Book Description

This book is a practical guide to the first three months of a new job.It looks at that period of adjustment in the first six weeks of a new job where indicators of potential success or failure can lead to an action plan. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Common Sense and Good Judgement
This is a good and easy book to read. Its bulleted format and straight-forward presentation makes it simple to digest in even one sitting. The weeks are broken out as chapters, with milestones and activity checklists and questions at the end of the chapters helping to reinforce the message.

Using it as a guide for the first six weeks in a new position, its probably most effective to stay aligned with the chapter for the week that you're in at work, although things don't always progress at the same pace for everyone at every job, plus, the format makes it so easy to read ahead - which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Interestingly, after six weeks in my new job, I now find myself back in my last position. Among many other factors, the new job wasn't what I was led to expect. The lesson, "Don't Burn Any Bridges", should be in the prequel.

Tremendous
Roy Blitzer is spot on in his helpful guide to starting a new job. I'm only days into my new job and already I have found the advice invaluable. There's so much to take in both in terms of the tasks to be done and the people to meet and this book helps ease that awkward transition. The title may be jokey, but the advice is actually sound - knowing where the toilet is situated is pretty important. In my last job I immediately made the wrong impression on my colleagues after I went awol from my desk for almost 45 minutes wandering around aimlessly with an expression on my face which must have given away the fact that I was clenching the turtles neck for all I was worth. The boss finding me squatting in the bushes next to the carpark, jettisoning a foul payload didn't exactly enhance that impression. But full marks to the author for a fantastic guide.

Great survival kit for the inevitable job change
Although lots of books help you deal with how to pull together a good resume and even get to a "live" interview. This is the first book that really helps you get a realistic handle on how to survive your first day, deal with your expectations, and monitor whether the change has been a good one or how to improve it. Since almost everyone can expect to change jobs (possibly even careers) several times, this handy volume provides you with a lot of things to think about plus great "Suggestions for Action." It belongs on your shelf with "What Color Is Your Parachute" as a compass for change! ... Read more

Book Description

Written in an engaging style, the authors cover a full range of career development topics and essential competencies to provide readers with a comprehensive introduction to career development interventions. It uses numerous case examples that demonstrate t how concepts can be applied to real-life scenarios.Chapter topics cover understanding and applying theories of career development, career development and diverse populations, career counseling strategies and techniques for the 21st century, career information and resources, using technology to support career counseling and planning, designing and implementing career development programs and services, career development interventions in schools and community settings, ethical and legal issues in career development interventions, and an evaluation of career planning services.For individuals preparing for a professional practice as a career counselor. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Career Development
It's about time! Someone has finally written a career development textbook that is enjoyable to read. I loved this book and recommend it to anyone interested in learning about career development interventions. ... Read more

Book Description

The Back Door Guide to Short-Term Job Adventures 3rd Edition by Michael Landes Tempted to chuck your 9-to-5 job to be a white-water rafting guide in Alaska? Always wanted to spend your summer restoring a medieval castle in the south of France? This one-of-a-kind guide contains more than 1,000 opportunities to work, play, learn, help, create, experience, and grow. This comprehensive resource for off-the-beaten-path work-and-learn adventures will introduce you to options you didn’t even know existed. In this third edition, Michael Landes has extensively updated the listings to provide the most current information, and added new listings for internships, seasonal work, volunteer opportunities, and overseas jobs. Seize your life and your career path in both hands and step through the Back Door—the world awaits you. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

The Back Door Guide a winner!
Michael Landes does an incredible job of simplifying a very difficult process.

This is one-stop shopping for a tremendous amount of useful information. The layout and graphics make it a very easy read and all of the information is very accessible.

You can't help but get excited about travel after browsing through this book. If you use it as a tool, you are sure to find many new opportunities that you would never be able to uncover on your own.

I highly recommend it.

Life's too short for a book this comprehensive!
I've seen dozens of volunteer books, adventure-job books, online databases, etc., but this is still my favorite. While some other places may contain more addresses, and yet others more information on each contact, this achieves the perfect balance. Hundreds of exciting jobs await, many well-paying and many volunteer. I've spent countless hours browsing this book dreaming and have used it for one job so far (at an out-of-the-way resort in Olympic National Park).

The chapters are divided usefully into sections on artistic pursuits, overseas jobs, environmental jobs, adventure jobs, farming jobs, etc., and are peppered with helpful anecdotes from people who've been there. The only drawback, as others have noted, is that the vast majority of listings are US-based. So if you wish to find more non-American jobs, try somewhere else, otherwise this is the best place to start dreaming AND doing!

BUY THIS BOOK
IF you are looking for something different to do, the name says it all: Adventure will follow! I got a bunch of great ideas for personal volunteer experiences through this book, there are things for everyone of ANY interest. ALSO there is a particularlly helpful chapter about finding your place. An awesome book!

Comprehensive and Well-Organized Book
Almost 1,000 descriptions of internships. Entries describe the type of position, how many people apply, and information about the job. A section titled "Ideal Candidate" specifies whether jobs are open to college students, career changers, retired people, and/or foreigners. Types of short-term jobs include adventures, camps and resorts, outdoors, environmental, artistic, socially responsible, and international. A section tells you how to motivate yourself to try one of these adventures and how to apply. Inspiring, interesting, and practical.

This review was originally in Learning A Living, A Guide to Planning Your Career and Finding A Job for People with Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Disorder, and Dyslexia

How to work cheaply in the States -- NOT volunteer overseas!
I am sure that this book is a fantastic resource for American citizens.

However, for a Canadian who wants to work in a foreign country, this book is absolutely useless. Canadians can almost never be hired in the U.S.A., and as well, most of the jobs in the book are not only American but not really service project jobs.

If you are interested in working in a national park, working with youth, etc. and you are an American citizen, hey, go for it. If you are looking for alternatives to Canada World Youth, the Peace Corps, etc., this book will do you NO good. ... Read more

Book Description

A PRACTICAL STEP-BY-STEP APPROACH TO HIRING THE RIGHT PERSON

Every hiring manager knows that the traditional hiring and interviewing process is a poor tool for predicting organizational fit and future on-the-job success. Behavioral interviewing can improve your chances of picking the right candidate two to five times over traditional processes. It focuses on how the candidate works rather than on skills, qualifications, and impressions.

The Talent Edge shows how you can develop a concrete understanding of what your own top performers do differently than the majority of their peers, and how to translate that knowledge into a better hiring system. While using case studies from organizations that have successfully transformed their hiring practices, the book articulates the business case for a Behavioral Interviewing system, and provides a roadmap for implementing it.

Comprehensive coverage includes: how to write job profiles and translate them into questions and answers that can be used in the interview; how to prepare for the interview, ask questions, and probe for the right information. The book also offers advice on how behaviors that are defined and proven to be useful in the hiring process can be incorporated into performance management, career development, and succession planning. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

A great resume book even for a novice like myself.
This book breaks down what makes a resume great; title, skills, and all the things you need to know on how to write a damn good resume is in this book. It covers everything from IT technician, to Administrative assistance. It gives you examples on how to go for the job, and get it on the spot, and shows what to put, and what not to put on a resume.
This book is a definite get for anyone wondering on how to write a functional resume and make you feel like you are the king of the world. The books gives MANY examples for people who dont know how to write good resume's, and trust me it is HARD!
This book takes your hand, and shows you that you can write a good resume, and it is great for someone who is looking for a job, but dont know how to write a good resume, this book is a MUST GET for a employer.

THIS IS THE BEST RESUME GUIDE!
i think that yana parker's damn good resume guides are DAMN good there the best around and anyone looking for help at writing a resume or anything to do with a resume should definitly look at the damn good resumes, whether your in high school just graduating or your 60 looking for a new job and new resume yana parkers book are the place to go!

Excellent Book!
This book is excellent in content and well written.

Guide Gives Examples of Resumes that Solve Problems
Well organized book of resumes. Career fields include office support, finance, education, sales management, youth and students, human resources, technical and computers. Solutions are offered to problems such as gaps in employment, putting together an attractive resume with minimal word processing software, lacking paid experience, a confusing work record, and having only part time employment. A list of these types of problems is followed by resumes that model their solutions.

As originally published in the Annotated Bibliography of "Learning A Living; A Guide to Planning Your Career and Finding a Job For People with Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Disorder, an Dyslexia."

200 not so good examples
I was very disapointed in this resume guide. Not fresh or powerful and not much worth using here. ... Read more

Book Description

How Successful Career Changers Turn Fantasy into Reality

Whether as a daydream or a spoken desire, nearly all of us have entertained the notion of reinventing ourselves. Feeling unfulfilled, burned out, or just plain unhappy with what we’re doing, we long to make that leap into the unknown. But we also hold on, white-knuckled, to the years of time and effort we’ve invested in our current profession.

In this powerful book, Herminia Ibarra presents a new model for career reinvention that flies in the face of everything we’ve learned from "career experts." While common wisdom holds that we must first know what we want to do before we can act, Ibarra argues that this advice is backward. Knowing, she says, is the result of doing and experimenting. Career transition is not a straight path toward some predetermined identity, but a crooked journey along which we try on a host of "possible selves" we might become.

Based on her in-depth research on professionals and managers in transition, Ibarra outlines an active process of career reinvention that leverages three ways of "working identity": experimenting with new professional activities, interacting in new networks of people, and making sense of what is happening to us in light of emerging possibilities.

Through engrossing stories—from a literature professor turned stockbroker to an investment banker turned novelist—Ibarra reveals a set of guidelines that all successful reinventions share. She explores specific ways that hopeful career changers of any background can:

• Explore possible selves
• Craft and execute "identity experiments"
• Create "small wins" that keep momentum going
• Survive the rocky period between career identities
• Connect with role models and mentors who can ease the transition
• Make time for reflection—without missing out on windows of opportunity
• Decide when to abandon the old path in order to follow the new
• Arrange new events into a coherent story of who we are becoming.

A call to the dreamer in each of us, Working Identity explores the process for crafting a more fulfilling future. Where we end up may surprise us. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Change doesn't happen overnight
This well-written, thought provoking book provides reassurance and guidance for anyone considering a career change. Unlike many self help manuals it is realistic about the immense upheaval a mid-life career transition can cause. The case studies helped me understand just why changing career is so hard, especially if you have been successful and well rewarded/ respected in your 'first' career. The fact that so many of the interviewees took several years to find their new identity gives hope to high flyers who want to make a change but are unsure as to how to make the leap.

Ibarra explores career change as identity change which gives a far more intellectually driven and in depth perspective to approaching a 'new you' than other books which simply ask you to look at your strengths and weaknesses and get on with applying for a new job or reskilling yourself for a new career. Like going into a fancy dress shop Ibarra recommends trying out new career identities for size - by making new contacts, re-establishing peripheral contacts or trying new jobs unpaid or part time.

Highly recommended for all those stuck in a career rut, those en-route to career self-actualisation or who simply want to put out feelers as to what else might be out there.

Very encouraging, very useful.
This is a beautifully conceived, one of a kind book. It's method is strongly scientific, based on a collection of case studies, asking how do people really change careers? This being the case, then what sort of structure or theory would best describe this process? This might sound dry or uselessly academic but it's not, it gives the quietest advice and the most assured guidance. If you are passionately working through your own career change, it's very likely you are experiencing much that is described in these case studies, and unlike the highly structured step by step guides to career change, you might find the reflection of your own experience very encouraging.

The theory itself is simply stated, easy to understand, but neither superficial nor dumbed-down. In a nutshell, this book debunks the clean sequence of career change from analysis (questionnaires, introspection, structured exercises) to action (now let's find that job). Rather, as long as you are strongly bound to your old working identity, this clarity is not possible. One learns what one wants to do by doing, by trial and error experiments in new tasks. One's working identity is also held in place by our professional relationships, by people who view you as you already appear. These relationships reinforce and support your current situation, so if you do want to explore a change, new professional relationships (new mentors and peers) will be necessary. Viewing one's working identity as involvement in professional tasks and relationships, tapping into new possibilities isn't as easy as doing a questionnaire. Rather, your working identity must be loosened before you can fully experience new possibilities and ultimately commit to a new career. Basically, it's a muddle: if you're experiencing doubt, confusion and a sense of limbo that doesn't mean you're not on the right track. You are making the harrowing crossing between identities. Embedded in the case studies--and the authors discussion--are ways in which people actively made this crossing, so this work also offers guidance about how to press on, despite the confusion. Very encouraging, very useful.

Finally - a career advice book that offers real advice
Even after completing an MBA and spending 12 years in marketing in various companies, I still had no real sense of what I wanted to do with my life (career-wise). I undertook many so-called career tests (Myer-B, etc) and completed many exercises in loads of books (Parachute, etc), but none seemed to offer any plan or guidance as to what to do next. It was nice to know what I enjoyed doing, what skills are preferred and so on - but that really offered little in practical advice as to what to do next. This book offers practicality, and interesting case studies that I could directly relate to, thus providing a reference map of what to do next. So many of Herminia's people profiled in this book had similar career issues as me, and it was nice to know I wasn't alone. But better still, it was nice to know there was a way out too. I particularly related to the person in the book who had so many interests (like me) but no clear singular passion, so he built a portfolio of jobs and activities to satisfy his interests. It was nice to know that such a choice can be made in today's world, where specialisation in corporate environments appears the only way to get ahead, at least financially and status of position. But sometimes being a generalist can be even more satisfying, as you're doing what you really want to do, not what others think you should do. I highly recommend this book.

Thoughtful and insightful
Working Identity is one of the few self-help books that I have read from cover to cover. I found Ms. Ibarra's thoughtful work extremely helpful in my personal, mid-career dilemma. It offers practical advice and approaches the topic from a different perspective. I would highly recommend it to anyone who eschews the more "touchy-feely" approach to personal change and also to anyone who yearns for more satisfaction in her/his career.

Well researched insight on finding the "next phase" of work.
This review is from a person who has been through outplacement, worked with career counselors, read many of the career books, have had a combination of a Fortune 500 and consulting/entrepreneurial career, and went to one of the top rated B-schools.

Ibarra makes a valuable contribution by showing that you learn by experimenting, meeting new people, stepping out of your current and comfortable (or increasingly uncomfortable) self.

The odds of finding the right work through the ususal "revalation" methods (HR/Career Counselor methods like Myers Briggs tests, other psych. tests or methods, etc.) is small. The path often involves several steps - an evolution.

Outplacement and HR types (and the Department of Labor) look at how fast you can get a new job - ignoring the real experiential and mental changes that probably need to take place.

If you are reading this review and looking for a job, it is likely you need to find one. Go out and get it, but read this book and refer to it. You may even land in what will be for you a great place for many years. However, the book will give you perspective on the longer journey, which will likely continue even in your new position. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

The Guiding Light
Pre-Eikleberry, I was beginning to believe that the possibility of having a stable yet creative career was a mere pipedream placed in my head by my idealistic liberal arts mentors. I was beginning to believe I had no other choice than to wither up inside the confines of a cubicle that would inevitably crush my dreams and my artistic potential. In this way, since my future was becoming hazy, reading Carol Eikleberry's book, "The Career Guide for Creative and Unconventional People," was like putting on a pair of glasses. After the first chapter it was clear that not all hope was lost. Right off the bat, Eikleberry validated my feelings of frustration and isolation. She offered comfort and recourse by relaying her own job experiences and those of her artistic clients. In essence, she was able to show me that I am not alone; there are options for creative people in the job world. In the first chapter, by coaxing me to define my personality and my skills, conventional and otherwise, she encouraged me to hone my career goals. Feeling productive, I went on to the second chapter and matched up my skills and interests with a comprehensive list of career choices. Also I was able to envision creating a unique patchwork career that would fulfill all my artistic needs. With Eikleberry's help I realized that it was okay to try several paths, that many people have done just that and, in the end, have found themselves filling creative niches no one thought existed. Because of this book my future now seems to be brimming with possibilities instead of dead ends. Ultimately, while Carol Eikleberry cannot usher you into an interview and land you the job of your dreams, she can certainly help to point the way by instilling you with the confidence to begin what she calls "the process of your adventure."

Insight into and Understanding of the Creative Job World
I highly recommend this book to any person who has even a sliver of creativity and feels that there must be something else out there besides the typical 9 to 5 drugery. Good news, there is! Carol Eikleberry's book is not a "Follow these 5 steps to obtain your perfect job" guidebook. What is does offer, however, is an overwhelming amount of promising insight, advice, and support for creative people uncertain of their career future. From an analysis of the creative personality in the workplace to real life examples of those who have made it, this book delivers hope to the weary and gives us the tools to begin on our career journey. It is The Career "Bible" for unconventional people!

the right book for some of us
Before you buy this book, I think you should read all the reviews posted here. There is a wide range of opinion (Eikleberry would use the word divergent), and there is merit in all. If you are motivated to earn big money, you won't find this book helpful. It doesn't have nuts and bolts - could have used some hints on resumes and interview strategies for the creative folks who have changed jobs more frequently than others. It seems a little restrictive in its use of creativity - I believe we all are creative, only it looks different depending upon personalities and occupations.
This disclaimer notwithstanding, it's a great book. I'm a career counselor, with many clients who are or would be in the arts. I'm recommending this book to them. If you majored in music, theater, art, or even the liberal arts, you will be reassured by this book. If you wish you had majored in these things, it's not too late to get back to your first career aspirations in some employable form.
I particularly like the section on the interim job (which may be for a few months or for a lifetime). This can be reassuring to read, so the artistic soul can stop the self-flagellation because he/she "sold out" and took a job.
For the small cost of this book, you can become re-inspired and energized in your career quest.

A Great Idea Poorly Executed
I thought this book would be so helpful to me, an artist looking for a tolerable day job while I continue to pursue my career. Unfortunately, it was quite a disappointment. I took the quiz and it identified me as a type which I honestly don't agree with. Most of the recommended jobs were neither interesting nor creative. The rest were impossibly out of reach, such as symphony conductor or State Director of Natural Resources (I mean come on - there are only 50 in the nation and they are political appointees). The last straw was when it recommended my current position - a job in which I am slowly dying from lack of stimulation.

I wish I had had this book in high school
When I started reading this book I couldn't believe that there was a book written for me. I have always felt different and misunderstood by others who aren't creative types. I was beginning to believe that I really was weird. It was so wonderful to know that I am not alone in how I perceive the world. I have never had career success even though I have a master's degree in school counseling, reason being, I have never had a job in which I was able to express myself creatively.

This book has helped me see that I need to be in a creative environment and use my creativity in order to thrive in a career. Not only do I need a creative environment, but the book broke things down further by helping me see that I need to be in a creative environment in which I work with ideas and things. I have always been employed in jobs which relied heavily on working with people, something that I have realized is just not for me. It is so wonderful to know that there are other choices out there for creative types and the author includes an extensive list of creative and unconventional careers that are organized by Holland's Theory so I know which careers to focus on as well as which one's to steer clear of. I have only read half way through and I can't recommend this book enough! ... Read more

Book Description

Damn Good Resume Guide

A Crash Course in Resume Writing, Revised by Yana Parker

Yana Parker has helped hundreds of thousands of job seekers write and refine their resumes to damn near perfection. Her resume guides have been praised for their user-friendly style and savvy advice and, rightly so, have become staples in libraries, career centers, and employment offices nationwide. Now, in this fully revised and updated edition of the best-seller, you can quickly garner resume-writing wisdom by following ten easy steps to a damn good resume. Also included are completely new sections on formatting resumes and submitting resumes over the Internet. Here is a resume guide you can count on to get that resume done fast and get it done right. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

It's a great resource!
I teach job search strategies workshops at the local employment centre and I always suggest that my participants read your "Damn Good Resume Guide". It is written for real people looking for real jobs. It's a great resource.

Above The Rest
Having been involved in the preparation of resumes extensively over the last 15 years as a state and federal employment counselor, I have never found any author who more willingly and professionally explians the resume process. Yana is definitely more concerned over quality than just making a buck! "The Damn Good Resume Guide" and its sister titles are definitely head, shoulders, knees and toes over any other book dealing with resume and job search preparation. A "GOTTA HAVE THIS!!" for anyone who wants a truley Damn Good Resume.

The name says it all!
I bought this book back in the mid-1990's when I was looking to make a career shift. To say that the guide is merely effective would be an understatement. This guide is AWESOME! If you follow the instructions and utilize the layouts in the examples for the type of job you are seeking, you will soon find your resume will consistently float to the top of the pile at nearly every place you apply. You WILL get phone calls! Of course, the rest is up to you -- a resume alone will not get you the job. But, when properly written and designed, they will help you get your foot in the door. I used this book to help me craft a resume for an out-of-work friend who was always amazed at how easy it was for me to locate employement, and he, too, started getting phone calls. He was employed within a month.
USE IT! IT WORKS!

Best if you are in a hurry.
This book has ten steps to writing a good resume. For those of you who might think that this is too many, everything is so concisely written that it is easy to get through the book in a day and end up with a great resume. Other books on resumes that I have read fill up their pages with fluff or well-duh information, not so this book. Although some may complain about the seemingly lack of variety in the jobs showcased (I tend to disagree), the ten steps themselves may be applied to a resume for any job. The only drawback to the sample resumes in this book that I can see is that they are a bit wordy (which contrasts with the rest of the book). However, you can aways trim the fat in your own resume.

I recommend this book to everyone, but especially to people that want a consise explanation of how to write a resume, and/or someone that needs to produce a resume in a short amount of time.

Brief Book that Really Helps
This short book describes ten steps to wriging resumes. Examples include general resumes, student resumes, and military transition resumes. Has a list of action verbs. Employers comment on some of the resumes. (This review was in the Annotated Bibliography of Learning A Living; A Guide to Planning Your Career and Finding A Job for People with Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Disorder and Dyslexia by Dale S. Brown) ... Read more

Book Description

“This book is a must for anyone who wants a career they feel passionate about.”
—Dr. T. Lafeber, President, Lafeber Company

Changing Careers For Dummies helps you take charge of your career and live the life you dream of. It helps you get organized, discover what you really want from life, and transform your passion into a great job. Full of handy checklists, worksheets, and brainstorming techniques, this practical guide includes everything you need to get your professional life on the right track.

Whether you’re out of work because of choice or because of circumstances—or even if you have a job but need a change—now’s your chance to build a rewarding new career. This fun and easy guide helps you explore all your options and take advantage of the endless opportunities that are out there. Changing Careers For Dummies includes all the helpful advice you need to:

• Identify your ta lents and desires
• Create your own definition of success
• Invest in your personal growth
• Develop a realistic plan of action
• Learn the skills you need to succeed
• Find a new job or start your own business

Career expert Carol McClelland shows you how to figure out what is or isn’t working in your career and determine what you need and want for yourself and your family. With easy, practical tools, she helps you discover your true interests and helps you find careers that might interest you based on your skills, talents, and interests. You’ll find nontraditional career ideas by the boatload and helpful resources like professional associations for any career area you’re interested in. You’ll find plenty of information you can use and all the confidence you need to succeed. Inside you’ll discover:

• How the work world is different today than it was yesterday
• Alternatives to the 9-to-5 work day
• How different careers will affect your home life
• How to find a job that offers all the things you want in it
• How to get by while you wait for your dream job
• How to figure out what you’re best at
• How to find out what you’re passionate about
• How to brainstorm for a new career
• How to start your own business (or decide if you should take that risk)
• How to successfully interview and land the job

Reviews (3)

A needed book
This book is really excellent. One of the reasons is because it specifically addresses career *changes*, as well as just careers in general. There are certain details and differences, especially in the psychology of the career changer. I believe this books hits that nail on the head.

There are some sections that really, really help you get to the core of what you were born to do...which is a very hard process.

Rob

Excellent book for career changers
I have read quite a few of these types of books and I must say that Changing Careers for Dummies is in a class by itself. It is an extremely useful and enjoyable book. The author steps you through a reassessment of your likes, skills and talents in a manner that makes the process much simpler than is the case with other career changing books. The book also has a friendly, almost nurturing feel that is welcome during a time of uncertainty. McClelland almost makes it seem that changing careers is something to regard with joy and positive anticipation. Highly recommended!!

A fabulous book
This book came at a fortuitous time in my life. My company had just gone through a small downsizing maneuver under the guise of 'enhanced performance system' employee reviews. It certainly made me sit up and notice, especially since my job and I aren't really well suited to each other. Ms. McClelland's book gave me much more insight into what I really wanted to do, and how to go about it. I especially liked the section where you find out what interests you, out of the seven sections, I found four that fit me. Interestingly enough, none of the four are in the area in which I currently work. She also gives the reader permission to dream of ANY career, and not to be bound by old thoughts and worries. I intend to change careers in about a year, and will take the discoveries I made by reading this book into my next job. It can truly help anyone who wants to move on to something else, something they've always wanted to do! ... Read more

Book Description

According to the perennial wisdom teachings, your vocation is not a means of survival in the world - it is a pure expression of your life force. Vocation arises, not as a response to external forces, but authentically from within your own body. To the modern mind, this approach to work sounds radical. But for more than 3,000 years, sacred traditions in the East and West have allowed vocation to serve as a platform for spiritual and material growth.

The Ultimate Anti-Career Guide is the first audio curriculum that adapts this classic approach to right livelihood to the challenges unique to our place and time. Based on the national anti-career workshops taught by Dr. Rick Jarow since 1988, this is the same life-changing program that has helped thousands of frustrated job seekers open to their intuition, transform their values into action, and answer their true calling - instead of settling for a paycheck.

Traditional career strategies are simply reactions to the job market; Dr. Jarow begins - for example, matching an inventory of skills with the want ads. An "anti-career" is a manifestation of the unique blueprint for your destiny encoded in your body since birth. The key to this revolutionary approach is your body's chakra system; the seven centers that govern the free flow of prana, or life force, through your body. Through a program of powerful meditations, you gain direct access to your chakras, clearing and aligning them with the energetic forces that make everything in life possible. You don't have to go out looking for a job, Dr. Jarow says. The job you were born to do will unfold in time, like a tree from a seed, as you let go of self-limiting concepts and open to the energy of creation - with The Ultimate Anti-Career Guide. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Alternative to Conventional "Job Hunting"
Rick Jarow provides a much-needed alternative to the conventional "write a winning resume" and "knock 'em dead in your job interview" approach to finding a livelihood. Most career seekers are told to HUNT for a job -- i.e., use the hunter-gatherer model to find a position that just happens to be open at the specific time you are looking for a job. Once you've bagged yourself a job, then you are expected to mold yourself to fit the parameters your new employer wants you to fit into. Jarow advocates an more organic approach where finding a job is an outgrowth of creating a life that is right for you. As you associate with people/organizations whose values resonate with you, you will eventually connect with people who can steer you towards work that fits YOU. It is the difference between showing off a series of stuffed, mounted trophies on a wall as opposed to a lush, colorful garden you've cultivated yourself to represent your life's work.

I recommend the audio tapes over the paperback...
I bought "Creating the Work You Love" about a year ago. It clicked with me. He's writing for people who come to life from a spiritual perspective, and have grown fairly skillful at that side of life, but are awkwardly deficient in the nitty gritty of reality. Jarow understands that the nitty gritty is also spiritual, and so he approaches the good old question of jobs and career from a wise and spiritual place, plucking examples inspirations from both Eastern and Western ancient traditions (although he organizes the process through the system of the chakras), but also from history and popular culture and his own life and counseling practice.

But I had a hard time focusing on the book. It's full of meditation exercises, which can be hard to take from text into meditation. Also, I never felt like I was sufficiently "done" with a chapter--after all, when have you ever done enough connecting to "abundance"? So I would recommend the audio tapes over the book.You can listen to it again and again, focused and meditating deeply, or absentmindedly, or in a more rationally conscious state. It speaks to all three states.

Personally, I know where I want to be in, say, five years. But I'm still struggling and dragging my feet about the short term necessities. And Jarow's approach helps connect the unglamorous aspects of the job search with the nourishing and challenging spiritual work that I'm more comfortable with.

EXCELLENT
Rick brings out excellent points about how our circumstances, household, upbringing etc affect our lives and our thought process. He brings out very well how our complex thoughts, our anxieties, apprehension, fear, perplexity, dissatisfaction in professional lives may affect our personal lives as well. With excellent example from his own life he explains how all these feelings may eventually agitate a person so much that they decide to take up career changes He has done an excellent job in non-conventional career counseling. Overall the set of cassettes are extremely mesmerizing.

Fantastic!
I've felt stuck for quite a while now and anti-career tapes have opened me up. The guided imagery exercises are great--I made many discoveries along the way (I really enjoyed listening to his soothing voice, too!) Initially, I thought the chakra component was too New-Age-y for me, but to my surprise, I'm moving forward with less fear, and I really believe that "aligning" the chakras, as Rick suggests has helped a lot.

I have much respect for any author who can draw from many religious and spiritual traditions, as Rick Jarow does. The material he presents is intelligent, compelling, and practical.

Inspiring and Powerful
Rick Jarrow has a wonderful way of relaying his message in such a calming and soothing voice....yet the message is powerful and inspiring. He has the ability to convey the message in a way that anyone can relate. His analogies to real life situations and experiences makes it easy to understand the concepts he is trying to convey. I have read and listened to many self-improvement books, speakers, and career development guides, but only this one connects what I truly am as a person including my history to what my destiny is in my life's work. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Valuable time saving reference and tutorial
I started a job hunt recently, and hadn't written a resume in the last 6 years or so. I had a good idea of how I wanted to present and market myself, but I didn't have all of the fine details filled in.

This book is extensive, but well labeled. Start reading at the beginning, and every subject points you to the chapter with more information on that subject. Kind of like hyperlinks. That way you can look through at the major headings and pick and choose what you don't already know.

I took a prioritized approach, because I was in a little bit of a hurry. I took the resume section, picked a format based on my experience, then wrote a draft. From there, I went back and picked through the writing sections to make sure that I was on the right track. If you've read the examples, and the "before and after" sections, you'll probably have a good idea already what the big picture is. From then I went on to the section on cover letters and online job searching.

There are sections on virtually every subject of resume and cover letter writing, gathering references, job searching and interview preparation. Everything that you really need to get started, or just touch up on what you already know is well organized and labeled so that you can use it immediately. It's just what I was looking for, so that I wouldn't have to waste time reading the "full story" on each subject.

After following the advice in this book and sending out about 20 copies of my resume online, I had about 10 replies in the first week, and about 6 requests for interviews already.

600 pages for a book on writing a resume, impossible?
I said, "How can resume-writing be this complicated?" before carrying this 600-page 8.5" x 11" book home. Susan Whitcomb did a good job of compiling tips and advice and presenting them at the right time. There are tips on left vs. right justification, including personal information, and picking fonts, and long discussions on CVs vs. resumes, on functional vs. chronological, on printed vs. scannable vs. ASCII, and on grammar and mechanics. She's obviously a great copyriter and page designer.

Because, indeed, a resume now must look good enough so it will be read.

One chapter did nothing but help you choose which sections and section titles fit your situation. I found that weird, until I began the next chapter, which read, "Even experienced writers can feel some fear and trepidation when facing the start of a new project. You already have a good outline in which to work (chapter 4), which puts you beyond the 'blank sheet of paper' stage."

Inside the "tweaking" section, she even gives the keystrokes you'll use for both Microsoft Word and Corel WordPerfect.

You'll also find 250 "impact-mining questions" to ask yourself to come up with powerful accomplishment statements. Is that a lot? Well, no, but it gives you a good start! When you expect a resume-writing book to have a list of action verbs, Susan diligently wrote a impressive example for each verb.

I do not agree with her treatment of ASCII resumes, though. Of course, her discussion on online promotion and online resume submittal has grown stale; her ideas on "keyword resumes" is as outdated as advice on META TAGS on web pages.

Bulky... comprehensive... a great workbook.

Great book!
This book may be long, but it is easy to get through. I loved it! I absolutely recommend it for resume writing. It took me only a week or two to read and come up with a resume I am proud of. I am also receiving compliments from prospective employers (one said it was "unique" and not boring like all the other resumes she sees).

Quite Simply...The Best!
I don't give five stars to just any book. They must richly deserve it. Like this one. This is unqualifyingly the best how-to-write-a-resume book out there and I've seen dozens of them. Ms. Whitcomb has a get-to-the-point writing style and offers hundreds of tips, suggestions and examples. Her book is very well organized and she writes with amazing clarity.

I was overwhelmed
I was overwhelmed,

This book is more of a resource book than a clear guide on how to quickly write a great resume. I found the volume of information overwhelming and it only served to frustrate me in that I did not know where to begin.

Trying to read the book from start to finish was a daunting task as it doesn't follow a logical series of steps to produce a great resume; it makes a great reference book but not a hand-holding guide.

I returned the book and purchased Robin Ryan's "Winning Resumes" (0471263656). This is an excellent, short book/instruction manual. Actually, I purchased both of her books; her cover letter book is "Winning Cover Letters" (047126348)

I purchased Ryan's books after I had sent 20 resume and cover letters and received nothing back except one rejection letter. After reading the books and following her step by step instructions I produced a much better set of material.

I have sent ten Cover letters and resumes since adopting her ideas and I've had three responses in just two weeks!!! I've had an interview with two of the companies and the third is still taking apps and will "get back with me".

Good luck in your search...

... Read more

Book Description

The second edition of Inside Secrets to Finding a Teaching Job provides real-world job search tips from other teachers as well as administrators. Also contains resume-writing advice, how to create a teacher portfolio and demonstration video, and Internet resources for finding the perfect situation. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Good and Practical Advice for Would-Be Teachers
Like some other reviewers, I am currently looking for a teaching position. I ordered this book and found it had very good information on where to find jobs, how to write a resume, and how to answer possible interview questions. I would say the resume part was the most useful so far, as few resume books have examples of teacher resumes. From the examples provided I was able to construct a more condensed resume from the three-page one I previously had.

However, the jury is out in so far as whether I will be able to obtain employment in the field even with this advice. The reason I did not give this book five stars is that there was not a whole lot of information for those people who are changing careers in mid-life. Most of the emphasis seemed directed at those traditional college age graduates with little or no employment experience.

Must Have For All Teachers
I found this book to be a must have for all teachers. As a recent graduate with a teaching degree, I was nervous about finding the right teaching job for me. I used the techniques and suggestions in the book. I was offered a job from my very first teaching interview.

A great resource for those "still looking"
I just got this book and have only flipped through it, but already I can tell it will be a great asset. I am a recent graduate with a teaching degree. Our last year we had several seminars and workshops on interviews and finding a job. I have notes scattered all over the place. This book puts all the same info in one place and a whole lot more. Really great interview tips. Lots of potential questions and what not to do or say during an interview. I can't wait to read this book in depth! A definite "must have" in the increasing competitiveness of the teaching job market!

Worked for me!
What a dream of a book! After redaing this paperback, I was better prepared for my job interview than my competition. I was ready for the most common questions, which I was asked. Better yet, I knew what not to do in an interview, they asked some trick questions too. My performance was certainly enhanced by this book and I got the job! It was my first interview and now I have my dream teaching job! I highly recommend this book for new and seasoned educators looking for a job. Best of luck to you all! ... Read more

Book Description

You've looked at dozens of books that promise to help you get a job. This book is different. This book is written by an executive whose business is teaching managers how to interview job candidates. He knows what they're looking for--and how you can successfully prepare for landing that job you really want.
        
Through interactive and easy-to-follow exercises, Landing the Job You Want equips you to make your next job interview one of the most positive experiences of your life. Whether you're a recent college grad searching for a first job, a corporate veteran looking for that big promotion, an at-home mom starting a new career, or an experienced worker looking to move in a totally new direction, you will walk into interviews prepared and confident because you know how to:

• identify the skills most important for a job
  
• decide whether a job is right for you
  
• present your skills with maximum impact
  
• respond to difficult questions
  
• perform well in simulations and tests
  
• handle an ill-prepared interviewer
  
• close an interview on a positive note
  
• critique your own interview performance

Each exercise in Landing the Job You Want is designed to help you look within yourself to identify your strengths and your weaknesses. You'll learn how to quickly develop a portfolio of skills that match your ideal job, and you'll understand exactly what your interviewer is looking for in a candidate. You'll be ready to dazzle your interviewer with both your qualifications and your preparation. The result? The interview of a lifetime--one that leads to the job you've always wanted. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Great
If you are looking for a job, or promotion and the corporation will be using the Targeted Selection method this is the book you must read! Forget those silly answers like "I am a people person" This book will help you explain why you should land the job!

very good interview prep
I would highly recommend this book for job interviewing preparation. Also recommended for job interview preparation are the job interview guides published by Vault.com, including the Vault Guide to the Case Interview and the Vault Guide to Finance Interviews. Good luck!

The best preparation book I have ever read.
This book was Fantastic! It gave me great examples, and allowed me to practice with real work oriented questions. This allowed me to prepare the upcoming promotional opportunity within my company. I feel that I am now relaxed and fully prepared to do the best that I can. I have and would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in seriously getting promoted. It will work, you just have to do the work and read the book. It's that Easy. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is designed to help people who seek their first federal government job as well as federal employees who want to advance in the system. The process of getting a government job often involves preparing complex applications, and those applications frequently require written statements or "elements" which are called "Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities" or KSAs. In the competitive hiring process, the individual who gets hired for the federal job usually has the best KSAs. This book shows examples of effective KSAs that have worked for real people. The book doesn't simply "tell how" to write KSAs; it actually "shows how" to write KSAs in sample after sample related to multiple fields. This book will do a great deal to make the federal hiring process understandable as it illuminates one of the most complex features of getting a government job: writing the KSAs or "elements," as they are often called. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Should be KSA for limited Government Jobs
This book has too few job examples and many of the jobs it does offer KSAs for are related. If I could, I wouldn't have spent the money or the 5 months it took to get it. Out of hundreds if not thousands of fed. jobs, this book manages to cover KSAs for whopping 42 of them. If you are in any science field other than medical, don't bother with this book. ... Read more

Book Description

The interview strategies that help graduates of the nation's top business schools get the best jobs with the highest salaries

Interviewing for a job is more than answering questions. The most successful candidates are those who've done their homework, who come prepared with polished answers for every question, and who know how to steer the conversation where they want it to go. Now professional career coach Shelly Leanne--a Harvard graduate--teaches job seekers proven interview techniques taught at the nation's top business schools. How to Interview Like a Top MBA arms job seekers with:

• Insights and advice from top corporate executives, headhunters, and MBA program administrators
• Worksheets, charts, diagrams, and other valuable tools for creating a customized interview strategy and plan of action
• Valuable lessons on how to read interviewer signals, take control of an interview, turn weaknesses into strengths, ask the right questions, and much more

Reviews (2)

Highly recommended!
How To Interview Like a Top MBA, by Shel Leanne, is extremely well written and provides great insight into how to interview excellently for a job. The topics covered in the main text are very timely, with chapters about situations in which you may be trying to get a more advanced position, as well as ways to approach a job interview if you have been out of work for a while or if you are transitioning to a new field. The book also has a very valuable sample 100 Questions and Answers section. This book was thoughtful and insightful, and the advice from headhunters and recruiters add great dimensions.

Very useful resource!
Shelly Leanne does an excellent job in providing important insights in How To Interview Like a Top MBA. The book will be useful for those in business as well as other fields. It seems as if it would have been hard in the market of interview preparation books to write something novel, but this book accomplishes that wonderfully. I greatly enjoyed the range of topics covered - from how to do research about a job and industry before you try to interview for a job, to how to deal with tough questions. The sample Q&A section is very useful. I highly recommend this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Microsoft's interview process is a notoriously grueling sequence of brain-busting questions that separate the most creative thinkers from the merely brilliant. So effective is their technique that other leading corporations--from the high-tech industry to consulting and financial services--are modeling their own hiring practices on Bill Gates' unique approach. HOW WOULD YOU MOVE MOUNT FUJI? reveals for the first time more than 35 of Microsoft's puzzles and riddles. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Very nicely done . . .
There's been a need for a book like this for years. Like most people in IT, I've encountered these types of questions and have had complicated feelings about them. (When I solve a puzzle, I think they're great, of course.) I've read several of Poundstone's other books and knew he was a terrific writer. This didn't disappoint. It looks perceptively at how these questions are used and misused today. It is not a long book. I read it in one weekend, and I wish more books were like that. Well worth it for anyone in the job market, anyone who likes puzzles, anyone interested in the whole idea of measuring intelligence and creativity.

Indispensible for anyone in the job market!
Mount Fuji is one of the best nonfiction books I've read in a long while. If epod would read it, I think he'd agree. The book is *NOT* some simplistic cheatsheet. It's a serious, nuanced, critical look at employee evaluations. Needless to say, one cardinal theme is that you don't ace these interviews by memorizing right answers. It's all about showing the interviewer how you approach a problem. Unless you do that, you're dead. With some questions, it's good to come up with a unique answer the interviewer hasn't heard . . . It's also interesting to learn of the backstage voting on candidates, which is hilarious and scary. I learned a lot from this book, and unlike most books of its kind, it's written in a style that makes it fun to read.

Do NOT buy the Adobe digital copy of this book
I bought a digital copy of this book and was hoping I could read it from my notebook. The problem is the stupid Adobe ebook can only be installed in one computer, and once the computer has problem, your book gone. The worse is after I tried to open this book after couple weeks, the stupid Adobe reader asked me to activate the software again, and even after I activated it, it still don't allow me to open it. A dialog box with message "Would you like to learn more about documents protected with Adobe DRM?" kept poping out.

I have no idea why Adobe can sell such immatured software and why Amazon use such stupid software to hurt her customers???

Good potential - mediocre execution
I liked 'How Would You Move Mount Fuji?' I really did - until about the middle of it. It starts with a very thorough and interesting survey of the history of the technical interview and continues to make a nice analysis of its purpose and several of the techniques used in conducting interviews. But that's where the good stuff ends.
A vast part of the book is dedicated to listing dozens of brainteasers of various levels of difficulty and describing their solution (sometime in an excruciating level of detail). This might be fun if you're a first-time riddle solver, but it has almost nothing to do with the topic of the book - how does Microsoft conduct their selection process.
I bought this book as part of trying to become a better technical interviewer. Not that I would ever use brainteasers in an interview (I think that's wrong for O so many reasons), but I wanted to get a deeper understanding of the way the people from Redmond do it. And that's exactly what I didn't get. Instead, I got a list of questions that, by publishing this book, became unusable even if I had intended to use riddles in my interviews. Besides, if you want to read sample interview questions asked at Microsoft, turn to Google.
So if a list of riddles is what you're after - go ahead and buy this book (although there are better brainteaser books out there). If you want to learn how to give or pass interviews, this book is not the one for you.

A fun, quick read
The book is only about 140 pages in the hard-back, which is fairly short. The remaining pages are solutions to some puzzles listed in the book.

Poundstone gives a nice history of the use of puzzle-type interviews. You learn some Microsoft trivia, get some cool puzzles with solutions, and a discussion on the pros and cons of puzzle interviews. My only gripe is that the puzzles are in the 4th of 8 chapters. I skipped that chapter, and after reading the book I am now working the puzzles. Very entertaining if you enjoy logic puzzles/brainteasers. ... Read more

Book Description

The government is hiring, for homeland security jobs and more! But if you want to be successful in landing a federal job, you need to understand the government's unique and complex application process. In this complete guide, Troutman shares the expertise that has enabled her to help many others just like you go on to new and rewarding jobs in federal service.

Applying for federal employment is different than in private industry. This new guide shows you how to succeed by breaking the government's intricate process down into 10 simple steps. Both first-time applicants and those already within government will find something new here, as application processes change over time. Ten Steps is simply the most up-to-date book on federal employment available today!

Written for all job levels and categories, with salaries ranging to $140,000.

Ten Steps to a Federal Job is a "must have" for any job seeker looking for federal employment. Let Troutman's latest guidebook walk you through every step of the application process and into a rewarding job in federal service.

Includes a CD-ROM with samples and examples, and our Federal Resume and KSA Builders, normally sold for $35 each. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

A Must for the Military to GS Transition
For those of you on active duty wanting to make the transition to the GS side Kathryn Troutman's Ten Steps to a Federal Job is the first weapon of choice!

Her book and supplemental CD-ROM, filled with numerous examples of excellent resumes, arms you with the Step by Step manual to get started, solidify your work experience with the correct verbiage, and hammer home your marketable skills.

Do not be fooled into thinking you can navigate the Federal hiring process armed with only the information provided during your separation lectures, these are nice but Kathryn's book gives you more - much more! Inside you will find how to formulate your Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA's), selecting the correct job series to parallel your experience, great web links, and even interview tips! Additionally, if you are unclear about the material call the Resume-Place for FREE advice! You just might get to talk to Kathryn herself, she quickly emailed me the answers to my in-depth questions!

This book is a must have in any rucksack - right next to Kathryn's Electronic Federal Resume Guidebook & CD-ROM!

Great Book! Great Price!
The Ten Steps book and cd are quite helpful. Kathry has condensed a very convoluded process into 10 easy to follow steps which make sense. I have utilized this book for my job search and it has helped me to stay focussed, on task, and prepared me for what I have come across on the various federal websites. I am very impressed with how easy it is to navigate the cd. There are even resume builders to help when you get stuck writing the resume! If your computer is connected to the internet, it will email what you've typed into the builders right back to you in a format which can easily be cut and pasted into the resume. I have earmarked various pages and I have used the resume templates (both paper and electronic formats) to write my resume. Now it only takes me about 15-20 minutes to apply for a job online because all I have to do is cut and paste. And it has been successful. I work for the federal government.

Review - Writer's Digest, April 5, 2004
Having worked several years for a government organization, I say Hats Off to the author, for writing and putting together a helpful guide book for anyone wanting to get into the federal system. The U.S. Government is a whole different animal from Corporate America, and pretty much a frustrating maze and entity unto itself. Just to be able to speak "Governmentese" is a real coup - it has its own language, mostly of acronyms. But to understand the structure of this very frustratingly mammoth national organization, and to be able to explain it and guide someone to find a job therein - well, this book could be a gold m