| Brag books are a fantastic way for you to showcase | | | | from you. Because I know that, just like in a sales call, |
| the best you have to offer as an employee. It's a | | | | if you leave a brochure, no one goes back and looks |
| historical look at what you've done over your career, | | | | at it, so I don't want to waste your briefcase space or |
| and it's made up of your performance statistics, | | | | my paper by letting you take that with you. If we |
| project results, product brochures you've created, | | | | could go through it now, that would be great, but if not, |
| awards, rewards letters, and even complimentary | | | | let's just save it until our next meeting." |
| notes you might have gotten from supervisors or even | | | | Why is this so important? Because they really won't |
| high-level clients. Anything positive that demonstrates | | | | review it later. Even with the best of intentions, |
| in a concrete way what a valuable part of the team | | | | management-level executives are very busy people, |
| you have been goes in the book. | | | | and it just won't happen. And even if they did review |
| You might imagine that it takes a lot to put one of | | | | it, they wouldn't hear your voice clarifying, asking |
| these books together, and it does. It takes a lot of | | | | questions, and elaborating. You won't get to point out |
| time, energy, and talent. So don't you dare go to your | | | | the 5 most important pieces that really sell you for this |
| interview and not present it correctly. One big way | | | | job. You'll lose those things as a platform for the |
| you can get into trouble is to find yourself with a hiring | | | | conversation you need to have with him to eventually |
| manager who doesn't want to look at it now, but | | | | close the deal and land the offer. |
| instead wants to keep it "to look at it later." Do not let | | | | The job interview is a sales process. You're the |
| that happen—because they won't. And all of your | | | | product and they're the buyer. You wouldn't leave a |
| hard work will have been for nothing. | | | | brochure or product information in a sales call (or on |
| It can seem awkward for you, but you've got to do | | | | someone's desk for them to find later), because that's |
| the tough thing in this situation: Ask for it back. | | | | not an effective strategy….and you shouldn't do that |
| Say (in a friendly manner), "Hey, Mr. Manager, if we're | | | | here, either. |
| not going to go through that, then I need that back | | | | |