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Career Resources
Description: Looking to start your career? Pivot to a new one? Get out of a work funk? Check out these books to jump start your next move in your career. #general
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Good Trouble
by Sander Hicks and Joe Biel and Joyce BrabnerIn 1996, everything about Joe Biel's life seemed like a mistake. He was 18, he lived in Cleveland, he got drunk every day, and he had mystery health problems and weird social tics.
All his friends' lives were as bad or worse. To escape a nihilistic, apocalyptic worldview and to bring reading and documentation into a communal punk scene, he started assembling zines and bringing them in milk crates to underground punk shows. Eventually this became Microcosm Publishing. But Biel's head for math was stronger than his ability to relate to people, and it wasn't until he was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome that it all began to fall into place.
This is the story of how, over 20 years, one person turned a litany of continuing mistakes and seeming wrong turns into a happy, fulfilled life and a thriving publishing business that defies all odds.
Knock 'em Dead 2017
by Martin YateNew York Times bestseller Martin Yate has helped millions of people turn their lives around by finding great jobs and managing their career progress. Whether you're looking for a first job, re-entering the market, or planning a career change, Yate's unique Target Job Deconstruction method provides you with a roadmap to professional success utilizing the latest job-search strategies for the digital age. This new edition of his classic guide explains everything from building a keyword-rich online profile to social media networking to accepting an offer.
You'll also learn how to:
Knock 'em Dead 2017 will help you navigate the changing job-search market, land your dream job, and be better prepared to navigate the twists and turns of a long career.
Roadmap
by Roadtrip NationThis welcome antidote to the conventional career guide answers the old question—"So, what are you going to do with your life?"—in a groundbreaking way. From the team behind the campus and online resource and the inspirational TV series in its eleventh season, ROADMAP helps emerging careerists think deeply about how they can enter the workforce and thrive, using Roadtrip Nation's interest-based approach.
Full-color charts and graphs offer a unique visually engaging reading experience and prompts for reflection are interspersed, making the reading process interactive and the discoveries personally impactful. With actionable, real-world wisdom on every page, it's an essential tool for today's young professionals and the parents, educators, and advisors seeking to inspire them.
The New Rules of Work
by Alexandra Cavoulacos and Kathryn MinshewPeople in previous generations tended to pick one professional path and stick to it. Switching companies every few years wasn’t the norm, and changing careers was even rarer.
Today’s career trajectories aren’t so scripted and linear. Technology has given rise to new positions that never before existed, which means we are choosing from a much broader set of career options—and have even more opportunities to find work that lights us up. However, we don’t discover and apply for jobs the same way anymore, and employers don’t find applicants the way they used to. Isn’t it about time we had a playbook for navigating it all?
Kathryn Minshew and Alexandra Cavoulacos, founders of the popular career website TheMuse.com, offer the definitive guide to the modern workplace. Through quick exercises and structured tips, you will learn:
Whether you are starting out in your career, looking to advance, navigating a mid-career shift, or anywhere in between, this is the book you need to thrive in the New World of Work.
I Wish I'd Known That Earlier In My Career
by Jane HoranThe must-read guide to understanding corporate politics in order to get ahead.
Designed to provide the reader with an understanding of corporate politics from a positive perspective, I Wish I'd Known That Earlier in My Career uses case studies to teach the essentials of organizational dynamics, power networks, and the decision-making processes and dilemmas involved in business. Examining corporate politics and the barriers many managers face in their efforts to reach the top, the book works to build awareness and strategies for business and career success.
Taking a refreshing new approach to workplace politics, the book presents new ways to think about embracing opportunities in order to achieve personal and organization-wide career satisfaction. Rather than encouraging employees to move on and start their own businesses, it instead details how to move up within their current companies by learning to understand power bases and conversation more thoroughly.
Essential reading for anyone looking to move forward in their professional life, I Wish I'd Known That Earlier in My Career provides genuinely helpful advice in a highly accessible, easily applicable way.
The Mindset of Success
by Jo OwenThis book is not about changing who you are, but becoming the best version of yourself. The Mindset of Success provides a clearly structured set of tools to change the way you think, act and perform, pushing you beyond good management to great leadership. After fourteen years of researching leaders around the world, Jo Owen has found that the best and most successful leaders have something more powerful than just skill. They act differently because they think differently. This book will help you unlock your true potential, showing you how to acquire the seven key mindsets that lead to success, whilst making the most of your existing talent and focusing on your natural strengths.
This is the second edition of the best-selling The Mindset of Success and it has been updated with new cutting-edge research, targeted business advice and guidance on how your mindset must change as you move through your career. From spies to sports, education to entrepreneurship, business to beyond, Jo Owen's original research and interviews will show you how outstanding leaders think and behave differently from the merely good. This is the mindset difference and, once you have it, you have an advantage which lasts for a lifetime and will work for you time and time again. Using this unique book to develop your right mindset will enable you to open up new career possibilities and achieve far more than you could have imagined.
People Tools for Business
by Alan C. Fox and Jill E. FoxMAKE A CAREER OUT OF BEING HAPPY
Based on the countless lessons gleaned from a distinguished and highly profitable business career, Alan shares the tools you need to create that success in your own career and life—success that is both meaningful and long lasting. Whether you are just entering the workforce or have been running a business for years, this book will help you build the career—and life—of your dreams.
WHAT ARE PEOPLE TOOLS?
"People Tools" are practical and easy to understand. From developing self-confidence, to improving management skills, to finding constructive ways to respond to being fired, each People Tool addresses a specific issue and provides a simple, straightforward strategy that you can adopt to bring about a positive result. People Tools for Business is organized into 50 chapters. Each tool is illustrated with insightful stories and amusing anecdotes from Alan’s successful career and life that are relevant and relatable.
Some of the useful People Tools in the book include:
Unsubscribe
by Jocelyn K. GleiA modern, no-nonsense guide to getting rid of email anxiety, reclaiming your productivity, and spending more time on the work that matters.
Let's face it: Email is killing our productivity. The average person checks their email 11 times per hour, processes 122 messages a day, and spends 28 percent of their total workweek managing their inbox. What was once a powerful and essential tool for doing our daily work has become a near-constant source of frustration, anxiety, and distraction from our work.
Unsubscribe will show you how to tame your inbox and reclaim your focus, with tips on how to:
Productivity isn't about just "keeping busy," it's about leaving a legacy. Are you ready to Unsubscribe?
The Naked Presenter
by Garr ReynoldsWhen we learn to present naked, we reach our audiences by communicating the essence of the message, stripping away all that is unnecessary and embracing the ideas of simplicity, clarity, honesty, integrity, and passion. If "slideware" is used, the slides never steal the show or rise above serving a strong but simple supportive role. The ideas in the presentation may or may not be radical, earth shattering, or new, but there is freshness to the approach and content that makes a lasting impression.
In this invaluable resource from the author for the best-selling books Presentation Zen and Presentation Zen Design, you will discover how to get to the core of your message and deliver presentations that are as natural as they are memorable. Whether you are just in the planning stages or need advice for a talk that begins in an hour, you'll find wisdom in The Naked Presenter that you can use to connect deeply with your audience and deliver a great presentation.
Meaningful Work
by Shawn Askinosie and Lawren AskinosieThe founder and CEO of Askinosie Chocolate, an award-winning craft chocolate factory, shows readers how he discovered the secret to purposeful work and business − and how we can too, no matter what work we do.
Askinosie Chocolate is a small-batch, award winning chocolate company widely considered to be a vanguard in the industry. Known for sourcing 100% of his cocoa beans directly from farmers across the globe, Shawn Askinosie has pioneered direct trade and profit sharing in the craft chocolate industry with farmers in Tanzania, Ecuador, and the Philippines. In addition to developing relationships with smallholder farmers, the company also partners with schools in their origin communities to provide lunch to 1,600 children every day with no outside donations. Twenty-five years ago, Shawn Askinosie was a successful criminal defense lawyer trying his first murder death penalty case that would later go on to become a Dateline special. For many years he found law satisfying, but after several high profile trials he reached a breaking point and found solace in the search for a new career.
In this inspiring guide to discovering a vocation that feeds your heart and soul, Askinosie describes his quest to discover more meaningful work – a search that led him to volunteering in the palliative care wing of a hospital, to a Trappist monastery where he became inspired by the monks focus on “being” rather than “doing,” and eventually traipsing through jungles across the globe in search of excellent cocoa bean farmers to make award winning chocolate. Askinosie shares his hard-won insights into doing work that reflects one’s values and purpose in life. He shares with readers visioning tools that can be used in any industry or field to create a work life that is inspired and fulfilling. Askinosie shows us that everyone has the capacity to find meaning in their work and be a positive force for good in the world.
Comebacks at Work
by Christopher T. Noblet and Kathleen Kelley ReardonThe workplace guide to putting "I wish I'd said" moments in the past.
Ever wish that you could have a "do over" after a conversation at work? Do you often find yourself regretting what you've said to a coworker-or kicking yourself for not saying something better, stronger, or more precise? If so, you're like most people, and in Comebacks at Work, management professor and consultant Kathleen Kelley Reardon, Ph.D., provides the tips and tools you need to know what to say-and how to say it better-next time.
In this compelling, entertaining book, Reardon argues that we are responsible for 75 percent of the way we're treated at work, and our success-or failure-at the workplace depends largely on how we handle ourselves in conversation with our colleagues. To break free of the stale scripts and expected actions that allow politically astute people to manipulate us, we must increase our conversational awareness and effectively employ what Reardon calls "comebacks." Comebacks at Work provides a game plan for doing so and explains:
Every conversation is different, and while many situations are common, one set of comebacks isn't enough. Offering a personalized repertoire of comebacks and a plan for using them strategically as well as the skills you will need to package them for maximum effect, Comebacks at Work will prepare you for any difficult conversation that comes your way.
132 Career Tips for Women
by Melody R GreenIf it's been a while since you looked for a new job the chances are the job market has changed while you've been employed.
To keep ahead of the rest it's wise to have the best tips for the process at your finger tips and 132 Career Tips for Women e-book gives you these.
No matter if you are a first time job hunter, looking to change industry sectors, re-entering the workforce, consolidating your career or enhancing your direction 132 Career Tips for Women has been written with you in mind.
The better you understand what motivates a boss when hiring staff, or know the tips that help you engage better with time poor recruiters, the easier your job process will be. This knowledge will build your self-confidence by allowing you to appreciate what you have to offer a prospective employer.
Filled with practical tips and strategies let 132 Career Tips for Women help you make your next career move and see the difference.
Presentation Advantage
by Breck England and Kory Kogon and Julie SchmidtThe average attention span of an adult is eight seconds—eight seconds!
That is tough news for a presenter. It means you may have a room full of people, but their minds are elsewhere. You’re competing with a slew of activities demanding their attention—email, texts, Facebook, YouTube, chats, and apps, in addition to thoughts about their next meeting and projects that are behind schedule.
How do you get a message across in a world like that? The inability to powerfully inform and persuade amid an unprecedented number of distractions is one of the greatest hidden and pervasive costs of the twenty-first-century workplace. Learn to connect with your audience, and you’ll stop having unproductive meetings and wasted time.
In Presentation Advantage, FranklinCovey outlines its “Connect Model,” the mental model that allows you to connect with the message, yourself, and the audience during any presentation by:
Whether to one person or one hundred, effective presenting is today’s top business skill, and the experts at FranklinCovey help you master it. With the Presentation Advantage, you can deliver dynamic, compelling, and truly effective presentations every time.
Girl Code
by Cara Alwill LeybaA few years ago I made a crazy claim in the first edition of Girl Code: that in today’s competitive marketplace, the fiercest thing a female entrepreneur can do is to support other women.
Something dynamic happens when women genuinely show up for each other. When we lose the facades, cut the bullsh*t, and truly have each other’s backs. When we stop pretending everything is perfect, and show the messy, beautiful parts of ourselves and our work—which all look awfully similar. When we talk about our fears, our missteps, and our breakdowns. And most importantly, when we share our celebrations, our breakthroughs, and our solutions.
I’m convinced that there’s no reason to hoard information, connections, or insight. Wisdom is meant to be shared, so let’s start sharing what we’ve learned to make each other better. Let’s start building each other up. Let’s live up to our potential and start ruling the world.
Girl Code is a roadmap for female entrepreneurs, professional women, “side hustlers” (those with a day job plus a part-time small business), and anyone in between. This book won’t teach you how to build a multimillion-dollar company. It won’t teach you about systems or finance. But it will teach you how to build confidence in yourself, reconnect with your “why,” eradicate jealousy, and ultimately learn the power of connection. Because at the end of the day, that’s what life and business are all about.
Build Your Reputation
by Rob BrownStop being a well-kept secret and start being the go-to choice.
Your reputation is what people say about you when you're not there. It's your most powerful asset for business growth, career enhancement and freedom of choice in many aspects of life. Yet too many people leave it to chance. They are a well-kept secret – it's not enough to be the best, you have to be seen to be the best.
Build Your Reputation will show you how to master the skills of brand-building to develop a powerful profile and a formidable name. You'll learn how to identify your brand and where it fits into the big picture, and then you'll learn how to become the obvious choice for whatever it is you do. Becoming known isn't a matter of chance, nor is it a matter of luck – it's a practical set of highly coachable skills that anyone can learn. Learn how to build credibility, connect with the right people and make your achievements known.
The highest-paid people in any company, industry or profession are not necessarily the most qualified, gifted or best. They're the most popular. They are liked, trusted, recommended, chosen, hired and introduced. Build Your Reputation gives you the inside track to the top, with practical wisdom and strategic advice for building your own brand.
Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office
by Lois P. FrankelThe New York Times bestseller, which for 10 years has been a must-have for women in business, is now completely revised and updated. In this new edition, internationally recognized executive coach Lois P. Frankel reveals a distinctive set of behaviors-over 130 in all-that women learn in girlhood that ultimately sabotage them as adults. She teaches you how to eliminate these unconscious mistakes that could be holding you back and offers invaluable coaching tips that can easily be incorporated into your social and business skills. The results for hundreds of thousands of women have been career opportunities they never thought possible-at every stage of their career, from entry-level to the corner office! Stop making "nice girl" errors that can become career pitfalls, such as:
Boss Bitch
by Nicole LapinNew York Times bestselling author Nicole Lapin is back with a sassy and actionable guide empowering women to be the boss of their lives and their careers.
You don’t need dozens of employees to be a boss, says financial expert and serial entrepreneur Nicole Lapin. Hell, you don’t even need one. You just need to find your inner Boss Bitch — your most confident, savvy, ambitious self — and own it.
A Boss Bitch is the she-ro of her own story. She is someone who takes charge of her future and embraces being a “boss” in all aspects of the word: whether as the boss of her own life, family and career, the literal boss at work, or, as the boss of her own company. Whichever she chooses (or all three), a Boss Bitch is someone who gets out there and makes her success happen — and so can you.
Lapin draws on raw and often hilariously real stories from her own career — the good, the bad, and the ugly — to show what it means to be a "boss" in twelve easy steps. In her refreshingly accessible and relatable style, she first shows how to embrace the “boss of you" mentality by seizing the power that comes from believing in yourself and expanding your skillset. Then she offers candid no-nonsense advice for how to kill it at as the “boss at work” whether you have a high-up role or not. And finally, for those who want to take the plunge as an entrepreneur, she lays out the nuts and bolts of how to be the “boss of your own business” from raising money and getting it off the ground to hiring a kickass staff and dealing office drama to turning a profit.
Being a badass in your career is something that should be worn as a badge of honor, says Lapin. Here, she inspires us to rise to the occasion and celebrate our successes — and then keep killing it like the Boss Bitches we are!
Meet the World's Largest Career and Networking Site: LinkedIn
LinkedIn is dominating the world of business-based networking, yet many of its users don't know how to make the most of it, while others are hesitant to join yet another social network. Whether you're a job seeker, an employer in search of new talent, or a business looking to boost your visibility, make LinkedIn your social network of choice, this book your guide.
LinkedIn: Tell Your Story, Land the Job will help you:
Dust off your LinkedIn Profile and make it shine with this visual, easy-to-follow handbook.
#GIRLBOSS
by Sophia AmorusoIn the New York Times bestseller that the Washington Post called “Lean In for misfits,” Sophia Amoruso shares how she went from dumpster diving to founding one of the fastest-growing retailers in the world.
Amoruso spent her teens hitchhiking, committing petty theft, and scrounging in dumpsters for leftover bagels. By age twenty-two she had dropped out of school, and was broke, directionless, and checking IDs in the lobby of an art school—a job she’d taken for the health insurance. It was in that lobby that Sophia decided to start selling vintage clothes on eBay.
Flash forward to today, and she’s the founder of Nasty Gal and the founder and CEO of Girlboss. Sophia was never a typical CEO, or a typical anything, and she’s written #GIRLBOSS for other girls like her: outsiders (and insiders) seeking a unique path to success, even when that path is windy as all hell and lined with naysayers.
#GIRLBOSS proves that being successful isn’t about where you went to college or how popular you were in high school. It’s about trusting your instincts and following your gut; knowing which rules to follow and which to break; when to button up and when to let your freak flag fly.
Presenting Data Effectively
by Stephanie EvergreenNow in striking full color, Presenting Data Effectively, Second Edition by Stephanie D. H. Evergreen shows readers how to make the research results presented in reports, slideshows, dashboards, posters, and data visualizations more interesting, engaging, and impactful.
The book guides students, researchers, evaluators, and non-profit workers—anyone reporting data to an outside audience—through design choices in four primary areas: graphics, text, color, and arrangement. The Second Edition features an improved layout with larger screenshots, a review of the recent literature on data visualization, and input from a panel of graphic design experts.
You're Hired!
by Lorne EpsteinYou're Hired! - Interview Skills to Get the Job demystifies the interviewing process with wisdom and wit from an authoritative source. For first-time job seekers and seasoned professionals alike, the realities of the current job market make a competitive edge mission-critical. In You're Hired! Interview Skills to Get the Job, corporate recruitment specialist and motivational speaker Lorne Epstein prepares both novice and just-plain-nervous job seekers for the interviewing experience with insider tips and strategic advice. This book is a practical, engaging and altogether indispensable career companion. After reading this book you will learn what to do before, during, and after the interview to ensure your success!
Knock 'em Dead Job Interview
by Martin YateThe interview is one of the most crucial moments of the job search experience and your chance to show your potential employer that you have what it takes to succeed in the position. In order to do that in today's highly competitive job search environment, though, you'll have to find a way to stand out from the crowd.
Using his twenty-five years of experience, New York Times bestselling author Martin Yate has established a set of rules for job interviews that is sure to get you noticed. Instead of memorizing canned answers, Yate provides you with an explanation of the thought behind more than 300 questions and answers, so that you'll always know what the interviewer is really asking and how you should respond. Packed with information on handling stress questions and weird interview venues, this book also teaches you how to keep your cool--and confidence--from the moment you step inside the building.
With Knock 'em Dead Job Interview, you will finally be able to differentiate yourself from the competition and score the job!
101 Job Interview Questions You'll Never Fear Again
by James ReedLearn the secrets to excelling at job interviews, directly from top interviewers and recruiters.
You can't prepare an answer for every interview question. So, of the thousands of questions a potential employer might ask, which ones will they ask? And what should you say? After extensive research among hundreds of interviewers and thousands of interviewees, finally here's the book that will give you the answer. 101 Job Interview Questions You'll Never Fear Again is based on direct input from top interviewers. It offers powerful preparation techniques, the lowdown on how to answer the most common questions and - above all - how to adopt a winning mindset at interviews, one that will help you stand out from the pack and land the job.
From classic questions like "Tell me about yourself" and "What are your greatest weaknesses?" to puzzlers like "Sell me this pen" and "How many traffic lights are there in New York?," James Reed reveals what interviewers are really asking and gives you the best possible answers.
Job Interview Success for Introverts
by Bob McintoshAs an introvert, you may feel that extraverts have it easy when searching for their dream job. Introversion is something to be overcome if you want that role, right? Wrong – the way introverts work and behave, far from being an obstacle, can actually be immensely effective in the interview process. This is precisely what this quick guide from Bob McIntosh demonstrates. Taking you through the entire interview process, from your initial job searching and networking to the interview itself, you will see how your working style preferences can be utilized – and indeed, optimized - to prepare you for success.
The Everything Job Interview Question Book
by Dawn Rosenberg Mckay
What's the surefire way to overcome the stress of a job interview and get the job you want? Be prepared!
It isn't enough to be qualified and have a stellar resume--you need to ace the interview as well. The Everything Job Interview Question Book arms you with the best answers to hundreds of questions, including:
Plus, you'll also find help with handling inappropriate questions, advice on questions to ask employers, and tips on handling remote interviews. This valuable resource provides you with expert advice on what to say--and what not to say--giving you the confidence you need to succeed and land the job of your dreams.