Prefessional U

Are you a leader? Whether you’re an executive or an entry-level employee, leadership is a truly essential skill that can propel you and your career to bigger, better things. That holds true for both leaders of large teams and self-employed people who are guiding a team of one.

I recently spoke to leadership consultant Jennifer Garvey Berger, whose new book, Changing on the Job: Developing Leaders For a Complex World, is already garnering praise from industry executives and academic experts at Microsoft, Fidelity, Harvard University and Boston College. Here are some of her insights on what good leaders do — and what separates them from the pack.

Job interviews are a high-pressure sales call. The product? You — or, more specifically, the skills and experience you can bring to a new job. 

To compete in today’s job market, you have to have your sales pitch down cold. Here are 4 tricks to help youseal the deal from sales expert Ron Volper, Ph.D., author of the new book Up Your Sales in a Down Market.

Do your homework in advance 

“Top-performing salespeople learn about the organization and individuals they will be interviewing with,” says Volper. In the same way, you’ll want to read up about the company you’re interviewing with — its mission, vision and values. Then prepare thoughtful questions about the company’s priorities. “The interviewers’ answers to your questions will enable you to address how you can help them solve specific problems,” says Volper. You’ll also want to do some research about your interviewer, he suggests — learn what you can about his or her background (and any overlap with yours), as well as that person’s contributions within the company.

COMMENTARY. We live in volatile times where viewpoints are highly polarized. The way people see business in America is no exception. Lately, it seems as if management commentary is either feel-good fluff or anti-business rhetoric.

Of course, neither extreme relates very well to the realities of the business world, which makes it all the more frustrating for those of you seeking to advance your career through meaningful insight.

Speaking of which, one of the key insights you’ll learn sooner or later is not to trust conventional wisdom. If you don’t take chances and challenge the status quo, you won’t get anywhere. So you should probably avoid or at least challenge extreme thinking. In other words, don’t drink the Kool-Aid from either side.