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What it takes to get ahead, influence others and drive results

I recently conducted a career workshop for educational leaders on how to prepare for a job interview. Twelve women and four men were in attendance. When I asked, 鈥淲ho wants to be the first to volunteer for a mock interview?鈥� the four men waved their hands in the air. I was stunned that not a single woman volunteered.

After the men had completed their interviews, I encouraged a few women to give it a try, stressing that participation would be a valuable experience. No luck. Finally, I walked over to one woman and whispered, 鈥淐ome on, you can do this. What鈥檚 the problem?鈥�

鈥淓veryone will think I鈥檓 stupid because I don鈥檛 know how to answer these questions,鈥� she whispered back. I tried to persuade her to get some courage. 鈥淚鈥檒l help you.鈥� With that reassurance, she finally volunteered. Everyone clapped as she walked to the front of the room. Her interview was excellent.

Out of curiosity, I asked the men in the group why they had volunteered for the mock interview. They responded they had nothing to lose and added they were used to taking shots and didn鈥檛 want to waste an opportunity to practice. That was a good answer.