On your mark... ready... pitch! Launch of the annual Professional Pitch Contest by ABG

Why a professional pitch contest?

The networking interview can be decisive in your career as a PhD, especially if it is consistent with regard to your career plan. Its success is conditioned by two aspects. First the information you will present - history, background and objectives - which will be your arguments to convince, and the concision of your presentation. You must keep in mind that the interlocutor's time is limited. For this reason, a pitch should not exceed two minutes. It should give the opportunity to quickly give the floor to the person you have come to meet.

It is in the spirit of these networking interviews that ABG has been organising a professional pitch contest since 2015. In order to get as close as possible to the real conditions of this exercise, you will have 120 seconds to convince the professional jury and the audience.

Participation terms and technical requirements

Profile: To be a PhD candidate at the end of your doctorate or a PhD holder.

Format: The technical quality of the video is not decisive. However, be careful to make it in conditions close to those of the final: filmed from the front, dressed as for an interview, image and sound of good quality.

Duration and language: 2 minutes maximum, in French only.

Send: Submit a video of your pitch via wetransfer AND by email to abg@abg.asso.fr

Calendar and conduct of the contest

Calendar

1- Until September 26, 2021 included, you can submit us your video pitch. The videos submitted will be reviewed by the ABG team and pre-selection panel members only. They will not be broadcast or transmitted. However, the final will be filmed, and the presentations will possibly be broadcast with the finalists' agreement.

2- A pre-selection jury will select the finalists of the contest, who will be notified by ABG no later than October the 5th, 2021.

3- An individual advisory session is proposed by ABG to each of the finalists. These sessions will take place between October the 5th and the 16th, 2021.

4 - The final will take place on October the 15th, 2021 in Paris, during the PhDTalent Career Fair 2021 which will be held at CENTQUATRE. After a public hearing of the finalists, the jury made up of companies’ executives will reward the three best performances.

Endowments

A public prize will also be awarded, a system enabling the audience to vote on spot will be implemented.

Main rating criteria:

- your ability to tell and value your lived experience (doctorate or post-doc) in terms of results;

- your ability to project yourself into the future, i.e. speak in terms of a professional project.

To help you get inspired, as well as to get an idea of the conditions in which the final takes place, we encourage you to consult the videos of the winners of the previous editions.

 

Practical guide for an effective pitch

Contrary to what it seems, the pitch exercise is anything but improvisation. The best pitches may suggest that the speaker improvises spontaneously. This is not the case...

Making your pitch allows you to focus on the essential, avoiding the pitfall of developing too much (which usually leads to a lack of interest and understanding).

Here is a method, as well as some advice to see - and make see - clearer (in French).

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