Self-Promotion for Introverts: The Quiet Guide to Getting Ahead [Paperback]

Nancy Ancowitz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 16, 2009

Get noticed . . . and get ahead!

All too often, introverts get passed over for job offers and promotions while their more extroverted colleagues get all of the recognition. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

In Self-Promotion for Introverts®, business communication coach and intrepid introvert Nancy Ancowitz helps introverts tap into their quiet strengths, articulate their accomplishments, and launch an action plan for gaining career advancement. You will learn how to:

• Promote yourself without bragging— when networking, on job interviews, and at work
• Use your quiet gifts (writing, researching, and listening) to your advantage
• Be a commanding presenter, despite your quieter nature
• Formulate your best plans, set goals, take action— and even find a better job
• Featuring exclusive advice from Warren Buffett, Bill Clinton, Hearst Magazines president Cathie Black, and marketing guru Seth Godin, Self-Promotion for Introverts® helps you progress inward, outward, and onward.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Filled with tips ... The author’s tone is supportive and she does not argue that introverts should become live wires."
--The New York Times

"Best Books 2009"
--Publishers Weekly

"Best Book Gifts"
--ABC News

"Best New Career Books"
--The Star-Ledger

"Must-read Fall Books for IT Execs"
--CIO Insight

"Offers a solid dose of practical advice - alongside humorous anecdotes - for introverts to assert themselves by using their inherent tendencies in the most effective ways ... Written in a practical, precise, and smart way, Ancowitz shows introverts how to take advantage of the unique qualities and strengths they can offer, but also how to network, build visibility, have a memorable impact on others, speak publicly, interview effectively, own their own strengths, and much more ... One important thing to note is that the book is not about teaching an introvert to become an extrovert. The aim of the book is not to change people to be something they are not, but rather to refine them into the strongest versions of what they already are."
--Positive Psychology New Daily

"Written by an introvert for introverts ... If you're not an introvert, but have introverted customers or employees - this could be your lucky day. At first I thought this book was just for introverted people, until I realized how powerful my messages could be if I organized them in a way that my introverted audiences could appreciate and feel comfortable around."
--Small Business Trends

"Self-Promotion for Introverts® is a primer on doing just that - helping 'quiet sorts' assert themselves by using their inherent tendencies in the most effective ways."
--Fort Myers Florida Weekly

About the Author

Nancy Ancowitz is the creator of the popular Self-Promotion for Introverts® workshop, which she offers at New York University. Her coaching clients range from CEOs to emerging leaders in the business and creative worlds. Ancowitz lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (October 16, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 007159129X
• ISBN-13: 978-0071591294
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.7 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,328 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #86 in Books > Business & Investing > Job Hunting & Careers > Guides
  • #89 in Books > Business & Investing > Skills > Communications

More About the Author

A business communication coach specializing in career advancement and presentation skills, Nancy Ancowitz is a thinking partner and stalwart supporter for her clients, who range from CEOs to emerging leaders in the business and creative worlds. She is a mirror who reflects her clients' best selves, a sounding board for their deep intelligence, and a navigator to help their quiet stars twinkle.

An outgoing introvert, Ancowitz is an adjunct instructor at New York University, where she teaches Self-Promotion for Introverts®, a workshop that helps people of a quieter nature use their strengths to raise their visibility in their careers. She also teaches public speaking and other business communication skills. Ancowitz has spoken at the Smithsonian Institution and a wide range of corporate and professional organizations.

Her background includes 12 years in the corporate world, where most recently she headed marketing teams for a multibillion-dollar business as a vice president at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Earlier in her career she was a jewelry designer with major retail clients.

Ancowitz is a blogger for Psychology Today, and her media exposure as a coach also includes CareerJournal.com, CNN.com, Monster.com, the New York Times, Newsday, WABC-TV Eyewitness News, Self, Woman's Day, and Gotham magazines. Ancowitz's creative expressions include her after-hours life as a playwright.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

236 of 251 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed June 9, 2010

By Ghoti

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book based on the good reviews in Amazon but I was very disappointed.

I think that if you are an introvert that has no experience with extroverts that this book may have some value. Contrary to the introduction, I felt that it was primarily focused on utilising principles that extroverts use. This was re-enforced by the continual quoting of famous extroverts advice on how to self-promote. This is not what I was looking for. I know how extroverts function, I just also know that a lot of their strategies don't work nearly as well for me as they do for them.

The other disappointment was that a lot of the text was on what I would consider business-promotion, rather than self-promotion. The section on `Self-Promoting activities' listed (in order); Web sites, Advertising, blogging, podcasts, online-groups, classified ads, flyers, brochures... Sorry, but this is not self-promotion as I understand it.

In summary, this is a very entry level book. It may be a good introduction, but I found it very light and not very on-target.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Quite disappointed with this one May 27, 2012

By Eric

Format:Paperback

As an introvert, I feel that this book missed the mark. It is filled with clichés, including that annoying corporate America "common sense" networking wisdom, such as "don't be too hard on yourself." I got really irritated after the third or fourth sports metaphor, and correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't sports more of an extraverted endeavor? The most disappointing aspect of this book is that it borders on condescension, mocking introverts for wishing our talents would be noticed more, and proclaiming that we listen to "U-Suck" radio. I will agree that it's depressingly hard to compete in a business world ruled by extroverts, but Ms. Ancowitz has oversimplified this dilemma. For one, many of the exercises are of a get-out-there-and-do-it kind of style, which is a huge turn off.

I think the book would have been better if the exercises encouraged more introspection and creativity with regard to our understanding and marketing of ourselves. I agree with one of the reviewers who said that most of the advice is standard cookie cutter career advice which might as well have been written by an extravert. I'm even surprised that the author calls herself an introvert. But I'm not surprised that a couple of the five-star reviews here were written by extraverts in the corporate world. Who doesn't like to toot their own horn?

For what it's worth, the book does an OK job of explaining why we have a tough time getting noticed, but its advice on how to change that is marginally helpful at best, and patronizing at worst.

40 of 47 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Crucial Resource for the Not So Bold in Today's Job Market November 3, 2009

By A. Prudhomme-Cox

Format:Paperback

Where do I begin with my rave for this wonderful book? If we were all uber- confident, smooth self promoters with plenty of job openings before us, well, then the advice would be redundant. Yet, back in the real world where talent is often times trumped by "shmoozability", and "shyness" is often more a sign of emotional intelligence and brilliance than a sign of social inadequacy, this excellent guide hits the mark. Ms. Ancowitz teaches instead of preaches, and accepts the reader for whom she or he is, that feature in itself makes it worth getting this book! I have been searching (until now, in vain) for a pragmatic guide to self- promotion that actually values my intrinsic self without the "guilt trip" for being an introvert, and this IS THE ONE! Thank you!!! Ms. Ancowitz offers a concise, informative, step by step game plan that quite simply works. I feel like I have an actual career coach right by my side in this book and I'm very happy to report that I'm beginning to reap the benefits of Ms. Ancowitz's advice. This is an amazing book and if you are an uneasy self-promoter, BUY THIS BOOK! You will be glad that you did!