Wednesday, September 22, 2010

HEY BUDDY, CAN YOU SPARE A JOB?



You won’t find a lot of book reviews or recommendations on the Eclectic Chalkboard, but today I would like to recommend one that has had a tremendous amount of influence on its readers, including me. It’s a perennial that’s been around since 1970 and is considered the bible on job search.

What Color Is Your Parachute,” by Richard Bolles, through good times and bad, is an invaluable resource for personal and professional employability. It was instrumental when, having gone a few years without any real employment (hey – I was a stupid young “adult”), I used it to land my first professional gig – Director of Public Relations, for a not-for-profit organization. My PR experience prior to the job? None.

The 2011 edition will undoubtedly continue its trend of being a best-seller and helping hundreds of thousands of those seeking work to better know themselves in order to better market themselves to prospective employers.

It’s not about classified ads, or craigslist, or schmoozing, or networking, or even knowing the employer as well as you know yourself. (Although those things can be included in your skill set.) It really is about getting to know yourself so well that no matter what the question is regarding what value you can bring to the employer, you will have the answer.

Suffice it to say, if you’re in the market for a job, make it your job to figure out what color your parachute is.

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