Careers Books

The book is well written but lacks in breadth of manager case studies. So much of the book is written toward financial institution managers that it has little applicability to managerial positions in manufacturing, engineering, or other disciplines that don't involve motivating people to meet their sales quotas.

Anyone interested in management or professional development should read this book. I can't tell you how many times I wondered why steller sales people made such terrible managers. Other valuable topics such as working with your peers, managing your Manager and Leadership are also addressed.

Even if you are already a Manager, this book is definately and eye opener.

This is the second edition of Becoming a Manager and although only three chapters have been added, their impact is considerable.

The original edition is based on interviews with 19 new managers and their thoughts on becoming a manager. As such, it was an interesting, but somewhat hard going (sentences and paragraphs are wordy), read. Although the 19 managers are all from customer service or sales, their stories translate well to other professions.

This latest edition adds chapters on Exercising Influence Without Formal Authority, Building an Effective Team, and Learning For A Lifetime. I found the chapter on teams a little light in it's description of process management. However, it's these chapters and in particular the one on influence, that makes this book much more useful for the new manager than the first edition. Every manager should use Hill's description of sources of personal and positional power to improve their influencing.

By Hill's own admission, she has become far more prescriptive in the latest edition and this is a real benefit for readers. For instance, in the most recent chapters, Hill asks questions that will enable the manager to apply the key concepts being covered. But, these "how to"s are hard to find.

If you are a big picture person, or someone who likes to get plenty of "how to" action type suggestions, then this book is not for you. However, if you are someone who always wants to know the reason "why?" something works or doesn't work, you will enjoy this book.

Bob Selden, author of What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers

I found this book insightful and validating. I transitioned from being a healthcare professional to a manager of a clinic. Despite the difference in practice areas between this book and my own career (sales vs. healthcare), I still found the findings in the book to be important. Whether you're transitioning to manager from a position of top performer in terms of money or in terms of some other measure of achievement (such as quality of patient care or number of new innovations, for example), the lessons of this book still apply. I highly recommend this book to new managers and to THEIR managers.

I highly recommend this to anyone involved in "management", particularly where you have to lead people.

The value of this book -- to me -- was not that it revealed anything new (most managers would instinctively know what the issues are when working with a team). What it did for me was to give me assurance that the trials and tribulations that I've gone through (some of which are daily occurances) are normal. That told me that I AM NOT ALONE! -- for management is a lonely business.

This book took me sometime to finish (440 over pages) but a very readable book. Not overly academic. I particularly liked the section on "Is Management Really for Me?".

Jan Stankus' book, How to Open and Operate a Bed and Breakfast, was the most valuable of all we have read before opening The Sanctuary B&B in Mossyrock, Washington. She has done her homework thoroughly, and made the monumental task of getting up and running easier.

Katherine Carroll

Excellent overview of engineering as a profession and the steps that it takes to get there. Reading and exercises encourage personal reflection and preparation for this challenging career. A must-read for every current or potential engineering student. Many of the book's exercises can also be applied to undeclared students and students with other majors.

Not a lot new in this book. It focuses most on correcting really dysfunctional behavior, not on subtle defects.

This short (and relatively inexpensive) book will help you recognize where your behavior is getting in the way of your success at work.

Bramson emphasizes the importance of seeking and really listening to the feedback you get from others without being defensive, since it often points to areas where you need to change or grow. He notes that many managers are not comfortable giving feedback directly, so they hint around the issues and hope the people under them will be able to read between the lines.

He also points out some additional pitfalls, such as what doing feels right in a situation may not be the best course of action, and that choosing behavior that moves us ahead does not come naturally.

An encouraging point is that we don't need to get rid of our bad habits, but we do need to modify or manage them to keep them from managing us. Bramson's model for image repair is very helpful, and for me was worth the price of the book.

If you are tired of tripping over the same old behaviors at work, try Bramson's prescriptions.

I found this book to be quite useful, it gives you a different perspective on your job, and how others may be viewing what you do. It helps you to think out of your box.

Watching several people I admire repeatedly sabotage their careers by failing to recognize and fix the same recurring personality problems caused me to take a break from German-Jewish history and read this book. I have been an employer and an employee, both boss and bossed, and believe that we all can use a good (emphasize "good") self-help book now and then. This book enables the reader to pinpoint self-defeating behaviors and correct them, or at least control them.

In my experience, there are three categories of criticism. The first one is task-related, and your boss will almost always give it to you: "This presentation should be reorganized." "We need a better argument for ...." "Next time include slides on the overhead projector." The second category is personal, but easily fixable, and your boss will give it to you (perhaps with some trepidation): "A tube top is just not 'business casual.'" "You need to start being on time for the 7:00 am meetings." The third category is what your boss will not tell you until it's too late: "you turn people off," "you are too aggressive" or "you are too indecisive." The reason she won't is that these criticisms are of difficult-to-describe personality traits and the message is always uncomfortable to deliver.

Unfortunately, the problems that your boss will not discuss with you (until after you have lost that promotion or job) are the very problems that are the most serious and can have the biggest ramifications for your career. That's where this book comes in. It contains a step-by-step process for identifying your trouble spots and addressing them. If you're not brave enough to actually engage people in discussions about your flaws (as the book suggests), it contains several chapters on common personality problems and suggested substitute behaviors. It also contains a chapter on repairing your image, if it comes to that.

The book takes a non-judgmental approach, pointing out that many personality characteristics may be hereditary. Yet, that makes it no less important to address them. (For example, if you knew that you had a gene which predisposed you to getting lung cancer, wouldn't you be even more careful not to smoke?) I learned a great deal from this book. Since none of us is perfect, I would highly recommend the book to anyone who wants to catch and fix bad behaviors early on, before they can ruin your career.

My daughter enjoyed this book (age 7). She wants to be a vet when she grows up. Informational without being scary.

I bought this for my child who said she wanted to be a veterinarian. He was board to death with this bland, uninteresting book. Isn't there a good book out there for kids on this topic?

This is a perfect book for any animal lover and future vet , like me.I learned a lot from this book. Very good book for vets.

I had to do a 100 note card report on a ocupation that you want to be, and you had to have three different sources. I did about 75% of the note cards using just this book. It's a great book to read and to do reports. Highly recomended.

(...) I read this to my pets and they loved it. I think it was good because people were working with animals to help them, not to get alot of money. It should be great for people like you!! :)

I am in the Information Marketing Business. I can honestly say that the info-biz is a recession proof business - easy to start - exciting - and it allows you to make a profit (a huge profit) doing what you love to do.

Robert Skrob brought together some of the best info marketers in the country to illustrate this step-by-step guide. It is easy to read, full of great information to get you started on the right path, gives you resources and expert marketers to learn from.

What I find interesting is that many people, especially in this economy, are looking for terrific and fun ways to expand their wallets. Rarely do they even consider information marketing as a way to work from home and profit. This book will get you thinking about the possibilities from successful people just like you.

I highly recommend this Step-by-step guide for any forward thinking individuals who have a passion or specialized knowledge and is looking for a way to expand their income.

Gail Saseen

Diane Conklin and Gail Saseen are entrepreneurs, marketing coaches, consultants, event planners and speakers, who specialize in helping small business owners develop smart marketing plans and strategies for their businesses. They have earned their reputations, as implementers and executors, by showing small business owners, entrepreneurs, coaches and consultants how to integrate their marketing strategies, media, and methods, to get maximum results from their marketing dollars. They provide solutions to business challenges, affordable marketing strategies, direct response marketing, product development, list generation and management practices.

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I got this book when it first came out and I read it cover to cover... nodding with self recognition again and again. I have underlined several areas and pick it up constantly. I love Kate's examples - her writing style is very readable and gets the point across quickly. Being a Good Girl is a hard habit to break but they say self awareness is the first step.

This book is great. It focuses on what women do in the workplace that underminds thier career. It also talks about how you should act. It's a great book for women working in a corperate jungle. It's a little hard to read at times, and she focuses on her life experiences in the magazine industry. Therefore, some of the things she talks about don't relate well to my field. I'm sure reading this book will help me in my career.

This is the golden advice: people pleasing is distinct from delivering credible results. In the world of world it is being respected that wins the day. Being liked is a matter of fickleness and not based on results. Results that are measured are all that matters.

I have never believed, or wanted to believe, in the feminist views of the world. I like to believe that if we focus on results, deliverables, and excellent performance and good merit, we will indeed get ahead - man or woman - in corporate america. Reading this book however did have certain advice in handling some situations that only arise for women in the workplace. Not every bit of advice or circumstance applies to all of us, but overall, this was a very good read, I took bits and pieces of advice from Kate and really did enjoy her stories and her candid sharing of the experience she had been through. I really do recommend it to everyone - not just women. It's good to be aware of our ingrained beliefs and learn to let go of them and face life with a much more open mind.

I was just out of college when my friend's mother gave me this book. My friend and I rolled our eyes - we were *definitely* not self-help-book readers. I still am not. But many times over the past ten years I have referenced this book in conversations with friends. I have found myself applying many of the tips that Ms. White provides. You don't have to be a hyper-ambitious, ladder-climbing corporate professional to get something out of this book. Among the tenets that have stood out to me over the years are:

-Don't always need to be liked
-Don't smile too easily
-Don't apologize too quickly
-Don't clean up after other colleagues (especially men)
-Don't be a perfectionist at the expense of innovative thinking or getting things done

Simply the notion that men and women (in broad strokes, at least) behave differently and are treated differently in the workplace was a novel idea to me, coming out of a liberal arts college during the mid-1990s. Reading this book gave me an awareness that everyone needs. Obviously, no one book will apply perfectly to each of us, so you can't go looking for that. But do look to this book for many useful ways of seeing the professional world and your own role in it.

I found this book to be a great read. Anything that will make you stretch to raise your own expectations of yourself or help yourself is always worth the money.

This book gives a lot of insight on building a better you. It gives a lot of information that you can relate to and then gives you the tips, exercises, and tools you will need to live a more positive life. If you read this book and follow along with the exercises and techniques the author gives, you will start to notice a difference in your attitude fairly quickly. I reccomend this book to anyone who wants to get a start on building self-confidence and a positive attitude change.

If you want to run your own life - and who doesn't? - Cheryl Richardson will tell you how. The first step in her program is getting a clear sense of who you are and what you want. Then, tap into your inner power to develop the courage and confidence to move ahead. Richardson's examples from her personal life and from her clients' stories add lively human interest, and her comprehensive step-by-step program might intrigue many readers, particularly those who have just started reading self-help literature. Otherwise, this is a repeat of a frequently taught lesson about how to decide what you want and take steps to get it. Her exercises can help you clarify your goals as well as find and destroy any emotional barriers standing in your way. We recommend this book to readers, particularly women, who haven't already been down this path and absorbed this message; you will find that Richardson is an encouraging cheerleader.

This book came to me at a time when I was discovering ways to overcome depression. It helped me to realize that one of the causes of my depression was that I had ignored and repressed my own needs in order to take care of everyone else. Eventually, if you take care of everyone except yourself, you will run out of things to give. It's like overdrawing your bank account. You can't keep writing checks without replenishing the supply. Cheryl Richardson will always be a hero in my eyes for sharing information that helped me in creating a life I love living.

Although the subtitle reads: "Develop the Courage, Confidence and Character to Fulfill Your Greatest Potential," the book is not necessarily designed for confidence seekers who struggle with anxiety and fear.

However, reading and participating in the exercises of this book can be a great way to experience life coaching.

If you are hungry for deeper meaning and abundance in your life, you will find the coaching questions helpful for clarifying what you really stand for and what you want in your life. The questions can connect you with the dormant inspiration awaiting you beneath an everyday layer of doldrums and demands. Using this book can nurture a weary soul and might be a gateway to the inspiration you seek.

However, if you are seeking tools to overcome a strong resistance and fear of moving out of your comfort zone, you may not find what you need here. In order for the exercises to be really effective for confidence building, it is better if the reader already has a healthy edge over internal anxiety, fear and resistance.

Either way, if you do the exercises, they will experience results that have at least a subtle effect in your experience of the life and beauty around you.

For a book that is nearly 50 years old, the formula behind David J. Schwartz's "The Magic of Thinking Big" is great for any person who is struggling to get over the frustrations of being stuck in a rut and wanting to step up to the plate and take a chance.

Schwartz's words are not new. You can hear very similar themes from authors past and present, like Dale Carnegie, Brian Tracy, and Tony Robbins. But if the words aren't resonating from other authors, the delivery in "The Magic of Thinking Big" gives you simple and easy steps to follow to get you to think big things, and then do big things.

This excellent book on audio could be helpful to everybody who wants something more out of life. It's great listening in the car while commuting - I've listened to each of the 4 CDs about 5 times now, and will listen to it regularly for as long as I have it. If you REALLY want to improve yourself, you should buy it and listen to it. If you just want to be an average person, then don't buy it.

Second only to the Bible in changing my life from the inside out. Schwartz taught me how to smile- literally.

The Magic Of Thinking Big is coming up on its 50 year anniversary, but the wisdom in its pages resonates timelessly. A lot of what is contained in this book is what some would call common sense. If you were blessed with an environment that treated this information as common sense, you are lucky. For the rest of us that read this material, we will have our thinking altered drastically. I have become aware of a gap between what is taught in textbooks and a lot of what one experiences in "the real world." That information is contained in this book. In school attitude is often touted, but seldom taught. In fact, my first thought after finishing this was "why is this stuff not taught in schools?" I know of no other book that will ease the transition from awkward adolescence to the dog-eat-dog world of adulthood better than The Magic Of Thinking Big. Oh, what could have been if I'd been handed this book when I was 12 or 13. You may have to adapt some of the dated examples and tips on dress to your situation, but by and large these principles will help you live a better life. I recommend this book to anyone who is sick of the status quo, wants to move up the corporate ladder, or just wants some understanding in how the world works. One of the most helpful books I have ever read, period.

Also, a lot of people have contrasted this book to Dale Carnegie's How To Win Friends... For what it's worth, I feel that each book has its place and that different personalities will relate to one book better than the other. For my part, I found Magic Of Thinking Big more helpful and easier to read than Carnegie's book. That's not to demean How To Win Friends... because I know people who have been drastically changed by that book, too. Both books have proven helpful to many people. That doesn't mean that one is better or worse than the other, they're just like vanilla and chocolate ice cream; two different flavors of the same stuff.

The Magic of Thinking BIG by David J. Schwartz is a well-respected self-development classic. Written in the 1950's it still makes good common sense today. The practical things in life don't change much with time - like the basic principles for achieving success and living up to your full potential.

My copy of The Magic of Thinking Big has yellowed pages, sticky notes all over it, pink highlighted sentences on almost every page and yet, every time I take it down from shelf it's like opening a new wealth of information. I even remember exactly when and where I bought it. To me, that says a lot about the importance this book has had on my personal and professional self-development life.

In fact, I listened to the CD last night to help get me ready for writing this review and I took four pages of notes. One thing I've found with the classic self-development materials, every time I read or listen to them for the second, fifth or even tenth time I found something new I'd never read or heard before.

A really good empowering book/tape/CD/DVD should be read, listened to, watched and appreciated more than once. Every time we revisit a classic, we are in a different emotional and physical place than the first or second time we read, listened or watched it. It's like as we grow and evolve, so do the materials in the book.

That's how I felt about listening to The Magic of Thinking BIG by David J. Schwartz last night. I heard things I swear weren't there before. The words in the book hadn't changed, I had. The human mind is a powerful success and self-development tool and that's exactly the powerful premise of this book.

According to David J. Schwartz, it's really quite simple - if you want more out of your life, than think bigger. What makes this book a self-development/success classic? The success principles that have proven workable and viable for over fifty years and, are still true today: To make it big in life, you can't settle for small thinking.

Your life today is a reflection of how BIG you're allowing yourself to think, dream and plan. Dr. Schwartz guides you through The Magic of Thinking Big but the rest is up to you.

I highly recommend this book for your success/self-development library. I wish for you that your copy becomes dog-eared and yellowed. When you take to heart the concepts in this book, your life will be BIGGER than ever.

I met Susan Strayer shortly after JibberJobber was created, in 2006. Susan was working on a book called The Right Job, Right Now and felt that JibberJobber might be a perfect complement to her book. In fact, she started to talk about JibberJobber as she marketed her book, in fliers and presentations. It was pretty flattering that someone of her stature was talking about JibberJobber, and I was gratified that she felt it complemented her stuff (which was one of my original goals - to complement career offerings).

I got a copy of The Right Job, Right Now and have been thumbing through it for quite some time. I really like what she's put together, but it has taken me longer than I expected to make progress with the book. I initially approached it as I have most other books, with the intention of reading it quickly, from beginning to start.

That was the problem... this can be a "beginning to start" book, but I find it's more like a career management user's manual than anything else. While it's subtitled "The complete tool-kit for finding your perfect career," it is more than that. Let me break it down to show why it's more than just "finding your perfect career."

Part I has five chapters, and is named "What Do You Really Want To Do? A Career Plan for the Rest of Your Life." This is where she walks you through various exercises to help you come up with your "sweet spot," helping you figure out exactly what you want to be when you grow up. I like her approach more than tests that I've seen where they say "you'd be a good mortician. Or software sales rep... either one would suit you fine!"

In these first few chapters Susan Strayer walks us through the "Kaleidoscope Career Model" where we actually figure out what our perfect job would be. What is my risk level? What kind of hours will make me happiest (and most productive)? How do I value benefits, salary, security, etc? During these chapters, and with the concept of the kaleidoscope, we can find that sweet spot, which she argues is where we really need to end up.

I can't argue with that.

Part II is named "Career Action: Getting It In Gear." This is where she breaks down the job search process, including networking, resumes, personal branding, etc. The last two chapters of Part II (which has seven chapters) are Closing the Deal (chapter 11) and Taking and Making the Job (chapter 12).

I think this is where most job search books end, right? After you find the job?

Susan Strayer put in a Part III, which is what you do after you land the job... very cool. There are six chapters in Part III: Managing Your Career: Staying Challenged, Sane, and Motivated. Here are three very cool chapters:

* Chapter 16: Making the Grade is about employee reviews/evaluations. Susan has significant HR experience, and learning about how to make the most of a review is pretty cool (most of my reviews where a joke).
* Chapter 17: Playing the Political Game is self explanatory... again, her HR (and recruiting) experience provides a great perspective on how to deal with office politics.
* Chapter 18: The Fond Farewell. Maybe I don't read enough, but I can't remember another book that talks about how to get out. Brilliant. In business, a purpose of contracts is to figure out how all parties can walk away from a deal. How come we don't read more about how to walk away from an employer the right way, with regard to our career? What a cool ending to this career management manual.

This book is not a lite read... but it is a great insight into career management from someone who has experience as an HR professional, a recruiter, and of course a job seeker. Do yourself a favor and spend the $10 to $16 on Amazon... I bet you'll find yourself referring back to this book over the years!

You have to buy this book ! Firstly because it sets your head straight into search of job and has got the right attitude to writing a proper CV. Loved it.

This applicable & empowering book has a realistic approach to career search. I am grateful for this modern & effective resource.

While I was in business school a close friend of mine gave me this book. From the beginning, the book gave me the one thing that I needed (and didn't know I needed)... direction! The author's model takes you step by step through the questions you need to be asking yourself, and the result is an easy to use methodology for filtering any job you may be looking at. What this did for me was place me in a job that was a perfect fit, at the right salary, and even prepared me for the interviews because I know what questions I needed to be asking.

I know that as I look at my career going forward, I can not only use the model for new career changes, but also jobs that I may be applying for within my company.

In short, this book should be part of every career decision you make.

The Right Job Right Now is jam-packed with practical tips and tools that are relevant for first-time job seekers and seasoned executives alike. Susan's vast experience as an HR professional, both inside organizations and as an external advisor, has given her a wealth of insight about the hiring process which she freely shares in the most comprehensive career management book I have seen to date.

I use this book with clients and regularly recommend it to friends because it is the only book that I know of that addresses the finely nuanced interplay between personal values, skills, work behaviors, organizational characteristics, rewards and long term career strategy in a systematic framework (Kaleidoscope Career Model). After laying out components of the model, Susan provides a step-by-step process for activating the insights and information at every stage of the search process. Whether you're starting a new job search, thinking about strategic career progression within your current organization, or looking to make a complete career change, this is an invaluable tool.