It’s that time of year again. Men, dust off your suits. Ladies, pull out those conservative blouses and hey, button up all the buttons. It’s time to put on your networking shoes and print off some extra resumes because, that’s right, it’s job-hunting time!
Ok, so maybe it isn’t job-hunting time for everyone. Maybe you’re looking for an internship? Or a fellowship? Or a way to survive your first semester as a college student?
Whatever your case may be, I guarantee you, sooner or later, you will face the inevitable. Whether you’re a senior interviewing for a job, a junior searching for an internship or a freshman faced with a prying professor, mark my words. You will eventually encounter the unavoidable request: Tell me about yourself.
Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Sure, it does. I’ll start.
Hi, my name is Molly Lester. I’m from Atlanta, and I play soccer at Duke. Um, I’m a Trinity senior set to graduate in May of 2011. I’m a history major. I speak French. I, um, like to read in my spare time. I’m a good runner, I, uh…
And this is where the interviewer stops listening. This supposedly easy question, the one we all know we’ll have to answer in every interview, can be a big fat trap. And if you’re not careful, you’ll do what I just did—ramble. And not ramble about potentially relevant information, but ramble about pointless facts that more than likely have nothing to do with the position for which you’re being interviewed.
Who cares if I’m from Atlanta? Probably not any of the head recruiters who attended the Career Fair last week. Correct me if I’m wrong, but they probably won’t assume that all Atlantiens (that’s how Outkast spelled it, so I’m going with it) have excellent analytical abilities, outstanding communication skills and embody the essence of teamwork.
The answer is, of course, no one cares. But, this I found interesting: women, in general, do not interview as well as men. Notice my word choice. I found this interesting, but not surprising. Before you stop reading and dismiss me as the ultimate anti-feminist, hear me out.
According to Clay Shirky, an NYU professor turned professional blogger, women tend to lack the risk-taking behaviors that help men get ahead in the business world. Women aren’t as bold as men and are less willing to take chances when it comes to self-promotion. Me, bold? Nope.
Even in my poorly articulated, 10 second elevator speech, I, an educated and motivated woman, rambled to a hypothetical interviewer about useless Molly Lester facts.
Why did I do that? I know better! I should be promoting myself, talking up my leadership skills and my communications experience, but for some reason or another, “bragging” about myself makes me uncomfortable. And I mean really uncomfortable. Even imagining this scenario from the safety of my apartment couch leaves me feeling a little queasy.
Without explaining my recent find, I asked a male friend, completely out of the blue, what he would say in an elevator speech to an interviewer. How would he introduce himself? What points would he make sure to get across? And what he told me (well, texted back to me) fell right in line with Shirky’s claim.
“Hi, my name is [you can fill in the blank, I promised him anonymity.]. I am an extremely motivated and competitive person. I’ve been playing team sports all my life and enjoy working in groups with diverse people. I know that to succeed, I need to constantly strive to improve my skill set everyday.”
I’ve been playing competitive team sports my whole life, too! Why didn’t I say something like this? Why did I ramble about my hobbies and my academic interests? Why did I leave it up to the interviewer to infer from my meaningless intro what sort of values and skills I have or how motivated and purpose-driven I am? Apparently, I am a typical female, in this regard anyway.
I’ll reference Shirky once more. In his blog, he acknowledges the reality of societal limits that specify just how bold and self-promoting a woman can be without going “too far.”
What is that fine line between “going too far” and “confident self-promotion?” Unfortunately, there is no exact formula for the perfect first impression. Balancing audacity and humility in an elevator speech is a challenging endeavor and will vary from interview to interview.
In the future, however, I will try my best to lead my elevator speech with “Molly Lester accomplishments” and feel confident about myself. I will leave the meaningless Molly Lester information in the rear view mirror, and so should you.
And, ladies, don’t be afraid to tell me about yourself. Really.
Molly Lester is a Trinity senior. Her column runs every other Tuesday.
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