Top Resources For Career Change
Working Identity – When I’m asked to recommend ONE book about career change, this is the one I choose. Still the best book on how career change really happens. Especially valuable for mid-life, mid-career professionals, it’s based on research the author conducted with MBA graduates and others.
Side Hustle by Chris Guillebeau
Change Careers Without Tests, Assessments Or Crystal Balls. How career change REALLY happens. By Cathy Goodwin.
Creative Live – Excellent place for training on getting started with a side hustle or self-employment. Quality is usually high but courses can become dated. Listen to the previews. If you buy a course, listen right away so you can qualify for a refund if needed. My link may qualify you for a discount but I don’t get affiliate commission.
Udemy – Cheap courses to learn specific skills. I have some courses there; search under my name. Don’t go much by reviews; listen to the previews and decide if you like the course before the refund period.
Tough People and Situations At Work
Toxic Emotions at Work by Peter Frost, Ph.D. Written for managers to want to help employees survive on-the-job-pain, a welcome recognition that jobs can be harmful. Frost uses metaphor of toxins that spread around an organization, poisoning the members, and warns that toxin-handlers, who save others, may do so only by sacrificing their own needs.
The Gaslight Effect by Dr. Robin Stern. How to deal with people who are trying to control and manipulate you at work and elsewhere. Lots of common sense here and a very enjoyable read. Will remind many of the assertiveness training so popular in the 1970s.
Ten Things To Do When You REALLY Hate Your Job – by Cathy Goodwin.
The Great Career Escape (a video course version of “Ten Things”) by Cathy Goodwin. Click on my link to get a 52% discount.
The Changing World of Careers
Reinventing You A really good book on dealing with career change and solving workplace challenges.
Job Shift: How To Prosper In A Workplace Without Jobs by William Bridges. This career book was about 20 years ahead of its time. Its insights help us understand Obamacare and today’s stubborn unemployment numbers, while offering practical advice for anyone who wants to thrive in the new world of work. One of my favorites.
Careers And Psychology
The Gifted Adult: A revolutionary guide for liberating everyday genius by Mary-Elaine Jacobsen and Cheryl Woodruff. Gifted adults can be accused of being scattered, hyperactive, oversensitive and blunt. They’re often lonely and frustrated — and reading this book can change their lives.
The Cult of Personality by Annie Murphy Paul. How tests rule our lives (and why they shouldn’t).
Confidence by Rosabeth Moss Kanter. How organizations and individuals can recover from losing streaks and make the most of winning streaks.
The Comfort Trap by Judith Sills, Ph.D. Are you riding a dead horse? Sills offers realistic, effective guidance to finding a lively replacement. Don’t look for airy platitudes here. She’s not afraid to use the D word — discipline. Recognize the pain, she says. Look back at your life: Do you have a pattern of riding dead horses? Of course, reviewing history can become another trap. Do you have a vision? Can you take even small steps to move to your vision? Sometimes Sills sounds more like a coach than a therapist — but no matter. I’m not aware of any other book that addresses this increasingly important topic.
Creating the Work You Love : Courage, Commitment and Career by Rick Jarow, Ph.D. Jarow, a professor of Eastern religion, has written a book that is extremely practical and down-to-earth, yet it’s based on traditions from eastern religions.
How to Say It In Your Job Search by Robbie Kaplan. The best I’ve seen so far: resumes, cover letters, thank yous for the 21st century mid-career professional. A must for the midlife job-seeker.
The New Job Security by Pam Lassiter. A realistic look at career strategies for those who have had a successful corporate track record. Read before you need to act! Not for mavericks and limited help for drastic career change.
Second Acts by Stephen Pollan with Michael Levine. Based on the author’s own “second act” and stories of those he coaches and supports. Section on “what could I do next” is especially valuable.
The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber. Ask almost any business consultant or coach to recommend a book — and you’re likely to end up with this one. Great content, although most readers wish he’d get an editor.