If you’re looking for a job, one of the first tasks on your to-do list should be crafting an ideal "elevator pitch." It’s the 30-second speech that summarizes who you are, what you do and why you’d be a perfect candidate.

You should be able to reel off your elevator pitch at any time, from a job interview to a cocktail party conversation with someone who might be able to help you land a position.

Sounds simple enough, right? But condensing 50+ years of your life accomplishments into a 30-second statement that packs a punch can feel as challenging as trying to stuff an elephant into a Volkswagen Beetle.

I get that. So to help you develop a knockout elevator pitch, I’ve broken the process down into nine steps:

1. Clarify your job target. As Yogi Berra famously said, “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.”

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Next: Still Jobless? 6 Tips to Get You Back on Your Feet

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