The Art of Selling Yourself

July 2, 2012
This book is a perfunctory lesson in self-presentation and showmanship from business development professionals Riccoboni and Callaghan. During all the times we need to promote ourselves directly in our working lives—writing a résumé, attending a job interview, convincing colleagues of a new idea, gaining a promotion or pay raise—it’s in our own hands to convince the person with the power to give us what we want. Riccoboni and Callaghan take readers through the necessities of developing self-belief and confidence, understanding their own best qualities and wants, developing “soft skills” such as empathy, maximizing personal presentation, and managing social media. Using worksheets and case studies (Donald Trump, Warren Buffett, Oprah Winfrey, and Jeff Bezos), the authors propose a strategy of the virtuous cycle of behaving confidently—in essence, faking it until they make it. It may all be decent advice, but unfortunately, the content is too hastily skimmed over and comes across as superficial. Agent: Lesley O’Mara, Michael O’Mara Books.

Starred review from July 1, 2012
In clear, concise, well-ordered prose, the authors present the components of a business philosophy that they posit as the fundamental and overarching key to success. The book's title indicates their strategy, which is based on the sentiment that learning how to sell yourself' is the most important skill you can have in your working life. In elaborating that concept, the authors also present a corollary concept, that influencing people is crucial in business and selling yourself is a mandatory requirement for exerting influence. The authors emphatically share their awareness that selling yourself is not necessarily a onetime deal these days, because people don't stay with one job throughout their careers as people used to. Consequently, individuals following business careers must maintain flexibility in knowing how to self-promote. The arrangement of the authors' discussions follows their recommended steps in developing the art of self-promotion (with art really meaning necessity ), which range from gaining more confidence to finding satisfaction in the workplace and including networking ideas and recommendations for branding one's expertise. The final and most important chapter centers on the quality of leadership, which here is basically judged by a leader's capacity for inspiring others. (A note to librarians: There are some blank forms for the reader to fill out.)(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)