There’s a noticeable difference in every company between a normal worker and a rising star. He or she is often staying a little later, asking additional questions, and offering a bit more than the average employee.

It has been said jokingly that job interviews are like first dates — good impressions count, awkwardness can occur, and outcomes can be unpredictable. For this reason, many people find the entire interview process to be nerve-wracking, fear-inducing, and dreadful. Who wants to sit in front of at least one stranger and answer probing questions about themselves, their character, and overall work history? Well, since job interviews don’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon, then perhaps the best step to take is to reimagine what it is you're stepping into as an interviewee. What makes an interviewee stand out amidst the crowd?

Admittedly, trying to find a mentor can be challenging. But if you begin by investing in yourself, then the opportunities often start to present themselves organically. People want to support someone who is on a journey to maximize potential in his or her own life and make a difference in the lives of others. It’s not any different when it comes to prospective mentors.

Arte Nathan states, “You can’t teach employees to smile. They have to smile before you hire them.” This quote gets to the heart of the importance of hiring the right people for the right roles in your organization. It’s not just a good thing that has to have happened in order to be successful, it’s an imperative. For this reason, your company’s hiring process should be robust, dynamic and collaborative to ensure you are finding people who align with the vision. Beyond the resume or .cv, it’s the interview with a potential hire that can shed the most insight as to whether or not they will be fruitful in your organization. It’s vital that you are asking the important questions of potential employees and yourself that will ensure company growth. If you want better business, then you need to have better people.

One of the best ways to find out what soft skills you should work on is to ask those with whom you work. What will make you a better team player?

Casting vision is a hallmark of good leadership. Too often, people will have a vision for their company and work simply to get others on board with it. This can be done successfully, but it has limitations. The best way to truly unlock potential is to make sure that you are creating a shared vision first and foremost. You want your people to talk about it in terms of ‘we’ and ‘our’, emphasizing they have equity in the outcome. Community is the key component to creating vision.

Have you ever been stopped at a light and taken the opportunity to use the car ahead as reading material? The decal stickers on the vehicle ahead might display anything from a Calvin & Hobbs cartoon, the phrase “My Child Is an Honor Student,” a Jesus fish magnet, or a Baby on Board construction sign. Whether we’re aware of it or not, we profile people based on these decal stickers. In a similar vein, you have decals on your back as well. And that is your personal brand.

Does it seem like millennials get blamed for everything nowadays? Whether it’s the perceived rise of selfishness in society (as if that vice just started in the last 30 years) or the inhibiting effects of avocado toast, the term ‘millennial’ has become a form of shorthand for describing anything that we view as different from how we grew up and therefore, inferior. Honestly, at this point, it would not be a stretch to see the fall of the Roman Empire somehow attributed to millennials and their preponderance of video games which, led to a lack of them playing outside as kids.

Our world is based on accountability. In most areas of our lives, we rely on a two-way exchange where either party agrees to deliver something, a good or service, to the other. We’re accountable in our home life to our partners or children. We’re accountable in our jobs to our team or supervisor. Accountability is not controlling or dictatorial. It’s a way that we show respect and do our part in building the environment and world in which we wish to live.

Most of us have heard the saying widely attributed to Albert Einstein, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.” And while most of us wouldn’t consider ourselves unhinged in any significant way, we have to admit that we are creatures of habit. And to some degree, it makes sense, right? Doing what we’ve done has gotten us this far. Why stop now?