Perfect Pitch Judges Offer Students Expert Advice

On Thursday, Oct. 14, School of Business students in Dr. Monica Hodis’ class took part in a “Perfect Pitch” competition to gain experience in selling themselves when interviewing.

This bi-annual competition hosted in Hodis’s personal selling course is in partnership with Automatic Data Processing, Inc., commonly known as ADP. The competition challenges students to deliver a 90-second “elevator pitch” on why they should be hired for the ADP inside sales representative position. The perfect pitch is a great way for students to build confidence when it comes to selling themselves and highlighting their skills. This aspect attracts students of all majors to take this course.

Representatives from ADP, Paychex, First American Equipment Finance, Constellation Brands, Amazon Web Services, CGI Communications and Butler/Till volunteered their time and expertise by judging the participants in the competition.

Mackenzie Patterson, digital marketing specialist at CGI Communications, was a judge for the first time this year after participating in the competition herself several years before. “I decided to participate because I truly believe in this process. It has helped me so much with personally selling myself to potential employers and I hope it did the same for these students,” she said.

Alumnus Liam Wicks also said he was very impressed with the students in the competition this year, noting they were well prepared, professional, and showed a true passion for the material. Wicks said he participated as a judge because of the strong connections that can be built through the process. “As a recent graduate, I understand the importance of networking as it can have a profound impact on career outcomes; I obtained my job through networking at a very similar event,” said Wicks, who serves at a compensation and benefits coordinator at Constellation Brands.

Emma Neatrour, assistant vice president of marketing at First American Equipment Finance, has been a judge for the last four years. “It is so important for students to have experience in interview scenarios to prepare for the post-college job search, and students are so lucky to have the opportunity to start this practice early in Dr. Hodis’ class,” Neatrour said. “I enjoy giving advice to students on how they can stand out in an interview, manage nerves, and articulate their traits in a positive and concise way.”