Synopses & Reviews
Part IFinding a Job . . .It was the best of times,
It was the worst of times,
It was the age of wisdom,
It was the age of foolishness,
It was the epoch of belief,
It was the epoch of incredulity,
It was the season of light,
It was the season of darkness,
It was the spring of hope,
It was the winter of despair,
We had everything before us,
We had nothing before us,
We were all going direct to heaven,
We were all going direct the other way . . .
Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities
1. Finding a Job . . . Even in Hard Times: Rejection Shock
Charles Dickens had it right. For some of us, this is the worst of times. Our house has been foreclosed, or seen its value drop dramatically. Fuel costs are killing us. Rice is scarce, and getting scarcer. Food prices are soaring. Businesses are folding. Companies are cutting their work force dramatically. Millions are out of work.
But there are others who are barely touched by any of this. They cannot understand what we are going through. At least 138,000,000 people still have jobs, in the U.S. Some of them, well-paying jobs. They are well off, and in some cases, have money to burn. For them, this is the best of times. They cannot understand our pain.
But we, when we are out of work, go looking for another job; but we, when we are finding it difficult to feed our families, go looking for a better-paying job. And that is when we run into the nature of the job-market, and the nature of the job-hunt. It isnt as easy as we thought it was going to be.
Tom Jackson has well characterized the nature of the job-hunt as one long process of rejection. In job-interview after job-interview, what some of us hear the employer say is:
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO YES.
Before we get to that final YES-or if we are lucky, two YESES, so that we have a choice-before we get there, the job-hunt is nothing but one long process of rejection. And we, so unprepared for this, go into a kind of Rejection Shock.
Naturally, we have questions.
I just lost my job. How many others are in the same predicament?
Well, youve got lots of company. As of June 2009, the number of people out of work totaled at least 14,500,000 individuals. And thats a government figure. In the U.S. there are always many more people out of work than the government will ever admit-regardless of which party is in power.
Will I need a computer and Internet access, to go about my job-hunt in this twenty-first century?
Its not mandatory, and if you dont have a computer, there are non-Internet job-hunting resources, of course. For example, if because you lack a computer you cant access Job-Postings by employers on the Internet, you can always look at the Help Wanted Ads in your local newspaper, especially the Sunday edition.
There are also regional papers devoted to nothing but job openings, such as JobDig, which, at this writing, publishes fourteen local weekly newspapers in twelve states, mostly midwestern (from Minnesota down to Texas). A subscription for thirteen weeks costs job-hunters $65. Call 877-456-2344 to see whether or not theres a local paper covering your part of the country.
According to the latest figures, however, at least 74.7 percent of Americans use the Internet, which adds up to 227 million users. Others, of course, usually have a friend who can go on the Internet for them.
Moreover, if you know how to use a computer but just dont happen to own one at the moment, many public libraries as well as Internet cafés can let you use their computer for a fee. (To locate the Internet café nearest you, have a friend use his or her computer, to input your zip code into the comprehensive directory found at www.cybercaptive.com.)
In view of this virtual omnipresence of the computer in our culture now that we are firmly in the twenty-first century, I have freely listed job-hunting resources that are found only on the Internet throughout the rest of this guide.
What are the most helpful job sites on the Web?
For overall free guides to the entire job-hunt process, in addition to my own website, www.jobhuntersbible.com, there are seven sites you will find are the most comprehensive and helpful:
1. www.job-hunt.org, run by Susan Joyce.
2. www.jobstar.org, run by Mary Ellen Mort.
3. www.rileyguide.com, run by Margaret F. Dikel.
4. www.quintcareers.com, run by Dr. Randall Hansen.
5. www.cacareerzone.org, run by the California Career Resource Network. Once you are on the home page, it gives you a choice between running the site under Text, Graphic, or Flash. Choose Graphic.
6. www.asktheheadhunter.com, run by Nick Corcodilos.
7. www.indeed.com, run by a privately held company founded by Paul Forster and Rony Kahan, with the New York Times Company among its shareholders. This is the answer to a job-hunters prayer. There are lots of job-boards out there, thousands in fact; these, if you dont know, are websites that list employers job-postings, i.e., vacancies. Such postings are also to be found on employers own company or organization sites. Want to look through every one of them? No, you dont. What you want is something that sweeps through all of them for you, and summarizes what it finds-in just one place. What you need is a site such as Indeed (URL above). It is the most comprehensive job search service on the Web, as it plucks job listings from thousands of company websites, job boards, newspapers, and associations. It has a UK site, whose URL, not surprisingly, is www.indeed.co.uk.
My picture of the job-hunt during this computer age, is that you call up a search engine, like Indeed, and input the job-title youre looking for, and the geographical area youd prefer, and by the next morning or within a few days at most, youre told there is a match. A match between your experience and skills, on the one hand, and what some employer is looking for, on the other hand, with a vacancy theyre trying to fill.
Ah, youre exactly right. Thats how it works, these days. There are thousands of testimonials from job-hunters who have used the Internet successfully, to find a match, and thence a job. But this job-matching doesnt work for every job-hunter. In fact, it doesnt work for the vast majority of job-hunters.
Why not?
Well, job-matching works by using job-titles, and job-titles are, generally speaking, a big problem for the Internet. Well, not a big problem when youre looking for a job that has a simple title, such as administrative assistant, or gardener, or nurse, or driver, or waitress, or mechanic, or salesperson. Any of these should turn up a lot of matches.
But, you may be looking for a job that various employers call by differing titles, and thats an entirely different ballgame. If you guess wrongly what they call the job youre looking for, then you and those employers will be like two ships passing in the night, on the Internet high seas. Your faithful, hardworking computer will report back to you in the morning: No matches, when in fact there actually are. You just didnt guess correctly what title those employers are using. Oops!
Another problem: you may be looking for a job-title that essentially has disappeared from the workforce. Over the centuries, our economy has moved from one largely based on agriculture, to one largely based on manufacturing, to one largely based on information and services. As each transition has occurred, certain job-titles have essentially disappeared from the workforce, and in large numbers. Oh, theyre still around, but in such small numbers that no one tells the Internet. Blacksmith is one example that comes to mind. There are blacksmiths, still; I happen to know of one of them. But I wouldnt count on the Internet turning up many matches, if any, with this title. The same fate generally awaits job-titles with the old words assembly line and manufacturing in them. As Senator John McCain truthfully told Michigan voters back in 2008, Those jobs arent coming back.
Finally, job-titles are a problem for an Internet search because a particular search program on the Internet may depend completely on beginning with a prepared list of job-titles that you are required to choose from, and in the interests of space and speed their menu may only offer you a choice between two dozen or so job-titles, which does not come even close to mentioning all the possibilities; i.e., the 20,000 job-titles that are out there in the workforce-including, of course, the one that you are searching for, in particular.
So sure, Internet job-matching works. Sometimes. Beautifully. You must try it, using Indeed, or a general search engine such as Google, or Metacrawler. Input anything or everything you can think of to describe what you are looking for.
But know ahead of time that you cant count on it necessarily working for You. In the end, its a big, fat gamble. And not at all the sure thing that so-called experts would have you think it is.
So, how many job-hunters who try to find a match, fail to find a match, on the Internet?
There are various answers to that question. Take your pick: (1) Lots and lots. (2) 90 percent, studies say. (3) ? Big question mark. Studies are notoriously unreliable, so-in the end-we dont really know. Were just left with lots and lots.
So, if you conclude that Internet job-matching is a big, fat gamble, thats all you really need to know.
Oh, and one more thing. Know this: it doesnt mean theres anything wrong with you, if the Internet cant match you with a job. The problem is the system itself.
Well then, given all this, how long should I expect to be out of work?
This varies, hugely, due to a number of variables: what kind of work youre looking for, what part of the country you live in, the state of the industry, how old you are or how young you are, and-above all else-how youre going about your job-hunt.
But you need to be prepared for the fact that your job-hunt might last nineteen weeks or more. In fact, as of the date I am writing (June 17, 2009), 3,900,000 people in the U.S. had been looking for work for twenty-seven weeks or more. Its possible that youll find work sooner; but youve got to be prepared for the fact that you may not.
Okay, if theres a chance that my job-hunt may take much longer than I expected, whats the first thing I should do?
Sleep. Catch up on your sleep. Youre kidding. No, Im not. Overall, you would be wise to think of your job-hunt as an endurance contest, analogous to running a marathon. Especially if it does last nineteen weeks or longer. You need to start training, before you run this endurance contest.
Experience teaches us that you should begin by drawing down your sleep deficit.Youve probably got one. Chances are, that up until recently youve been working long hours, trying desperately to survive, so now your body and your brain are at the point of exhaustion, without you even noticing.
The last thing you want to do, is to launch yourself into a long job-hunt when youre this tired. So, let it be your first goal to catch up on your sleep, in order that your body and mind can be working at optimum condition as you set out on your job-hunt. You will think more clearly, and make better decisions, if youre not so tired. For guidance about how much and how long, see www.medicinenet.com/sleep/article.htm.
But I havent time to catch up on my sleep. Yes, you do. Youve probably got nineteen weeks ahead of you. Relax. Start sensibly. Begin by catching up.
Many of us are also helped by a fifteen- to thirty-minute nap during midday, after lunch. It helps keep stress down. I had an aunt who started taking naps at the age of thirty-two, and lived til she was ninety-seven. Maybe we humans werent made to go from wake-up until bedtime, all on one big gulp of sleep. Break the sixteen hours in half. There is wisdom to be learned from countries that have siestas. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siesta.
Exercise. The tendency, after youve unexpectedly lost your job, is to curl up in a little ball, assume the fetal position, and turn the electric-blanket up to 9. But job-hunting requires that you get out there. So, begin a regular regimen of daily walking, starting now, even if its only down to the main road, and back, at first. You can increase the distance, after youve increased your stamina a bit.
Water. And, while youre at it, I know you have enough sense to watch your diet while youre out of work. Eating your way out of feeling low is a real temptation; but putting on, oh, say, one hundred more pounds wont make you look so hot when it comes to the job interview. Thats pretty obvious. Not so obvious is your bodys need for water. Not fluids, like coffee, tea, or cola, but actual water. A lot of things can go wrong with the human body if it gets dehydrated without your even noticing. Believe me, you do not want to be sick while youre job-hunting. If you want to get more guidance about this, see www.watercure.com/faq.html.
Possibly nineteen weeks or more is very bad news for me. Im in a precarious state financially, right now. Where can I go for help with my expenses during my job-hunt?
Unemployment insurance. You probably know all this, but just in case you dont: these are cash benefits that run for a certain number of months while you are unemployed, and are available in the U.S. from your state government, if you regularly report in to them, on how your job-hunt is going. To learn how to apply, go to your computer (or to a computer at your local library, if you dont personally own one) and type the following two pieces of information into your Internet browser (such as Google or Metacrawler): the name of your state, plus the words unemployment insurance benefits. Once on site, look for the words unemployment benefits. Or, go to: www.rileyguide .com/claims.html. Free.
(Naturally, greed being what it is, you will find some enterprising souls have put up websites promising that for a fee they will help you file for unemployment benefits. You picture someone sitting down beside you, and helping you fill out the application form, line by line. And maybe showing you the secret of collecting some big bucks. Right? Unfortunately, their help is just a booklet, for which theyll charge you around ten bucks, irrevocably [We do not refund payment for any . . . reason]-after they first get you to cough up all your personal information. [On the pretext of tailoring their program to your special needs!] All they will then do is send or let you download that booklet [their program] telling you how to go file, yourself.
Oh, please!! You can get the same information, and better, costing you absolutely nothing, by just using your Internet browser, as I described above.)
Food stamps. To see if you are eligible for help go to: www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/applicant_recipients/10steps.htm. This is from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and is titled: 10 Steps to Help You Fill Your Grocery Bag Through the Food Stamp Program: Learn If You or Someone You Know Might Be Eligible for Food Stamps.
Synopsis
In his debut book, financial guru and entrepreneur Adam Bold shares tried-and-true tips and insights on how to decipher, analyze, and ultimately reap the benefits of the mutual fund market. Encouraging investors to formulate an individualized investment plan tailored to their own strengths and weaknesses, Bold offers pointers on how to pick a mutual fund, how to decide whether or not hiring an advisor is for you, and how to create an outline of attainable financial goals. By weaving personal anecdotes and commentary throughout, he coaches readers in his signature style that is both highly informative and dynamic.
Synopsis
Through good times and bad, WHAT COLOR IS YOUR
Synopsis
Still the bestselling job-hunting book and a favorite of career changers for more than three decades, this gold standard of career guides ("Fortune") has been updated for 2010 with new examples, instructions, and cautionary advice. (Careers / Job Opportunities)
Synopsis
“How many jobs are out there, in this economy?”
“Where do I go from here with my life?”
These are some of the questions at the forefront of the modern job-searcher’s mind. And they are thoroughly and thoughtfully answered with all-new chapters in the 2011 edition of What Color Is Your Parachute?, the best-selling job-hunting book in the world for more than three decades--in good times and bad. A longtime fixture on best-seller lists, What Color Is Your Parachute? features life-saving information that is updated each year to cater to the specific requirements of today’s job market.
Career guru Richard N. Bolles leads job-searchers to find meaningful work. He asks, WHAT skills do you most love to use? WHERE--in what field--would you most love to use them? And HOW do you find such jobs without depending on agencies, ads, and online postings?
This book is not only about finding a job in hard times, it’s also about finding your passion. In the words of Fortune magazine:
“Parachute remains the gold standard of career guides.”
What Color Is Your Parachute? is the world’s most popular job-hunting guide, with 10 million copies sold, in more than 20 languages. Written by career guru Richard N. Bolles--who coined the terms “informational interviewing” and “transferable skills”--this New York Times and BusinessWeek best seller answers such questions as:
“What are the five best--and worst--ways to search for a job?” See chapter 3 (starting on page 31).
“What are the most helpful job sites on the Internet, out of the thousands that are out there?” See pages 53-54.
“What interview questions can I expect to be asked, and how do I answer them?” See chapter 6 (starting on page 93).
“I want to use a resume. What should I include?” See chapter 5 (starting on page 71).
“I haven’t a clue how to do salary negotiation. Help!” See chapter 7 (starting on page 121).
“There are no jobs out there, so I’m thinking of starting my own business. Where do I begin?” See chapter 9 (starting on page 147).
“Since I’m out of work, I’d like to use this opportunity to find more purpose and sense of mission in my next job. How do I do that?” See pages 15, 179, and 269.
“What are the ten biggest mistakes made during interviews?” See page 92.
“How is the way employers hunt for people different from the way people hunt for employers?” See page 44.
“How do I figure out what my best skills are?” See pages 201+.
“If I decide I need some career counseling, how do I avoid getting ‘taken’?” See Appendix b (starting on page 288).
“I had a job dealing with manufacturing. Now it’s gone. How do I find jobs in related fields?” See page 45.
“I’d like to emphasize my traits in my next job interview, but I don’t have ‘a trait vocabulary.’ Got any lists?” See page 50.
“I have a handicap. How can I get around it, in interviews?” See page 57.
“I am painfully shy. I dread interviewing. What can I do?” See page 62.
“I want to use a resume. What should I include?” See Chapter 5 (starting on page 71).
“In general, what are employers looking for?” See page 48.
“How long should I expect my job-hunt to last?” See page 32.
“I’m over fifty. What special problems do I face when I go job-hunting? ” See chapter 10 (starting on page 167).
“I’m just starting on my job-hunt. I know ‘networking’ is important. I haven’t got a network. How do I build one from scratch?” See page 86.
PARACHUTE has all the answers you’re looking for and more. It’s the guide that millions of job-hunters have turned to for more than three decades.
Synopsis
The #1 best-selling career book of all time, revised and updated to keep pace with today's ever-changing job market.
Still the best-selling job-hunting book in the world, WHAT COLOR IS YOUR PARACHUTE? is the most complete guide for first-time job seekers as well as second and encore careers changers. For more than three decades, it remains a mainstay on best-seller lists, from Amazon.com to Business Week to the New York Times, where it has spent more than six years, and it has been translated into 20 languages. The 2009 edition is an even more useful book, with its updated, inspiring, and detailed plan for changing readers' lives. With new examples, instructions, and cautionary advice, PARACHUTE is, to quote Fortune magazine, "the gold standard of career guides."
Visit the What Color Is Your Parachute? JOB-HUNTER'S RESOURCE CENTER for video, useful exercises, job-search advice, and more... Reviews“The newest edition has been rewritten, updated and expanded to offer tools, support and hope to help job-seekers even in the worst of economic times.”–McClatchy-Tribune News Service
"Parachute remains the most complete career guide around . . . It covers all the ground less ambitious guides do, as well as some the others don't, mostly in the realm of the psyche." –Barbara Presley Noble, New York Times
"'It's a Wonderful Life' isn't the only classic people will be enjoying this holiday season. Many folks–actually, tens of thousands...–will find a copy of a classic career planning book under the tree...What Color Is Your Parachute?...has been around so long we forget the author...helped define not only an industry, but a national perspective."–St. Paul Pioneer Press as featured in Amy Lindgren's syndicated career column.
“A career-advice juggernaut. The best-selling career guide in history, Parachute has sold over nine million copies, spawned a number of ancillary books (including editions for teens and retirees), and was named by the Library of Congress as one of the 25 books that have shaped readers' lives–putting Bolles in the company of Malcolm X, Robert Louis Stevenson and God, whose own Bible is a perennial bestseller.”
–New York Post
Recommended by USA Today
“The 2008 edition is full of new suggestions, along with the classic advice that continues to hold true today.”
–About.com's Job Searching Site
Testimonials for What Color is Your Parachute?
“I have three Guerrilla books on Amazon best-seller lists of one kind or another, but none are as high quality as Parachute. Hardly anything ever is.”
–Jay Conrad Levinson, author of Guerrilla Marketing
“You've done it again (for me)! Using Parachute, I've landed (1) a super job in an Insanely Great company doing wonderful things and (2) spring-boarded into an even better position just one year later within the same company doing exactly what I've always dreamed of. Make another notch in your book binding (or wherever you keep track of these things) because you've made me a runaway success. Kudos to you and all you continue to do for the job hunter/career changer!”
–Jon Copeland,
Executive Briefing Center, Apple, Inc.
“I am a U.S. Marine serving in Iraq…I have recently finished What Color is Your Parachute?, and I was pleasantly surprised how much I learned about myself. I was also grateful to learn that sending out resumes is not the least effective way to get my dream job…Thank you for your book and your time.”
–Roger D. Huffstetler, Jr., Cherryville, NC
“Two years ago I bought your book on a whim as I was feeling very sorry for myself, career-wise, and was looking for anything that would help…After going through the exercises I realized that teaching is what I should be doing for a living. My first interview after reading the book was for a job installing computers in centres for people with learning difficulties. At the interview I talked about the skills which the book made me realise I had. I was no longer saying what I thought the interviewer wanted me to say, but what I genuinely felt. I was offered and I accepted the job, which I later found out over 270 people applied for…I just wanted to say thank you for all the help your book gave me and I hope it continues to help others.”
–Kevin Hickey, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England
“First of all my appreciate [sic] of the book What Color is Your Parachute. I have worked through it alone and then decided to join the seminar of John Webb. It changed my life! I started to realize my dreams and I found the happiness I have always been searching for. Now I'd like to share my experiences with many other people. It can be so easy to find happiness, if you know how.”
–Tanja Korten, Köln, Germany
“I have bought four Parachutes of approximately 1986, 1990, 1996, and 1999 vintages…Your book remains inspirational–even after re-reading over the years. I recommend your book to all job hunters and college graduates I know.”
–Nigel Yeung, Singapore
“I have been awarded a 10-year contract with the Miami-Dade County Public School System and will be bringing the first Charter Middle School to Miami Beach. The purpose and mission behind the school so that every child knows that they do have a purpose in this world and that they know that and live that. I wonder where I got that from?! I hope this is the first of many schools for I am up to transforming the educational system ion the State of Florida wherever else I can. Once again, thank you, thank you, your work and generosity…will always be with me.”
–Gladys Palacio, Miami, FL
“I just wanted to thank you and let you know that your book and website have helped me tremendously in preparing for my career (I just graduated from the university). It is from you that I learned how and where to get an effective resume done…It is from you that I came in contact with an outstanding career coach...People like you who do good things deserve praise and blessing.”
–Saagar Prajapati
“Your book What Color is Your Parachute? had a major influence on my life back in the early 80s…as a result of WCIYP and The Three Boxes of Life I was inspired to attend the University of Oregon College of Human Development and Performance and received a B.S. in Leisure Studies and Services (1985). Today at age 48 my career path has led me [to become] a Recreation Specialist for the Department of Defense for 15 years to military bases around the world…I'd like to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH for your contributions towards enhancing the quality of life for me and my family.”
–Doug Buell, Portland, OR
“Your book made a big difference in our lives. My husband went through all the exercises in the 70s, made a drastic career change (from engineering to public accounting), we moved to Florida from New York State, and ended up in the Peace Corps. Now we are contemplating retirement and it seems to me that some of the principles in your career books might work in retirement. Retirement is much more daunting than a career change, so please write a What Color is Your Hot Air Balloon as You Sail Into Retirement book!”
–Marcia Nielson, Tequesta, FL
“Hello! I was first introduced to your book by a friend who knew I was unhappy in my work. I completed it as directed and it literally changed my life. I took steps to pursue a career in something I love–training–and now find myself in the role of assisting others in making career/job choices!”
–Faith Sheaaffer-Thornberry, Senior Consultant
Human Capital Consulting Group
“Thank you sir, you will always remain in my memories and prayers. And I wanted to tell you that I loved your part about [finding your] mission…I am a Muslim and I loved everything you wrote there.”
–Sadiq Lakhani, Karachi, Pakistan
“Many thanks! …You have been giving and will eternally give so much hope and self-belief, respect, and recognition to millions of human beings around the globe, including myself!
–Rudolf H. Messinger
Chief, Recruitment & Career Development
UNICEF Headquarters
“I have just got a new job thanks to you and your book. I had been the head of a professional country club in Australia for eight years and one day had enough and just walked out wanting a career change but not knowing what I wanted to do. ..The flower exercise gave me direction and some ideas of careers to pursue; at the top of my list was auctioneer. …As a result I have just landed a new career in the auction industry. Many thanks for everything that you have done for me.”
–Mitchell Hogg, Mont Albert, Australia
“Many moons ago I purchased the very first edition of What Color Is Your Parachute?, took your suggestions to heart, did all the exercised, and took action. Now, thirty years later I have my own business which provides unemployment-related support and courses. …Thanks very much for this and all your invaluable work/help over the years. I find that–even with all the information out there about searching for a job–most people are woefully unprepared for it I hope, like you, that we can do our part to change that.”
–Ed Osborne
Unemploymentville.com
“I first read What Color is Your Parachute? in the late 70s. It changed the course of my life by putting me onto a personal career path in the field of career development. Thanks to you, I found my passion in helping others find work they love.”
–Shelley Canter, author of All the Right Moves: 15 Secrets to Land a Top Job
“I want to respond to something you mentioned in your book…in effect you said that many people have contacted you to tell you that they were profoundly or significantly impacted by just one or two sentences in your book. Well, you can add me to that list! Hallelujah!”
–Paul Misuraca
“Your incredibly useful and inspiring book What Color is Your Parachute? is one of the few career books that I've read many times and it was your book that inspired me to leave the secure job I had in a large consulting company and follow my passion for working with small companies and eventually start my own publishing company with my husband.”
–Nataly Kogan
President, Natavi Guides
“I am an unemployed Chemical Engineer living in Nairobi, Kenya. I first came across your 1988 edition of What Color is Your Parachute? while studying in Moscow in 1995. I have managed to get at least four jobs using the techniques you so well describe.”
–Andrew Amadi, Nairobi, Kenya
“With usual eager anticipation, I opened wide (like a parachute!) the cogent, timely, engaging words on the 413+ pages of What Color is Your Parachute?–your 2002 edition. I'm pursuing a career change: from data processing to teaching mathematics. You strongly encourage job-seekers to start “small,” so I'm beginning with tutoring a few persons for a local home-based business. I found many, many aspects of your awesomely helpful job-hunter & career-changer manual very appealing…Mr. Bolles, you have graced the realm and reality of millions of persons searching for new or different jobs for 27+ years, as you state in your book, and may you continue to do so indefinitely.”
–John W. Morse
I am honored and grateful that you responded to my email. Thank you! …My interview for the part-time receptionist position went well and the ‘thank you, I remain interested' note has been posted and emailed. Your book is helping me to help myself. Bless you, I will keep you posted.”
–Denise
“I am a fairly recent college graduate and have been working as a headhunter for a year and a half. Recently I was offered a career counseling position, one that wanted 3-5 years of experience. But I got it with only a year and a half of relevant experience! I owe it, in part, to reading and learning from your book. Thank you.”
–Shannon Hatfield
“I was fired last Halloween and was living on my 401k, feeling despondent and not getting anywhere in my job search. An excellent friend highly recommended that I get your book even though I had limited funds–she insisted it would pay for itself. …In two days, I got interviews with decision-makers in the field I am interested in by using the methods described in your book. Thank you thank you thank you!!!
–Devon Thornton
“I have read your book twice, once in 1993 to find my current job and once again this year to find a new job I start in two weeks. Your advice is excellent. It is not just helpful practically in a job hunt but also has the wider use of helping what priorities and directions I have in life. Even in simple financial terms it has repaid my original small investment many times over. My thanks for your help.”
–Nick Holliman
I was let go from the special sales department of Morrow in a reorganization. I was only out of work for a few weeks but during that time I went to the local branch of the public library every day with my brand new copy of What color is your parachute. I diligently worked my way through the book. Photocopying the work sheets. Filling in the petals of my flowers, listing my priorities. Discovering what I was accomplished at, my past successes. It was hard not to spend that time working the phone, having lunches. It was hard when my husband would come home from work and ask what did you do today. Somehow I knew that following this guide was important. When I was offered a job, I referred back to what I had written, yes, I like to work with women, yes, it was a short commute, yes, the new job was about children's books. Although the new job didn't hit all the points I was confident that it was a good fit. A year later more than one person suggested that I might be happy as a children's librarian. As I considered this radical life change- public service, graduate school, the unknown, I perused my notebook. This time the new job and my priorities matched perfectly. Working for a non-profit, working with women and children, short commute, life-long learning, independent projects, working with a team, opportunity to grow, no two days alike, working with the public, children's books. Whoa. It is 15 years later and I am still a children's librarian. I can say I owe my fabulous job as a children's librarian in a lab school for pre-k to 8th grade, that I teach graduate students children's literature, that I write about children's books for national magazines, that I haveserved on the Newbery Committee and Notable Children's Books, I owe it all to those days spent in that old Carnegie Library laboriously filling in the blanks, trusting that something would come of those hours of reflection and examination. Yes, What Color Is Your Parachute changed my life.
–Lisa Von Drasek
Synopsis
What Color Is Your Parachute? has been the bestselling job-search book in the world for more than three decades, in good times and bad, and it continues to be a fixture on best-seller lists, from
New York Times to
BusinessWeek. It has sold more than 10 million copies and has been translated into 20 languages around the world.
What Color Is Your Parachute? is streamlined this year to help those struggling to find part-time and full-time employment in these hard economic times acquire the job-search tools they need faster and more efficiently. This classic job-search book is, as always, updated and relevant to today’s job market.
Career guru Richard N. Bolles leads job-searchers to find meaningful employment. He asks, WHAT skills do you most love to use? Where—in what field—would you most love to use them? And how do you search for such a job without depending on employment agencies and ads? This book is not only about finding a job in hard times. It’s about finding your passion. In the words of Fortune magazine: “What Color Is Your Parachute? remains the gold standard of career guides.”
This New York Times and BusinessWeek bestseller answers such questions as:
• I was just laid off from my current job. What do I do first?
• What are the most helpful job sites on the Internet, out of the thousands that are there?
• What are the five best–and worst–ways to hunt for a job?
• I haven’t a clue how to do salary negotiation. Help!
• In general, what are employers looking for?
• What interview questions can I expect to be asked, and how do I answer them?
• I’m over 50. What special problems do I face when I go job-hunting?
• How do I survive financially while I’m out of work, and how do I find health insurance when I have no employer?
[This is the trade paperback edition.]
About the Author
RICHARD N. BOLLES has been a leader in the career development field for more than thirty-five years. He was trained in chemical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and holds a bachelors degree cum laude in physics from Harvard University and a masters in sacred theology from General Theological (Episcopal) Seminary in New York City. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, Marci.
Table of Contents
Preface: In This Internet Age, Why Do Job-Hunters Still Want a Printed Book?
xIn Gratitude xv
A Grammar Note xix
Part I
Finding a Job . . .
1 There Are Always Jobs Out There 3
2 Where Do I Go from Here with My Life? 15
3 Once You Know Exactly What You Are Looking For:The Five Best Ways to Look for a Job 31
4 Once You Know Exactly What You Are Looking For:How to Deal with Handicaps 57
5 Once You Know Exactly What You Are Looking For:Resumes and Contacts 71
6 Once You Know Exactly What You Are Looking For:Interviews 93
7 Once You Know Exactly What You Are Looking For:Salary Negotiation 121
8 Once You Know Exactly What You Are Looking For: How to Choose a New Career When You Must 137
9 Once You Know Exactly What You Are Looking For: How to Start Your Own Business 147
10 Once You Know Exactly What You Are Looking For: Entering the World of 50+ 167
PART II
Finding a Life . . .
11 The Flower Exercise: The Parachute Workbook 179
WHAT Do You Most Want to Do? WHERE Do You Most Want to Do It? HOW Do You Find Your Ideal Job?
Appendices
Appendix A: Finding Your Mission in Life 269
Appendix B: A Guide to Choosing a Career Coach or Counselor 288
Appendix C: Sampler List of Coaches 304
About the Author 327
Index 329