To Brag Book or not Brag Book in the Job Interview?
The time-honored brag book is NOT something your Grandma carries around with her to bore people with recent photos of the grandchildren. It is a compilation of your professional body of work containing recent company standings, awards, and outstanding projects, job reviews among many other possible inclusions.
The burning question is whether the brag book should be utilized in a job interview or not.
As I was researching this topic it became very clear that there are definite profound opinions surrounding this topic that may lead a candidate to indeed question whether to use a brag book or not.
Let's examine both sides and always err on the side that positions the candidate most positively during the job interview.
I read an article by a young professional who writes a job blog. They had never heard the term, "brag book" and felt that it was an awful idea due to the fact that it is "petty" and would be boring to the hiring manager. This writer considered it something that should be for your personal use only.
Historically there have been professions that required documentation during an interview. Writing samples for journalists, created curriculum for teachers and sales data for sales professionals. This seems to make sense.
This trend may be changing as some feel that a brag book is now antiquated and so 1990's - dead along with the dot com bubble. Their argument stems from advances in technology that may allow data on documents to be manipulated to favor a candidate. Most hiring managers can see through this scheme as possibly evidenced by the fact that the candidates sales numbers may be stellar but their interviewing skills and communication skills may be abysmal. This disjointedness causes the hiring manager to question how the candidate actually conducts himself in interpersonal relations as well as conducting himself as a representative of the organization.
Some organizations do not want brag books used at all due to the confidential and proprietary nature of the documents. Remember, these documents are usually from a competitor, so there may be legal implications involved that no company wants to deal with.
Remembering that it is always imperative to fully present yourself in the best possible light so it may be helpful to employ the principles of adult learning to ensure the hiring manager learns and remembers the important facts about you! According to these adult principles of learning we retain about 10% of what we see, 30-40% of what we hear and see and 90% of what we hear, see and do. Most people are dominant in one style of learning. If you are in fact teaching a hiring manager about yourself, then it would benefit you to use more than one style of learning to help accommodate the style of learning the hiring manager may favor. After all, you have just met this person and don't know their preferred learning style, so it behooves you to help them out.
ADP performs tens of thousands of background checks each year and they report that 44% of resumes contain lies. This figure is considerably higher if you consider how many people "pad" their resumes to appear better than the real facts would relay. The use of a brag book helps to substantiate your resume and stories with solid facts.
A smart hiring manager will want to see the documentation you bring. Why should he have to wonder if you are being truthful or not? If it comes down to you and another candidate who didn't have a brag book, the fact that you took that extra step and provided facts about your past position may well win you the job.
The use of a brag book may have a black eye due to the fact that it may have been used incorrectly in the past. Marching in with your huge three ring binder and placing it on the desk like a trophy can be very annoying. Let's remember who is in charge of the job interview clock--not you--only the hiring manager.
If the job description you are applying for states they desire a person with "documented sales success and abilities" that is probably a clue that you should take a brag book so your successes are visible in black and white. On the other hand what if the hiring manger didn't require you to bring one? Is this a test to check for your preparedness or the fact that a brag book isn't necessary? Bring the brag book anyway. If they state they don't want to see it fine but they also know that you were fully prepared should they ask for it.
The proper use of a brag book is a true art form requiring precise timing as well as being able to read the hiring manager’s level of openness and the situation at large.
After working with your interview coach, you have a fully assembled brag book. Be very familiar with the contents of the book and flag any reports, or data you may want to feature so that you won't be flipping pages and wasting valuable time. When asked questions that you have verifying facts for, use your book to show the hiring manager the documentation. Always read the situation first to see how it may be received. Remember that the brag book is not the star here, you are. It provides just a supporting role.
Sometimes you have to tread lightly and may want to ask the hiring manager if it's ok to show your documentation. If you feel very strongly about it, take the bull by the horns and say, "let me show you these sales figures" simply flipping to them explaining them as you go. Your assertiveness may be appreciated as you are indeed demonstrating your customer related skills by how expertly you use the brag book.
If you feel that the job is good enough for you to interview for then isn't it good enough for you to put in the effort to display your demonstrated past skills and responsibilities? A proper brag book can do this for you.
A brag book is a tangible piece of documented evidence relaying your qualifications for the job. It proves you are a proactive candidate willing to take the extra step in order to set yourself apart from all others. Anything you can do to calm any doubts the hiring manager may have is a step in the right direction. So yes, brag book away!