think back to working on resumes and the idea of making a first impression. You cannot always count on a well-crafted resume to do this work for you. Oftentimes, first impressions happen in person and during face-to-face meetings. Still, there’s no reason why students can’t put the work into thinking about exactly what they might want to communicate during meetings like this.

 

Today, they will be developing an “elevator pitch.” This is a short, planned presentation designed to communicate information about the student, the skills that they bring to the table and their plans for the future. These are called “elevator pitches” to emphasize the fact that they should be brief. They shouldn’t be longer than it takes to go from one floor to another on an elevator.

 

The tool that students will be using to develop their elevator pitches is very similar to the Mad Libs that opened this lesson. The bulk of the elevator pitch is written out for them, and they need to add the information relating to their own experience. Pass out the “Personal Elevator Pitch” sheet and work as a class to add the information. Ask students to begin by listing their top skills in reverse order. Students may need a reminder where they can find their top skills (they would have identified these when they completed the Agile Assessment). Students may also need additional clarification and encouragement while they work to complete this form.

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INTO ACTION:

The introduction and planner activity will probably take at least a full class period, maybe a bit more. Once the planner is completed, students can work on pulling their story together into a formatted, personal essay. Including time for independent and peer editing, the process will probably take up to three full class periods.

 

Allowing students time to share their stories with one another or presenting them in class will give students a chance to begin internalizing these stories. This may a be a good time to explain to students that they are in the process of building a box of tools that they will soon be using to engage with adult professionals in an in-person interview setting. Their resume and their personal story will build the basis for their interactions in this setting. Making sure that their story is exactly how they want to tell it and that it is engaging so it will position them well for a successful interview process.