What Color Is Your Parachute? 2012: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy What Color Is Your Parachute 2012: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on What Color Is Your Parachute 2012: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

What Color Is Your Parachute 2012: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers Review"What Color is Your Parachute?" has become an American institution. This edition marks the 40th anniversary of the book's first publication, and the book has now sold more than 10 million copies. While I don't usually review books like "What Color is Your Parachute?" I find that it's such a unique and useful book on finding a job that it's worth encouraging people to read it.
My other copy of "What Color is Your Parachute?" is a much earlier one, and I can see by comparing it with this new edition that substantial changes have been made over the years. Unlike many other books that don't seem to keep up with the changing times, this new edition of "What Color is Your Parachute?" seems tailor-made for today's job market. In fact, "What Color is Your Parachute?" has been revised annually every single year since 1972 with the exception of 1975.
I like the way that "What Color is Your Parachute?" has always been more than just a standard guide to how to find a job but has always helped its readers think outside the box. For example, Chapter 1 of the latest edition is titled "How to Find Hope," and hope is something American workers need in an economy that is uncertain at best and shrinking at worst. Embedded in the idea of hope is a strategy of hope and a principle to live by, which is to not put all your eggs in one basket. Instead, you should always have an alternative: two ways to describe yourself, two ways to find a job, etc. And so the rest of Chapter 1 lists 18 ways to find a new job.
Chapters 3-14 go on to describe in detail the heart of "What Color is Your Parachute?" which are the 5 survival skills you most need today. These are the following:
Attitudes Necessary for Survival (Chapters 3-4)
Advanced Job-Finding Techniques (Chapter 5-9)
Advanced Job-Creation Techniques (Chapters 10-12)
Inventory of What You Have to Offer the World (Chapter 13)
Each One Teach One (Chapter 14 on teaching others survival job-hunting)
The book concludes with 4 appendixes on Finding Your Mission in Life, A Guide to Dealing with Unemployment Depression, A Guide to Choosing a Career Coach or Counselor, and a Sampler List of Coaches.
As you can see, "What Color is Your Parachut?" contains much more than just basic job-hunting skills that you can find anywhere else or that you probably already know about. It also gives you a philosophy of job-hunting and of thinking about yourself, as well as advanced techniques for finding a job. For example, Chapter 3 gives advice on how to positively use and think of the time you have when you're looking for a job, and Chapter 7 is all about how to network in this world of social media. It's refreshing to think of the positive uses of the social media, and this chapter demonstrates yet again that "What Color is Your Parachute?" always strives to represent the best current practices for finding a job and thinking about job-hunting.
I especially like the whole idea of Chapters 10-13, on job-creation techniques and inventory of what you have to offer the world. Rather than seeing oneself as a passive and pathetic looker for a job, why not think of oneself as a creator of a job? In our modern economy it's very possible to do this: it just requires you to think differently about who you are and how jobs are described and offered. Even before I had read this updated version of "What Color is Your Parachute?" my wife has done this very thing at least twice. By thinking about her whole set of skills and experiences and using her ability to network, she's talked herself into at least 2 (maybe 3) jobs over the past years, even creating and setting the terms for her jobs.
In summary, "What Color is Your Parachute?" is an excellent choice for anyone who finds himself in the unenviable position of having to find a new job. While that's never a pleasant situation, "What Color is Your Parachute?" will give you greater confidence and hope that you can find a good job, even in a downward economy.
What Color Is Your Parachute 2012: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers Overview

Want to learn more information about What Color Is Your Parachute 2012: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

So You Want to Be a Garden Designer: How to Get Started, Grow, and Thrive in the Landscape Design Business Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy So You Want to Be a Garden Designer: How to Get Started, Grow, and Thrive in the Landscape Design Business? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on So You Want to Be a Garden Designer: How to Get Started, Grow, and Thrive in the Landscape Design Business. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

So You Want to Be a Garden Designer: How to Get Started, Grow, and Thrive in the Landscape Design Business ReviewAs a landscape designer, I hear it all the time from new acquaintances... "I'd LOVE to do what you do... think about plants all day, design gorgeous gardens, get my hands in the earth."
But almost as quickly as their tone turns dreamy, they snap back to reality. There are just too many buts. "But I have a well-paying job!" "I don't know enough about plants." Or most daunting of all, "I wouldn't even know where to start".
Love Albrecht Howard has crafted a thorough and detailed guide to getting past all those "buts" and getting into a career you'll love. She's got suggestions for how to start out slowly if you can't afford to leave your day job, how to build your knowledge and professionalism, and suggests ways of handling common situations as a designer.
Of course, along the way you'll learn the unvarnished truth about what it's like being a landscape designer. We all have horror stories of clients who think designing with plants is like designing with objects - that we should be able to specify no-maintenance plants that will do well without water, in poor soil, with deer and dark shade - yet flower all year long!
Albrecht Howard shares her professional tricks on designing for tough conditions, as well as for communicating the possibilities to clients. And she shares the pitfalls she's found as a designer and advises you on how to work professionally through the expected and not-so-expected adventures you'll have as a designer.
If you know what knowledge gaps you're missing, it's not too hard to figure out how to gain skill at specific aspects. But so much of the value in this book is in teaching fledgling designers what they don't yet know they need to learn. These are the tricks most of us learn after years of mistakes, and Albrecht Howard shares her experiences honestly so that new designers won't have to learn from the school of hard knocks the way the rest of us did.
Now - two things you should know about this book. One is that it's full of text. Not a lot of pictures. This is great if you're really motivated to read her stories and learn from her experience; it's not fluff. But if you're expecting photos of gardens or illustrations of different materials, how-to photos, or just want to skim through casually reading bits here and there - this probably isn't your book. Invest the time to read it properly and you'll find your time well-spent.
Thing number two: While it has a lot of value to established designers (I've been designing for seven years and I adored the camaraderie of finding out how similar her experiences have been to my own!), this book is much more about how to begin the process of becoming a designer than about the specifics of building and growing your business. It's not a marketing or business book, it's a how-to-approach-this-thoughtfully-as-a-career book. You'll still need coaching from your local small business administration on how to do all the nuts and bolts involved in starting and running any business.
My take? This is an awesome book that will help you figure out whether this is really a business you want to be in, and if you do, she'll hold your hand and help you feel confident and professional tackling your first jobs and getting started as a designer. And if you're already a designer, like me? Read it just for the client stories! I laughed, hard, and felt so much better knowing I'm not alone...
(EDIT September 1, 2010: It's occurred to me that while the business practices Howard espouses are perfectly legal in her state, it might not be obvious to people new to this field that laws vary wildly from state to state.
The business practices Howard advises, such as overseeing a landscape installation as a general contractor without holding a contractor's license yourself, and taking 50% of the bid price for installation prior to the start of the job are both very illegal in CA, where I live. Here, designers cannot subcontract out the installation of the design unless you hold a general contractor's license. Just wanted to urge people new to the business to call their own state contractor's board to find out the laws in their own state and not take it for granted that all of the business practices Howard advises will be applicable to you.
This is a small part of the book, though, so shouldn't detract from your enjoyment or the usefulness of the book.)So You Want to Be a Garden Designer: How to Get Started, Grow, and Thrive in the Landscape Design Business Overview

Want to learn more information about So You Want to Be a Garden Designer: How to Get Started, Grow, and Thrive in the Landscape Design Business?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Make the Right Career Move: 28 Critical Insights and Strategies to Land Your Dream Job Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Make the Right Career Move: 28 Critical Insights and Strategies to Land Your Dream Job? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Make the Right Career Move: 28 Critical Insights and Strategies to Land Your Dream Job. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Make the Right Career Move: 28 Critical Insights and Strategies to Land Your Dream Job ReviewAfter reading Rachelle Canter's concise and insightful chapters on preparing a winning résumé, I spent a couple of hours revising mine. Now, for the first time in my life, I feel totally confident presenting it to prospective clients. My new résumé articulates who I am and what I am capable of doing, as well as what I've accomplished--in only two pages. Knowing that my clients have this information in hand, and armed with other useful tips from the book, I suddenly find myself more optimistic and assertive during interviews. Dr. Canter advises us that "the major obstacle to your dream job is in your head," and she delineates an easy-to-follow path to overcoming our doubts and anxieties. Make the Right Career Move is a confidence builder throughout.Make the Right Career Move: 28 Critical Insights and Strategies to Land Your Dream Job Overview

Want to learn more information about Make the Right Career Move: 28 Critical Insights and Strategies to Land Your Dream Job?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

The Unwritten Rules of the Highly Effective Job Search: The Proven Program Used by the World's Leading Career Services Company Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy The Unwritten Rules of the Highly Effective Job Search: The Proven Program Used by the World's Leading Career Services Company? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Unwritten Rules of the Highly Effective Job Search: The Proven Program Used by the World's Leading Career Services Company. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The Unwritten Rules of the Highly Effective Job Search: The Proven Program Used by the World's Leading Career Services Company ReviewYou may be lucky enough, if you have the bad luck to be a downsized executive, that your last employer will see fit to plunk down $10,000 so that the author of this book will coach you to get a new job. If not, your best bet is to plunk down $21.95 and buy this book. You won't get the hand-holding or on-call career consulting, but you'll get just about everything else an insider with the world's biggest executive outplacement firm has learned about the brutal facts of landing the next job. Orville Pierson tells it like it is. He treats the reader like he would a member of his family who comes to him for advice. It's a guide that covers all the basics, sure, but what really sets the book apart is the no-nonsense advice required to score a new job. The Pierson Method, as he terms the collection of his dos and donts, is a proven roadmap for unemployed people. Yes, it can be a lonely and scary journey. What I like the most is that Pierson acknowledges that the biggest obstacles aren't out there in the woods. They are inside us. In our minds. The important thing is not to act like a victim. The case histories he provides give us the confidence to move forward in trying times, and that's all anyone of us can aim for.
The Unwritten Rules of the Highly Effective Job Search: The Proven Program Used by the World's Leading Career Services Company Overview

Want to learn more information about The Unwritten Rules of the Highly Effective Job Search: The Proven Program Used by the World's Leading Career Services Company?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Well Connected: An Unconventional Approach to Building Genuine, Effective Business Relationships Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Well Connected: An Unconventional Approach to Building Genuine, Effective Business Relationships? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Well Connected: An Unconventional Approach to Building Genuine, Effective Business Relationships. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Well Connected: An Unconventional Approach to Building Genuine, Effective Business Relationships ReviewThis is an extraordinary book that presents a completely new approach to developing and using business relationships in a dramatically more effective way. I've been a client of the author and familiar with his approach, but I still found the book to be a fantastic and enlightening read.
The book presents a kind of a "unified field theory" in which the author explains why typical networking usually doesn't work and often erodes business relationships, all as a predicate to offering a values-based approach that shows respect to one's current and prospective colleagues and allows networkers of different personality types, including shy people like me, to play to their strengths in a much more natural way. Having made the case for pursuing business relationships based on mutual advantage and clear strategic objectives, he then presents a step-by-step framework with cogent illustrations that bring his new way of seeing things to life.
The author has a much more realistic and mature understanding of the challenges we all face when engaging in such complex activities as looking for a job, clients, funding, or vendors than any of the many books I've read on the subject. His advice is particularly astute for experienced workers with significant accomplishments under their belt, but who face intense competition at higher levels of career advancement. There are no cliches or fads or silver bullets in this book, just an exceptionally thoughtful and original approach to a set of problems we all face and a lively and realistic roadmap for making it your own.Well Connected: An Unconventional Approach to Building Genuine, Effective Business Relationships Overview

Want to learn more information about Well Connected: An Unconventional Approach to Building Genuine, Effective Business Relationships?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Rites of Passage at $100,000 to $1 Million+: Your Insider's Lifetime Guide to Executive Job-Changing and Faster Career Progress in the 21st Century Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Rites of Passage at $100,000 to $1 Million+: Your Insider's Lifetime Guide to Executive Job-Changing and Faster Career Progress in the 21st Century? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Rites of Passage at $100,000 to $1 Million+: Your Insider's Lifetime Guide to Executive Job-Changing and Faster Career Progress in the 21st Century. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Rites of Passage at $100,000 to $1 Million+: Your Insider's Lifetime Guide to Executive Job-Changing and Faster Career Progress in the 21st Century ReviewFirst published in 1988 and then continuously updated since (for obvious reasons), this book really does provide what its subtitle promises: "The insider's lifetime guide to executive job-changing and faster career progress." Lucht organizes his material within 20 chapters which are sequenced in logical order, from "The Person in Charge" which explains how to manage one's career from college to retirement to "Expand Your Career by Expanding Yourself" in which Lucht provides excellent advice on how to establish and then nourish a wide and deep network of contacts. The reader is also provided with three appendices: "Behind the Scenes with the retainer Executive Recruiter", "Outstanding Retainer Executive Recruiters", and . "Sources of Information for a Job Search." The greatest value of the book is derived from Lucht"s advice, not from any sources to which he refers his reader, valuable though they certainly are. The key is to know which information is needed, why, and how to use it most effectively. I wish this book were available after I completed my formal education. I also regret that I was unaware of Lucht's insights and suggestions when making several major career decisions of my own. For those who are contacted by a recruiter or for others who fear that their career is lacking focus and direction, Lucht can be an invaluable advisor.
Many of us play golf, a game which has quite specific rules as well as generally accepted etiquette. Managing a career is really no different but many people do not know -- or least understand -- the rules and etiquette. Most professional golfers have a "swing doctor." I view Lucht as serving essentially the same purpose for business executives. Professional golfers vary in terms of their size, strength, "tournament tested" competition, athleticism, judgment, self-control, and commitment. The same is true of business executives. Therefore, it remains for each reader to complete a rigorous self-audit. Identify strengths and weaknesses. Set bold but realistic career objectives. Then select an appropriate combination of ideas, strategies, and tactics from among the abundance of material which Lucht so generously shares. This is not a "job-hunting manual." Rather, a comprehensive and cohesive guide to nourishing one's career by nourishing, in the process, one's self.Rites of Passage at $100,000 to $1 Million+: Your Insider's Lifetime Guide to Executive Job-Changing and Faster Career Progress in the 21st Century Overview

Want to learn more information about Rites of Passage at $100,000 to $1 Million+: Your Insider's Lifetime Guide to Executive Job-Changing and Faster Career Progress in the 21st Century?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...