Elevator Pitch

Written Wednesday 11 January 2017

Almost a year ago, I met with a group of people I was about to start working with. One of them asked me to tell them about myself, focussing on what it was I’d be bringing to the organisation. Today I laugh when I think about how I prefaced my brief reply, but writing it now also shows me how far I’ve come since then. My response began this way (cringe): “Ooh, this is hard. I’m much better at being myself than talking about myself.”

Yup. The original Queen of Self-sabotage.

Fortunately, someone else introduced me to the team, telling them the professional and academic details on my CV, as well as personal qualities (which they would definitely not have heard about from me!) and work experience that made me suitable for the position.

Over the next few weeks, as I met more people, I started to see how commonplace it was to introduce oneself with a summary of one’s CV. Even though I think I’ve become better at it, I know why I said what I did: far too many people have glamorous-sounding CVs, and they use these to get all kinds of positions, but when you work with them, you realise that what’s on paper does not always match the performance. Basically, you get people working as cleaners, earning R4000 a month, with more common sense and basic decency than people with Masters degrees, earning at least ten times that amount.

You find people boasting about their very public achievements, even about how much money they have, but when you’re faced with the details of their work, you realise how little substance there was, and how much hot air; how little altruism, and how much self-aggrandisement.

When you work in the government sector, you have your job, you have your rank (‘’post level’’),  everyone knows what the limits are, and you just go about doing what you do. Many people allow it to define them. You earn the same whether you work hard, or take every possible shortcut, compromising quality standards. The only time you are ever required to talk about yourself in a self-promoting way is when you apply for a different post. Blah blah blah….

The private sector is completely different. Everyone asks you all the time, depending on the industry you work in and the number of new people you are exposed to. You have to be ready with what is called your ‘elevator pitch’ – basically, a succinct statement about yourself that would suffice for a quick conversation in an elevator.

I still think I’m better at being myself (and getting on with the job) than I am at talking about myself.

They do say, though, that success happens when preparation meets opportunity, so I probably should work on that elevator pitch. J