Book Review: Now What: A Young Persons Guide to Choosing the Perfect Career by Nicholas Lore

As a career consultant I try to read as many books on this topic as I can. I just finished reading Now What: A Young Persons Guide to Choosing the Perfect Career by Nicholas Lore. I had very high expectations going into this book based on the last book that I read from this author. I must say that I was not disappointed.

The first couple of chapters are pretty basic and kind of boring as the author describes various tests that college students can take to learn about their personality types and which careers they would be best suited for. The best part of the book is the tool kit that Lore provides. This allows the reader to become engaged and learn as they read. The book forces you to take action towards your career and actually provides encouragement and motivation along the way.

There were a couple of negatives though. The one thing that I did not like was the author plugs his testing and coaching services and at times I felt like I was reading a promotional piece for his business instead of a book that was supposed to inform and educate. The other negative was there was never any mention of the negative economy we are in and how that impacts people that are starting off in their career.

Overall, I do recommend this book for any high school or college student that is ready to start searching for a career. It is tough out there so the more you can read and prepare for the better off you will be.

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Salary Negotiation Guide Reveals Social Media Effect Between Bosses and Their Employees

Let's face it. In the business and corporate world, the customary practice of ethical distance has always been part of the internal code of conduct. As a matter of integrity, you have to behave in a manner that is above suspicion and beyond reproach. Too much familiarity is discouraged. You don't mix business with pleasure, and the personal has no effect on the professional.

However, with technology racing at top speed and communication zooming alongside it, the concept of distance has changed. Business has turned to e-commerce. Through the worldwide web, bosses and employees alike now connect in real time and we even interact on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Instead of going the distance to your boss's office, you can now exchange instant messages and tweets with just a few clicks on your computer in the privacy of your office or in the comfort of your home.
Does this really mean that you are only a few clicks away from getting your job promotion or your salary increase?Can you work on it in your pyjamas at home?Can you do the shortcuts and fast-track your way into these goals by inviting your boss to be your Facebook friend?

When you're looking forward to moving ahead in your career or finding a new job, then personal connections via Facebook can become one of your major assets.

The more successful you are in connecting, interacting, and socializing with all kinds of people, the more your boss will perceive you as someone who can manage employees at all levels. The more your boss knows that you haven't been corrupted by all the tempting offers and unscrupulous practices on the web, the more your boss will understand how credible you are and how well you fit into the job.

In the end, just make sure of two things. If you have been made the exception as a Facebook friend, see to it that you are just as exceptional in your work such that no one can be snide about it. Another is to make sure that when it comes to business, you share something more in common with your boss than being Facebook friends.

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Get Ahead By Going Abroad -- A Woman's Guide To Fast-Track Career Success (Book Review)

Could Rhonda Byrne be wrong? Could there really be another Secret? According to C. Perry Yeatman and Stacie Nevadomski Berdan, the authors of Get Ahead By Going Abroad: A Woman's Guide To Fast-Track Career Success, there is indeed another secret: working abroad gets you up the career ladder faster -- especially if you are a woman struggling to break through the proverbial glass ceiling at home.

Perry and Stacie are living testimony to the power of working abroad. Perry was a 25 year-old account executive making US$25,000 a year when she moved from Baltimore, Maryland to Singapore to accept her first job overseas. Ten years later, with additional stints in Moscow and London, Perry catapulted to earning US$500,000 per year and found herself touring exotic cities with global CEOs and former heads of state like Margaret Thatcher. Today, Perry is one of the top fifty executives at Kraft Foods, the second-largest food and beverage company in the world.

Stacie moved to Hong Kong the day after her wedding, at age twenty-seven. She took up a vice-president position at Burson-Marsteller -- a leading global PR firm. Upon her return to Washington, D.C. only three years later, Stacie became a global managing director. By the age of 34, she was named a partner in WPP, parent company to Burson-Marsteller, and ranked in the top 1 percent of the largest communications conglomerate in the world. Today, Stacie is a successful author and a sought-after speaker and consultant.

But it is not just Perry and Stacie who have shot ahead by going abroad. To prove their theory, the authors conducted a global online survey of more than 200 women who had spent significant time abroad. A convincing 85 percent agreed that going overseas had accelerated their careers. Now that is a figure not to be scoffed at.

As a former expat in Indonesia and Mexico, I loved reading Get Ahead By Going Abroad because it took me up close and personal with Perry, Stacie and other similarly successful expat women -- who share insights never normally offered to anyone outside their trusted inner circles. I also enjoyed the fact that the book is written differently from your standard how-to fare: it intersperses advice, checklists and get-ahead tools with loads of quotes from the 40 women the authors interviewed in-depth to make their material real.

Whilst aimed at the niche female market, this book is a must-have for anyone wanting to: land an international assignment; negotiate the best possible contract; know what to expect when they arrive; and strategically transition themselves into a premium position upon repatriation.

If you fancy a stab at accelerated success, doused with the excitement of living in a foreign land, Get Ahead By Going Abroad is definitely one of those books you should Google today.

Copyright belongs to Andrea Martins.

Reprints welcomed.

First published by The Telegraph (UK) online on 14 May 2008.

Andrea Martins is the Director and Co-Founder of ExpatWomen.com (http://www.expatwomen.com/) -- a global resource site full of inspiring features to help all women living outside of their home country. Visit ExpatWomen.com today as your first-stop website to get inspired, share stories, network globally, develop personally and find the best resources.

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The Networking Survival Guide

Networking is very important in whatever we do. Whether you want to get sales leads, find a new job, have new friends, enhance your career or get referrals, networking is one of your success tools. Diane Darling, the author of this text entitled "The Networking Survival Guide" is the founder and chief executive officer of Effective Networking, Inc., a Boston-based company that educates people on how to network.

Darling says this text is here to help you build your networking skills, gain confidence in your networking abilities and make good things happen in your business, career and life. Darling stresses that whether you are planning a career change, raising funds for a new business venture, adding to your client base, or simply expanding your business and personal contacts, you will learn how to make networking your most direct path to success.

She assures that this text provides answers to all your questions and guides you step-by-step through each phase of the networking process. This author adds that the text also helps you find the style and approach that is right for you. Darling submits that you will also learn in the text, how to set your networking goals; form a strategic plan to reach your goals; identify and develop potential contacts; follow up on leads and turn them into opportunities; make good things happen to your career; and become a resource for fellow networkers.

The text is divided into 18 chapters. Chapter one constitutes the introduction. Here, this author says networking is the art of building and sustaining mutually-beneficial relationships. According to her, from your first conversation in the morning until your last conversation at night, you are networking.

According to Darling, many people do not realise they are networking when that is exactly what they are doing. If you have lunch with someone a few times a year to stay in touch, that is networking, she says.

The author educates that you need other people in your life and they need you too. "It is unrealistic and impractical to do everything by yourself. You need others to help you get things done, both in business and personally... When you know the right person to get a task accomplished, and he or she returns your phone call, you save time, money, energy," she expatiates.

This author explains that some of the reasons why people network are business development or sales; raising business capital; getting a job, assistance with career management, or a job transition, etc.

According to Darling, this book is written from the business perspective, rather than the social or personal. She says most of the examples will involve business professionals seeking to expand their network. Darling adds that these principles can also be applied to those who are seeking to network for any of the other reasons.

"For example, you want to start a business and need working capital. You want to network to people who can help you. Or if you are job hunting, you want to expand your network to learn about companies and where you can make a contribution. If you are raising funds for a music camp, you want to find out who the alumni are and/or who loves music and would want to make a donation," educates the author.

Chapter two is based on the subject matter of what networking is and what it is not. Here, Darling says creating a new network in an unfamiliar community can be taxing. According to her, networking is sometimes confused with schmoozing. She explains that schmoozing has the connotation that you are getting something from someone with no benefit to the other person. Griffiths says it is a take situation. Going back to the dictionary, there are several definitions of schmoozing and it is about conversation, educates the author.

In his words, "There is also a definition, 'to gain an advantage or make a social connection'. That's how most people feel when someone is schmoozing them. It's also why many of us don't like to go to networking events. We don't want to be part of that group. Those people often come across as social climbers."
In chapters three to nine, Darling discusses concepts such as getting started to create a plan; preparing for networking; networking accessories; body language, voice and words; conversations; places to network and best practices.

Chapter ten is based on the thematic focus of best practices when it is face to face. Here, this author says from walking in the door to walking out, this chapter provides step-by-step guide to successfully navigate a networking event. According to Darling, wear something that makes you feel confident and will make it easier for someone to describe you.

"Men can wear a tie with a nice design, and women can wear a suit in a colour other than navy, brown, or black. Before you head to an event, conference, or meeting, you need to pack your Networking Survival Kit. The purpose is to have everything you need for networking in one place," guides this author.

In chapters 11 to 17, Darling analytically X-rays concepts such as follow-up techniques; best practices when not face to face; how to maintain and grow your network; ethics; what to do if you do not feel like networking; gender, race, culture and other networking factors; and evil network.

Chapter 18, the last chapter of this text, constitutes the summary of the text. This chapter contains resource guide; notes; bibliography and index.

As regards style, this text is outstanding. The language is simple. In terms of presentation, the text is didactic, reflecting a product of high level of research.

Darling makes abundant use of graphical embroidery to visually reinforce the understanding of readers. This author also includes a summary section in every chapter to achieve recapitulation and enhance readers' understanding. He uses classical/literary allusions for conceptual amplification and to broaden readers' mind.

However, in terms of positioning, chapter 12 should have come to chapter 11 for proximity of contrast with chapter ten or to achieve immediate conceptual counterbalance.

Generally, this text is must-read for all those who want to enhance their business, career, etc. through effective networking. It is intellectually illuminating.

GOKE ILESANMI, Editor-in-Chief/CEO of http://www.gokeilesanmi.com/ and Managing Consultant/CEO of Gokmar Communication Consulting, is a Certified Public Speaker/Emcee, (Business) Communication Specialist, Motivational Speaker, Career Management Coach, Renowned Book Reviewer, Corporate Leadership Expert and Editorial Consultant.
Tel: +234(0)8055068773; +234(0)8056030424
Email: info@gokeilesanmi.com; gokeiles2010@gmail.com

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The Complete Guide to Environmental Careers - Book Review

I just finished reading "The Complete Guide to Environmental Careers in the 21st Century." As an author and consultant in the green work field, I try to read everything I can get my hands on that is related to green issues. I would rate this book as average at best, it is a good book, but it does not stand out among the many books on this topic.

The book highlights 10 major fields that are in the environmental realm. The authors provide very helpful information like salary ranges, what a "day in the life" looks like and what educational paths you should take to prepare yourself for these careers. The book also offers some really good advice on interviewing and writing your resume and other things that will help you during the job search phase.

The book is a bit dated, as it was written over 5 years ago. It was interesting though to read the predictions and trends and see where they were right and see where they were wrong. They severely underestimated the growth of the green collar industry and hardly touched on the subject of alternative energy and sustainable energy.

In closing, I think this book was average and I would rate it a 6 out of 10. I would not recommend it at all and the reason is because it does not talk about what is relevant right now. I would suggest you look for a book that specifically focuses on the green collar industry or the growing green jobs movement

Dan Keller is the CEO of the popular Green Jobs [http://www.greenjobscene.com/] site and also runs a site that focuses on jobs for teens

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Job Hunting 101 - The Ultimate Guide to Reaching Your Career Goals

Written in a breezy and humorous style, Job Hunting 101: The Ultimate Guide to Landing Your First Job Out of School by Matt M. Gordon is a manual meant to guide the newly graduated toward the first rung on their personal ladders of success. The focus of the book is far reaching, orienting on long term career goals. There are also the usual sections found in a job hunting guide, such as chapters on resumes and interviews. Therefore this book is a useful resource for all job seekers, with special emphasis for those just starting in the workforce after college.

Matt Gordon tells his readers to think of him as a professor. In turn, he offers to mentor them in the 6 main objectives of his job hunting course:

1) Defining job criteria- Analyze and identify your current needs and long term goals

2) Writing impressive resumes and cover letters- Learn what to include and what to avoid

3) Generating interviews- There are more ways to get interviews than just perusing the classifieds. Be creative and take the initiative to seek out opportunities

4) Preparing for interviews- Research is the key to a great interview

5) Winning the interview game- Tips to put your best self forward and stand above the crowd

6) Handling job offers- Weigh the aspects of each job offer to choose the one that will best meet your current needs and long term goals identified in phase 1.

Each of those 6 phases is a crucial point of career planning, and these are only some of the explanations, anecdotes and examples Matt Gordon uses to help light the way. The helpful tips do not stop there. Chapter 7 advises you on what to do after you have chosen and landed your first job.

All in all, Matt M. Gordon has written an excellent guide that no job seeker should be without-whether you are changing careers or heading into the workforce for the first time.

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