Tag: Opportunity

PwC Wants You to Know Your Elevator Speech

By now busy season is causing many of you to burn the candle from both ends and I have little doubt that you’d have a few choice words if you found yourself sharing the morning elevator ride with your firm’s CEO.

No fake smiles or warm-felt appreciation for your job. But as much as you’d like to punch The Big Boss in the spleen and kindly ask for your personal life back, you’d find yourself grinning and bearing it, and maybe even thanking them for the excellent work / life balance initiatives.

Ha. Balance.

Well, PricewaterhouseCoopers still believes in the elevator speech, or at least their recruiting team does. Personal Brand Week kicked off on P. Dubs’ Facebook and recruitment pages yesterday with the first lesson. The week’s schedule is as follows:


• Monday – your elevator speech
• Tuesday – your passion
• Wednesdsay – your network
• Thursday – your online brand
• Friday – open to change (career momentum)

As soft as these topics may seem, the worksheets provided on the site can be a starting point for those of you already in the midst of your careers. Forget the elevator and the high-up partners. This should go for everyone above you that you’ve worked for, no matter how briefly that experience might have been or where you happen to bump into them.

Take the elevator speech idea: knowing how to succinctly articulate your position and experience within the firm is important. It might sound trivial, but remembering the name of your first manager-who-recently-made-partner and name-dropping this individual can be beneficial. Same goes for what clients you’ve worked on. Mentioning how you worked on XYZ bank and that you found the work engaging and something you want to experience more of could spark the interest of the your target.

Like I mentioned, this conversation can take place anywhere. In line at the cafeteria. Your building’s shoe-shine or newspaper stand. Even the end-of-busy-season party is an opportunity.

There is a fine line between sounding sincere and sounding manufactured (ask Tiger Woods). The last thing you want to come off is an overzealous associate who stalked down the leading tax partner only to say how much you appreciated the opportunity to work 14-hour days. Be genuine but avoid sounding rehearsed.

A Wake-up Call for All Gen X Accountants

A potential client of mine was presenting its case to my firm a while back. The presenting team consisted of senior leadership, management, and staff members; all of which were professional and polished in their demeanor.

The presentation was divvied up between members, with much of the discussion being led by the management and staff. When it came time for the closer – the make or break – a fresh-out-of-college kid stood up and delivered one of the best deal closers I’ve ever experienced.

At the conclusion of the meeting I took a moment to catch up with the young professional who delivered the knock-out. I asked, “Why were you the teammate to deliver the final pitch?”

“Easy,” she responded, “I volunteered to do it, and no one objected.”


Generation X’ers — those of you born in the 60’s and 70’s — are in a tough position, and it’s you that I’d like to address today. Above you are the Baby Boomers; sucking the well and its resources dry for every last drop. Sure, they’re holding on too long but who is kicking them out? Who is applying the professional pressure for them to move on? Look down.

Below you (but quickly rising) is the Future – Generations Millenial and Y (MY, for short) are ready, willing and capable of busting through the corporate door and crossing the finish line ahead of you. They multitask, network, and socialize better than ever thought was possible. Their collegiate education went beyond debits and credits – group projects, public speaking tasks, and teamwork were the norm. And they’re connected!

They are maturing in a digital age that makes them comfortable with who they are. They are “friends” with a 1,000+, sharing photos, comments, and personal tidbits about their daily lives; something Generation X is used to sharing with buddies over beers or at home with the family. Most significantly, Gen’s MY are opportunistic. Their college and job applications were filled with Habitat trips in Guam, hospital philanthropies, and more part-time, non-paid work than you can imagine. Why? Because not only do they care about traveling the extra mile – they see the personal gain that comes with it. This is exactly why the 20-something year old staff member delivered the closing speech to my firm.

The problem is not whether the staff member had the right or the talent to be trusted with the responsibility. The question is – why didn’t one of the three senior managers step up? They obviously didn’t see the opportunity in front of them.

Let this simmer over the weekend, Gen X’ers. Next week I’ll be addressing what you can do to speak up and be seen from valley between the Boomers and Gens MY; otherwise known as where you currently sit.