Bring Your Brain to Work: Using Cognitive Science to Get a Job, Do it Well, and Advance Your Career

To succeed at work, first you need to understand your own brain

If you’re in a job interview, how should you think about the mindset of the interviewer? If you’ve just been promoted, how do you handle the tensions of managing former peers? And what are the telltale mental signs that it’s time to start planning your next career move?

We know that psychology can teach us much about behaviors and challenges relevant to work, such as making better decisions, influencing people, and dealing with stress. But many popular books on these topics analyze them as universal human phenomena without providing real-life, constructive career help.

Bring Your Brain to Work changes all that. Professor, author, and popular radio host Art Markman focuses on three essential elements of a successful career–getting a job, excelling at work, and finding your next position–and expertly illustrates how cognitive science, especially psychology, sheds fascinating and useful light on each of these elements.

To succeed at a job interview, for example, you need to understand the mindset of the interviewer and know how to come across as exactly the individual the company wants to hire. To keep that job, it’s critical to master the mental challenge of learning every day. Finally, careers require constant development, so you need to be able to sense when it’s time to move up or out and to prepare yourself for the move. So many of the hurdles you face throughout your career are, first and foremost, psychological challenges, and Markman shows you how to use your different mental systems–motivational, social, and cognitive–to manage them more effectively.

Integrating the latest research with engaging stories and examples from across the professional spectrum, Bring Your Brain to Work gets inside your head, helping you to succeed through a better understanding of yourself and those around you.

Review

“After reading this book, you will have a better understanding of your professional fit, from where you currently fall in line to where you need to be. You’ll be much more in tune with the people around you, and you’ll be able to champion yourself and your career.” — TD magazine (Association for Talent Development)

Named a Financial Times Business Book of the Month

Advance Praise for Bring Your Brain to Work:

Daniel H. Pink, author, When and Drive–
“Bring Your Brain to Work is a glorious mash-up of cognitive science and career counseling. Rich with the latest research, this book reveals what our brains are doing at work–whether we’re looking for a job, beginning a career, or moving on to a new position. Then it distills the findings into smart takeaways you can apply on Monday morning. Use your brain–and read this wise and useful book.”

Vanessa Van Edwards, behavioral investigator, Science of People; author, Captivate–
“Every professional needs this book. Markman has written the perfect primer for being more effective at work. And the best part? It’s science based!”

Jeff Kaye, Co-CEO, Kaye/Bassman International and Next Level Recruiting Training–
“Bring Your Brain to Work provides the tools for you to be the CEO of your own career and the author of your own life. The next chapter awaits.”

Katharine Brooks, EdD, author, You Majored in What?–
“Based on sound research in psychology and cognitive science, Bring Your Brain to Work will help you capitalize on the motivational, social, and cognitive mental systems critical for your success. Whether you’re seeking a job, trying to succeed in your current role, or hoping to move on, Markman’s book will help you stand out every step of the way.”

Heidi Grant, PhD, author, Nine Things Successful People Do Differently and Reinforcements–
“In Bring Your Brain to Work, Art Markman explains what you need to know about your brain to get it to see things clearly, make better choices, and ultimately get you where you want to go: where work is meaningful and rewarding.”

David Burkus, author, Friend of a Friend and Under New Management–
“A fantastic collection of insights about how to put your brain to work when you’re navigating the workplace.”

About the Author

Art Markman is the Annabel Irion Worsham Centennial Professor of Psychology and Marketing at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is also the executive director of the IC2 Institute. He is the author of several acclaimed books, including Smart Thinking: Three Essential Keys to Solve Problems, Innovate, and Get Things Done, and is cohost of the popular radio show and podcast Two Guys on Your Head (@2GoYH) on KUT radio in Austin.