Elevator Pitch Competition

Learn how to tell a prospective employer about yourself, your education, skills, and career goals in the length of an elevator ride and possibly win a share of $1,750 in scholarship money by participating in the Ilitch School elevator pitch competition.

An elevator pitch is a 30- to 90-second personal statement that summarizes who you are, what you know and what you want to do leaving the person you are speaking with impressed and wanting to learn more about you. It is a useful tool in any number of situations from chance meetings to career fairs and job interviews.

Helpful links

The Perfect Elevator Pitch To Land A Job
Forbes

The Best Elevator Pitch
Vanessa Van Edwards

How to Answer: Tell Me About Yourself.
Big Interview

2021 Sample Elevator Pitches
Mike Ilitch School of Business

Questions?

Please email ilitchbusiness@wayne.edu with any questions about the competition.

Competition details

The contest is open to all undergraduate students currently enrolled in the Mike Ilitch School of Business.
Participants must attend a mandatory workshop and pass through a preliminary round of judging to be eligible to compete in the finals.
The final competition will take place with Detroit-area executives at the Renaissance Center on Friday, Oct. 27, 2023, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
First Prize: $1,000 | Second Prize: $500 | Third Prize: $250

This is a great opportunity to enhance your skills and present your personal elevator speech to local executives from Ally, the Detroit Pistons, Eli Lilly, Enterprise, GM, Google, Ilitch Holdings, Lear, Plante Moran, Rocket Companies and UBS Financial.

Stage 1: Attend a mandatory workshop.

To compete in the fall 2023 Elevator Pitch Competition, you must first sign up for and attend a mandatory workshop. The workshops will be held in person at the Ilitch School, except for one session offered virtually via Zoom and Canvas (students can register for a workshop with their WSU AccessID email and password via Handshake):

CHOOSE ONE:

To sign up for a workshop:

Go to https://wayne.joinhandshake.com/login
Sign in with your WSU AccessID email and password
Select "Events"
Select the "Elevator Pitch Workshop" that you wish to attend
Select "Join Event"

Stage 2: Attend and compete in the semifinals

Semifinals will be held on Wednesday, October 25, 3-6 p.m. in Ilitch School Skywall rooms 139/145. Students will pitch to Detroit executives, and judges will determine which 25 students will make it to the final round.

Stage 3: Vie for scholarships!

If you are chosen as a finalist, you'll be invited to compete for scholarships of $1,000, $500 or $250 on Friday, Oct. 27, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. at the Renaissance Center.