How to win the first 2 minutes of an interview

First impressions are everything.

We’ve all heard this before and we know how important it is to make a great first impression during an interview.

But making a great first impression isn’t just looking the part. A first impression isn’t just based on physical appearances (professional dress, good hygiene, facial expressions).

It’s also based on sounding the part, meaning how you speak and present yourself as the prize hire.

Time to be honest.

How many of us have answered the “Tell me about yourself” question by “winging it?”

Look, the truth is… winging it on the spot isn’t terrible because it allows you to stay natural and conversational instead of worrying about an answer you rehearsed.

And staying natural in your interview is CRUCIAL.

But winging it just isn’t going to blow their socks off. It won’t make you an unforgettable candidate. And it won’t get their mouth watering to hear more about you.

Nice visual, eh?

If you want to win the first two minutes of the interview, you’ve got to bring a rock solid, two-minute elevator pitch that introduces your level of expertise, highlights your best achievements and clearly outlines the value that you intend to add to their organization.

You can do this using a simple four-part structure:

• HOOK

• TODAY

• PAST

• FUTURE

1. HOOK

Grab attention immediately with a one-sentence career summary that shows your peak value.

Instead of launching right away into a specific position, give a confident snapshot of who you are and what your qualifications are.

Example:

"I'm a Product Manager with 8 years of experience deploying SaaS solutions to drive seven-figure revenue growth in both the startup and corporate sectors."

Why is this effective?

It shows:

a) your total years of experience

b) the specific skill set you have

c) a standout achievement

d) what problem you can solve or value you can add

Time to spend saying your HOOK: 5-10 seconds

2. Transition into your "TODAY" section.

In most cases, you shouldn’t start with the beginning of your career. Nobody wants to feel like they’re about to sit through a life story like the scroll at the beginning of Star Wars…

Note: One instance where it is acceptable to start with the past is if you currently or have most recently had an irrelevant or temporary position that does not align with the role you’re interviewing for. In these cases, you can opt to start with the PAST because it will be a more relevant and sensible structure.

When moving from your HOOK into your TODAY section, use a transition like, "In my most recent role as a [title]..."

The "today" section should cover your current role/experience or your most recent.

Aim to include 3-4 sentences about this role that clearly demonstrate your skills, expertise, and impact.

Don’t just describe the role. Instead, focus on highlighting what you accomplished while in this role. What areas were your biggest value-adds?

Quantify your achievements if possible. This attention to detail will leave a lasting impression.

Time to spend saying your TODAY section: 30-50 seconds

3. Transition to your "PAST" section.

Use another transition to let the interviewer know that you are now pivoting to a different point on your career timeline. You can say things like, "In my past...," "Before this...." or "Previously..."

Once again, highlight the 2-3 most important achievements from a past role or past roles. You don't need to mention every role that you've had. You can merge multiple roles together and treat the past as a summary. In either case, only include the most relevant and impactful information.

Most importantly, make sure that everything you mention from your past experience is relevant to the role you’re interviewing for.

Time to spend saying your PAST section: 30-50 seconds

4. Wrap up with the "FUTURE" section.

This section is often overlooked, but it is CRUCIAL. Don't ignore this section. When you talk about your future, you should include two important parts:

1) Your goals for your next role.

The key: You must be extremely specific. Don’t say: “In my next role, I want an opportunity to grow and learn.” To put it bluntly, this is recycled cliche garbage that doesn’t mean anything.

Instead, say: “In my next role, I want to leverage my 5+ years of client-facing experience and my strengths in relationship building to help build new customer retention strategies and improve annual revenue growth.

Boom. Fireworks.

2) Why you feel that this role is a good fit for you and what value you can bring.

The key: Tie it into the needs of the role. This is the time to flex the research you’ve done on the company or the role and show them how your goals (see above) help them solve a problem they’re having or improve a specific aspect of the business. Focus on your VALUE ADD here. Don’t talk about the role being a good fit for you because of what you will learn.

Again, companies aren’t interested in hiring you based on what they can teach you. They’ll hire you based on what value YOU bring. Explain to them why the role matches your strengths perfectly.

Time to spend saying your FUTURE section: ~30 seconds

That's it!

If done correctly, your elevator pitch should be under two minutes and impressively depict your experience, impact and value.

A well-structured introduction will help you immediately gain an advantage over your competition in the interview process in just the first two minutes.

Whenever you’re ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:

1. Schedule a call with me. If you’re looking for more guidance on your job search or more options for help, let’s talk.

2. Check out my additional courses and downloadable resources. Use the systems I’ve used to help 1500+ candidates land jobs in the past 5 years.