Preparing to Give Your Promotion Pitch during Coronavirus

Written the morning of Tuesday, March 17, 2020:

I'm glad I started preparing for this promotion pitch on Sunday because I realized that I was going to need to rearrange my guest room so that the room wasn't a bed with a pink and yellow floral comforter on it, but rather a red futon shoved in the corner. I also realized the doors needed to be shut, my personal desktop monitor needed to be off, the arms of my chair needed to be lowered all the way down, and I absolutely needed to powder my nose to avoid that video camera shine.

I even found the window with the best natural light to face.

Upon waking up I realized I wanted every decision I made to feel like a "boss" decision. (Let's pretend this decision was made after I stopped by the mirror and decided my hair looked 'good enough' to not have to wash it again before the presentation.) I used my face wash, brightening cream, and glow serum so that my skin would look most radiant on camera.

What color did I look most professional in? I most definitely needed to wear a blazer. But could I wear jeans? In person I would have worn a skirt or dress, but over video one wrong move and they could accidentally see my jeans depending on the way my legs were pointing and how clumsy I was feeling.

I was originally going to wear my hair down, but then remembered a comment from a co-worker where she came up to me, put her hands on my cheeks (this was before Coronavirus) and marveled how young I look when I wear my hair down. No, today that wouldn't do. Today, I needed to look like a senior manager. Hair up it is.

The thing about preparing from home instead of doing it from an office or client site is that there is lots more time to think about every decision you make and whether it's the right one to lead up to the presentation.

What's the most powerful breakfast? Clearly avocado toast. With flaked salt. And sesame seeds.

What color mug should be beside me on my computer desk? A green floral one that has dark enough colors that it looks gender neutral except for a hint of femininity. I filled it with my favorite tea. (It already needs a refill.)

I blasted Dear Evan Hansen music and sang from my kitchen unapologetically loudly at 9:00am. (I'm sure the neighbors are incredibly grateful that they're home for this. Not only that, but I'm sure they've loved hearing my 5-minute pitch on replay every day of the past week.)

I worked for a few hours, and then 45 minutes before the pitch stepped away from the computer. I recited the pitch a few more times for myself - once in the bathroom, once in the kitchen, once in the guest office. I put on makeup to make sure I looked alive on camera. (Only after I put the eye shadow on did I realize there was glitter in it - oops...) I reheated my mug of tea. And waited to be let into the Zoom meeting.

I appeared on the screen. Couldn't tell exactly who was in the room. And gave my pitch remembering every word (all I could ask for).

During the questions I regretted that my consulting jargon wasn't nearly where it should be for nine years in the industry. The two main words of the question were "followership" and "risk" - after I rambled for 30 seconds someone rephrased the question as: "why do people enjoy working with you?" (I'm still unclear unclear on exactly how that translation worked.)

But it's over. I did the best I could, and even felt confident in making a reference to one day being a Partner at the firm. A sentence that even one year ago, I would have laughed through.

And now the wait begins. Fingers crossed. And until then, I'll continue to the grind from behind my computer screen, from my newly rearranged home office.

September Update:

Well, here it is, Chrystina Cappello, Senior Manager. I did the thing! I guess buying those promotion heels way back in 2019 paid off. (You know, that thing you do where you buy an outfit to dress for the job you want to have.)

Stay tuned for the trials and tribulations of learning how to be a Senior Manager. Here's to you 2020, a very very weird year, but I'm feeling very blessed.