Ever since joining Microsoft, I have been touting the need for everyone to have a career walking deck (AKA personal pitch deck). It is helpful in the job hunting process and also great for introducing yourself in coffee chats.

Here are 3 slides that you should include in your career walking deck

Passion Slide

This slide is a great way to express what gives you energy and how these passions link to the job that you’re applying for in an interview. Managers love seeing passion, energy, and excitement!

Answer some self-reflection questions and figure out what kind of activities excite you at work. It could be presenting to large groups of people, designing beautiful graphics, or crunching numbers in a spreadsheet. List these out on your slide and have examples ready to talk about.

Growth Slide

This slide is for you to proactively address any gaps you may have when it comes to skills or experiences needed for the job. It shows managers that you’re self aware and willing to learn and address these gaps.

Read the job description and find 1-3 areas that you feel you are lacking in. List these out on your slide and then add ideas and actions you can take to address these gaps.

For example:

• Gap = I don’t have much customer facing experience
• Actions = Shadow a team member in customer meetings and debrief after, complete a sales methodology course, and find a mentor/coach

30-60-90 Day Plan

This slide should be put last in your career walking deck to demonstrate initiative and steer the conversation towards the future.

Split your slide up into 3 sections (30 days, 60 days, 90 days) and list 3-5 actions for each time period.

For example (sales related):

30 days	60 days	90 days
– Set expectations with manager on sales targets and tools	– Research customer roadmaps new sales methodologies	– Complete all technical sales certifications

More career walking deck resources

• Career Walking Decks 101
• 3 Reasons Why Every Job Seeker Needs a Career Walking Deck
• How to Build a Career Walking Deck That Impresses Hiring Managers
• What’s a Career Walking Deck & Why You Need It
• My Career Walking Deck (Example)
• Career Walking Deck Templates

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