Do you want to land a gig that accords value to your skill-set? Maybe you have an important interview coming up but you feel unprepared. Are you straight out of college and looking for your first opportunity? Perhaps you're facing ageism in the job-search market. Have you been made redundant because of job cuts? No matter who you are and where you stand in your career path, experienced guidance is essential in finding a flourishing professional career.
In today’s competitive times, it is indeed a job to get a job, and the much bigger job is to find a job that doesn’t feel like one. With a swiftly changing job-bazaar shaped by augmented computerisation and technology landscape, landing the right job has become an ever increasing challenge. Unguided job seekers often struggle before they are able to find a position that is even marginally decent, well-paying, or comfortable for them. The global pandemic has not made things any easier for job-seekers. When redundancy rates are high, we need an iron-clad strategy to emerge triumphant.
If you are a job-seeker looking for career guidance and to improve your job search approach, you will find this book list handy. This is also helpful for the gainfully employed looking for increased job satisfaction.
Here are six books for people on the hunt for a new job.
Getting a Job is a Job: Nailing a Job in a Hard Knock World
by Harvey Mackay
Coming from the author of five New York Times blockbusters including Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive, who has sold millions of amazing books worldwide, whose books have been translated into around thirty-seven languages, Getting a Job is special in more ways than can be imagined.
We vastly endorse this one if you have suffered in the post-2020 world, which has rendered us vulnerable but hungry for better work and security. Mackay’s book is the definitive briefing on how to get hired and negotiate for better wages and benefits with employers.
It is a synopsis of the author’s decades of experience in the realms of intense interviews and recruiting processes. Without sounding preachy, Mackay suggests and encourages job-seekers to work smarter to pave a winning path for themselves.
The size of the book is certainly going to take you by surprise if you are well-acquainted with other books by the author. It is so crisp and to-the-point that even those who do not particularly enjoy reading might end up finishing it in one go. The amazing part is that Mackay manages to convey his years of experience and knowledge in such few pages. If you like actionable job-search guidance, then this one is surely the mentor for you.
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Own It. Love It. Make It Work.
by Carson Tate
A celebrated productivity-expert and life-coach, Carson Tate offers her mantra to make any job your DREAM JOB! In her own words,
“Work can be the full expression of who you are and be the vehicle that takes you to a place where you reach the full potential of your greatness.”
Quitting usually appears to be the only option when we are faced with insecurity and doubt at work but Tate’s belief is different. She feels we can reverse the adverse by using some smart strategies that lead us to the sphere of productivity and excellence. Her game-plan is actionable and it surely goes beyond the sphere of professional work. We strongly recommend her book to anyone who learns via other people’s life stories and challenges—for it includes stirring cases from the writer’s consulting practice and is filled with empathy to the core.
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The Success Trap: Why Good People Stay in Jobs They Don't Like and How to Break Free
by Amina Aitsi-Selmi
There are way too many people in conventionally fruitful careers who complain about their jobs almost ceaselessly. If you are one of them, then you must read this well-researched book by Dr. Aitsi that won Business Book Awards 2021 in Personal Development & Wellbeing.
No; it is not a self-help book but a guide and friend if you feel nobody (including you sometimes) understands the reasons for your job-related dissatisfaction. It will comfort you, offer understanding, and then patiently shape your mindset for a more fulfilled life and career. It is innovative and stimulating but its ultimate beauty lies in how easy it is to read it—no heavy jargon to bog you down!
The author’s tactic and mentorship are real-world, logical, liberal, and wholly based on her personal wisdom. Dr. Aitsi provides incomparable direction to those who have been craving a career change but have been too scared to follow their needs and intuition.
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The Untold Secrets of the Job Search
by Zane Lawson
When it comes to truly understanding the problems faced by job-seekers stuck in a cruel and increasingly competitive job-market, few ace the game as Zane Lawson. Right from the introduction that tightly grips, this book is an out and out amalgam of the new-age job-seekers’ dilemma and possible winning tactics. The author doesn't shy away from equipping the reader with avant-garde knowledge that gives one an edge over other job-seekers. She chooses to view the market from a different perspective and her narrative helps the reader almost instantaneously as she engulfs them in an array of facts and research, simultaneously offering pragmatic guidance. The basic mantra throughout the book remains:
“Job seekers cannot compromise their self-worth.”
This masterpiece focuses on uplifting self-image, on preparing oneself for the best, and capitalizing on clarity of thought and direction while job-hunting. It can be a special asset to anyone who has all the right credentials on the CV but still fail to hear back from their dream workplaces. It makes us realise the futility of conventional and archaic methods of job-searching, while strongly making a case for upskilling while on the hunt.
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Ultimate Job Search
by Lynn Williams
Lynn Williams is a renowned career coach with years of experience guiding people to ace their job-interviews. From tips on CV writing—to how to make career and field transitions, Williams offers guidance on all aspects of the job search.
Her bestselling book offers advice that’s practical, steadfast, and simple to follow. Whether professionally inexperienced or a top ranking professional at a large enterprise, almost anyone can find the right mentorship in Williams’ book. Her guide is divided into clear cut chapters such as “Making a Start,” “Skills they want from Everybody,” and “Answering Interview Questions.” With six chapters purely dedicated to writing stellar CVs, cover-letters, and application forms, Ultimate Job Search qualifies as a definitive guide for any job aspirant.
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The Job Closer: Time-Saving Techniques for Acing Resumes, Interviews, Negotiations, and More
by Steve Dalton
The author of bestselling The 2-Hour Job Search gives you his little job-search bible that covers all aspects of the process right from writing a flawless résumé and cover-letter to making your LinkedIn profile relevant—to interviewing and negotiating like a boss! Dalton expands on the principles laid out in 2-Hour with highly strategic assistance for a more well-organized and operative method to job-searching. The book offers intelligent guidance on networking and cautions readers against harmful free advice that’s often given by clueless friends and family, and sometimes even by career-influencers and self-proclaimed job-coaches on social and professional platforms who exploit people’s vulnerabilities for vested interests.
Without relying even one bit on quick fixes and hacks, Dalton offers practical and actionable advice. He is not telling us it will be easy, but only that it can be made more comfortable with the right prep. Dalton emphasizes strongly on perfecting critical skills and augmenting self-confidence. This book is for all of those who wonder how they can truly explore their potential and get the benefits they deserve.
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Written by
Bella Nome
Writer and Content Manager at Shulph