Undoubtedly, your Social Impact Initiative will come up in interview. It may even be a focal point. And if you’ve done all this work… I hope that it does so you can share all about it!
The first step to successfully communicating your Social Impact Initiative is creating an Elevator Pitch. This is a short explanation of your SII that you could give to someone in passing, and leave them with a good understanding of what you do.
For example, an elevator pitch I could use for my initiative might look something like this: Operation Joy is a non-profit initiative I started 14 years ago to sustain and enrich the lives of kids in medical need, in honor of my late cousin Tristan.
I could talk about my SII without end… for probably days! And if you’ve chosen something you’re really passionate about (which you should!) – you’ll be the same way. But a straightforward, palatable answer will work to your advantage. Based on your elevator pitch, they can dig so much deeper.
For example, from my elevator pitch alone, they could ask about Tristan, they could ask about sustaining lives (to which I would speak about legislation and fundraising), or about enriching lives (to which I would speak about play therapy). As you can see, each word in your elevator pitch is prime real estate! It leaves breadcrumbs of what you want them to ask you about. This is a powerful tool.
You also need to be prepared to talk about YOUR GOALS. Inevitably by now, you have lots of great community service and personal stories to discuss. However, your job as a titleholder starts the day you earn the job! So the judges will want to hear about the future of your Social Impact Initiative. Check out my post on Goal Setting for guided self-reflection that can prepare you for your job interview.
Additionally, the judges need to know WHY they should care. That sounds callous, but with so many issues going on in the world- we need to know why this is so important. And pro tip, if it’s important to you- it will be important to us! So share your candid, vulnerable experiences, and walk into interview wielding relevant statistics. This will help your Social Impact stand out amongst a group of very important issues.
Lastly, practice telling people about your SII every chance you get! Volunteer and educate at every opportunity and before you know it, talking about your work will be second nature. I believe in you! Go rock that interview, girl!
Joy From Scratch! 