Howard Berkof
Channel Sales Manager - Northeast
Productivity Solutions
Ingersoll-Rand Company

Q: When you first started your career - what was the biggest lesson learned on the job?

A: Trial by fire. Nothing teaches you more or faster than being thrown to the wolves, and for this I am eternally grateful. As a young sales trainee for Ingersoll-Rand, I was thrust into a world dominated by 20-year veterans, with endless experience, knowledge, and the knack for selling. I had none of that, except an eagerness to learn, and a determination to succeed and be the best. I had a tremendous mentor, who knew everyone and everything there is to know about sales, and I was lucky enough that he wanted to share his knowledge with me. After teaching me many tricks of the trade, he would set me free to call on the biggest, baddest, and rudest customers. I had one choice, learn fast and face each challenging customer with confidence and poise. Thanks to these difficult experiences, I thrived in the rough and tumble automotive world in Detroit for two years.

Q: What is the underlying foundation for career success today?

A: Hard work, integrity, and passion. These are my keys to success. I come prepared to work hard, work efficiently, and work effectively every day. If you show consistent value to your employer, then your possibilities are endless. Integrity is a fundamental trait in today's work environment, especially after the Enron and related scandals. You must be honest everyday to everyone and yourself, display loyalty to your company, your piers, and your customers, remain ethical in every decision and action, and never compromise your values and beliefs. Finally, passion is the biggest trait missing in talented employees, today. You must be able to wake up everyday excited about your job, looking forward to new opportunities, and a thirst for knowledge. Passion for a job and a company will carry you a very long way, and make you stand out from everyone else.

In addition to these three keys, career goals must also be well thought out. Always be thinking about where you want to be in five and ten years, and how you are going to get there. These three simple questions I learned seven years ago have stuck in my head ever since: What are you going to do? How are you going to accomplish what you want to do? And, how are you going to evaluate how you did?

Q: How do you keep up-to-date within your industry?

A: Keeping up-to-date within industry can be accomplished in many facets. Some professionals read technical journals, others catch-up-to-date on the world wide Internet, and still other communicate through informal discussions. I personally keep up through my expansive network of piers, customers, and co-workers. I constantly probe customers to find out what they are seeing in the market place, and what competitors are doing. I will follow-up leads by researching companies on the Internet.

Q: What advice would you give a recent engineering graduate looking for work?

A: The most important attribute I learned when looking for a job was to be aggressive and network as much as you can. Especially in today's economy, employers are not going to come and find you. As a graduating senior, it is critical that you must be hungry for a job, and make sure that hunger is translated to your potential employer. Grades don't always get you a job, but they help. If you do not have the hottest GPA, then your interpersonal, teamwork, and leadership skills become that much more important, and they must be conveyed to the employer. Show the employer that you can accomplish any task, thirst for knowledge, and want to be hardworking leader. Make the employer think that not hiring you will be a big mistake.

Networking is key, and I think a reoccurring them in career success, professional development, and job hunting. Always make it a point to meet and talk to as many potential employers as possible. Get involved in professional societies and social organizations. Meet fellow students and professionals. Your classmates may one day provide you with an exciting career opportunity. Attend career fairs, lectures, company tours, and professional organization meetings. The more people you, the more employers you meet will translate into more interviews and more job opportunities. The common saying definitely applies; it's not what you know, but whom you know.

Q: Has your involvement in ASME changed or influenced your career path?

A: ASME has made the biggest impact in my professional career. I owe my employment with Ingersoll-Rand to ASME. Ingersoll-Rand aggressively recruits at Penn State and works closely with the student engineering organizations. As an officer in ASME for four years, I had the opportunity to get to know the Ingersoll-Rand recruiters very well. When graduation time approached, I was able to utilize these connections to obtain an interview and then an offer from Ingersoll-Rand in the area I wanted, technical sales. In fact, the gentleman who hired me is the same person responsible for sponsoring the ASME Ingersoll-Rand student section contest. Needless to say, ASME and Ingersoll-Rand go hand in hand.

In addition to landing my career with Ingersoll-Rand, ASME has continued to help me refine my professional skills. ASME allows me a forum to practice the essential skills of public speaking, teamwork, leadership, and decision-making, all in a friendly environment where a mistake does not cost me a sale or even my job. I have significantly honed my interpersonal skills and expanded my deep network of associates through ASME.