The Best Books to Help You Build a Great Career

Whether you want to change careers or start a job for the first time, there are plenty of tips on how to figure out what you want to do , get the company’s attention and get an interview . But you may need detailed advice from an expert, and these are some of the best books to read when you’re about to apply for a job.

The best books to help you navigate your career

For a little self-knowledge and motivation, look to career books to learn more about yourself to determine what your next chapter should be.

• Pivot: The Only Move That Matter Is Your Next One by Jenny Blake ($18.21) is written by a former career development specialist at Google and is all about using your interests and talents to figure out what you should be doing next. One reviewer said that it “offers an excellent and well-organized set of self-assessment tools and systems.”
• What Color Is Your Parachute?: Your Guide to a Life of Meaningful Work and Career Success by Richard N. Bolles ($17.99) is a classic often recommended for one reason: It can help you find fulfillment and determine what do you want from your career. feel like you’re doing something meaningful.
• Designing Your Life: How to Build a Prosperous and Joyful Life ($15.32) by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans is all about creating an enjoyable life, as the title suggests, but it heavily emphasizes careers. It distinguishes between your view of work and your view of life, ultimately helping you combine the two to find meaning in and out of work.
• Chris McAlister’s book Stuck Book: Pick It Up When You Don’t Know What to Do Next ($22.47) is about how to move forward when you feel like you’re in a rut. Reviewers especially like how easy it is to understand how McAllister uses real-life examples to connect with readers, and how these examples apply to everyday careers and life’s challenges.

Best Books for Finding a New Job

Knowing what you want to do is half the battle, but finding the right job is the battle itself. As you get down to sending cover letters, setting up LinkedIn job alerts, and scrolling really, take some time to read this:

• Knock ’em Dead: The Ultimate Job Search Guide by Martin Yate ($10.99) has 4.6 out of 5 stars on Amazon, where readers of the digital age have rediscovered a decades-old (and updated) classic . It has tips on how to get more interviews, as well as a section on practical questions to think about before you go face-to-face with a hiring manager.
• Never Search Alone: ​​Phil Terry’s Job Search ($19.17) provides a plan to use your established network to access the “hidden” job market and generally turn your job search into a group project. It is a human guide to what can often be a clinical, impersonal process.
• The Job Closer: Time-Saving Techniques for Resumes, Interviews, Negotiations & More by Steve Dalton ($12.99) respects the value of your time. After all, you don’t get paid to find a job, so speed is important here. Dalton delves into the various models and techniques you can practice to quickly answer interview questions or tedious cover letter writing, turning your job search into a manageable sequence of well-practiced steps.