As a Tuckie from a non-traditional background, a large part of the learning process at Tuck has been deciphering business lingo. Before business school I had never heard terms like leverage, value add, or arbitrage used in day-to-day conversation. Now I use them all the time too.
But the linguistic education also translates to discussing your own past work. If you were a consultant or banker before Tuck, most classmates and alums will understand roughly what you did and what your skill set is.
But what if you were working for a company few people have heard of, in a role that defies simple categorization? How do you stay crisp in your elevator pitch–the 15 second bio on your past and desired future–that you will repeat to every first year classmate during orientation, then to every second year during career club activities, then to every first year recruiter, every alum, on and on.
The trick, I believe, is to just throw yourself out there and practice like mad on your classmates or friends. Give everyone you know your elevator pitch and then ask, Does that make sense to you? Often it will not. But it is critical to have this down. I think I under appreciated this fact while I was applying.
To wit, here is my elevator pitch pre-Tuck:
My name is Will. I am an Editor in the Trade Division at Houghton Mifflin Company. Before that I worked in investment banking and education. As an Editor I reviewed book proposals, bid and acquired projects, edited them, oversaw the production process in-house, worked cross-functionally with colleagues in marketing, publicity, sales, and manufacturing, and was the primary author/agent liaison throughout the process. I am heading to Tuck to learn more about the business side of publishing and to explore new economic possibilities in the digital area.
Now:
My name is William Vincent. Before Tuck I worked in content development in the media space. This summer I was at a tech start-up in Boston. I am interested in media, technology, and the new business models that are emerging at this intersection.
Notice the difference? I bet in the first one you started drifting off about halfway through. Why is that? Because I highlighted the things that were important to me about the job, whereas in the second case I highlighted what is important to you.
It took me a while to make this transition, but I wanted to highlight it in a post because one of the subtler ways an MBA changes people is it puts you inside a whole new frame of reference, able to view yourself more as a person outside your industry will.
The ability to give a complete stranger your elevator pitch is vitally important, especially at Tuck. You never know who you will meet.
Read the full article: Talking Like an MBA