folio

What’s going on with this deficit in technical competence at work? Why is it that people who get the jobs and promotions are the ones who can get away with saying, “I’m not a techie,” as they pass on those responsibilities to others?

I know I have been overlooked for many Communications and Publishing roles because I have a deficit on the social confidence front, all important for liaising with clients, suppliers and stakeholders. It seems strange — and wrong — that I can be marked down on that front, whereas people who lack all the technical skills I excel in get endless opportunities.

I suppose I must content myself with my role as back office support, doing the work for which others take the credit. I don’t have an interview personality, capable of selling myself. Therefore I just make do with what I have. Perhaps that’s for the best.

It’s just the way it is for those of quieter temperament, that we watch others rising though the ranks, superseded by people less competent but more gregarious, taking on more and more work on behalf of others, because recruitment panels are consistently swayed by style over substance.

Here, the world of the doer, forever overlooked.