Page 64 - Cosmopolitan - UK (April 2020)

I was 23 years

old when I first

discovered I was

an introvert. I’d

been working late

every night, and

one evening a

co-worker came

over to chat – and

began discussing

introverts and

extroverts.

She had clocked something – I was staying
late because of my introversion; after the
office had emptied out, I was able to do
my best work. I’d had no idea.
I’m not alone in this: a third to half of

the population are thought to be introverts,
yet society tends to favour extroverts.
They are more likely to be chosen for
leadership roles (even though there is
no evidence they are better leaders), are
better at self-promotion (leading to more
recognition at work) and tend to have
wider social circles (which leads to more
opportunities and ideas). But this doesn’t
mean introverts are inferior. We are often
self-starters and independent thinkers who a few examples of client feedback.” KESEBIR
are great at listening, observing and can IMPROVE YOUR That’s not boasting – it’s the truth.
concentrate on one task for hours at a SELF-PROMOTION SKILLS Remember: if you don’t promote STOCKSY/ULAS
time. We also tend to have big ideas and It’s tough, I get it, but reframe self- yourself, no one else will. IMAGES. IMAGE COMPOSITION COLIN
offer unique perspectives, which come promotion as simply stating the facts, IMAGES,
from working alone. rather than bragging. Instead of opinion
Nonetheless, noisy, new-age, open- statements like “I’m an innovative MAKE IT CLEAR WHEN YOU
plan offices with constant interruptions designer”, explain what you did and ARE IN THE ZONE STOCKSY/CLIQUE GETTY
and no quiet space can make being at highlight the results with concrete Wearing noise-cancelling headphones

work a nightmare for us. But you can numbers and facts. For example, blocks out the chatter in a loud office, TURKAN, BEAGLEY; BIMMILL.CO.UK
thrive at work as an introvert – here’s “I was selected for X award, increased but also signals to others that you PHOTOGRAPHS MERVE
what I’ve learned… revenue by X amount and here are are concentrating on something &