Here are some of our favorite career-related self-help books.
Follow Your True Colors to the Work You Love
Carolyn Kalil, True Colors, Inc. Publishing, Riverside, CA, 2004.
Work can be satisfying and meaningful if you are in tune with your strengths and values. Built on solid psychology theory, Kalil's method gives you valuable insight into yourself (and others) and helps you identify a career that matches your personality.
Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand
William Arruda / Kirsten Dixson, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ, 2007.
With close to eight billion people now living on our planet, developing and building a reputation unique to you is about all you can do to distinguish yourself from the crowd. Arruda and Dixson provide a compelling blueprint to building your brand and achieving your potential.
How to Get Your Point Across In 30 Seconds
or Less
Milo O. Frank, Pocket Books, New York, NY, 1986.
This diminutive but insightful book explains how to get and hold your listener's attention and make your point in seconds. Frank's key advice: Gear your elevator speech toward solving your listener's needs.
Work the Pond! Use the Power of Positive Networking to Leap Forward in Work and Life
Darcy Rezac, Judy Thomson, Gayle Hallgren-Rezac, Prentice Hall Press, New York, 2005.
Don't be fooled by the fairy tale-like cover; this book is all you need to discover the essential secrets of effective networking. The authors say the key to creating and sustaining a strong social network is discovering something we can do for someone else. Read this book and change your life.
Expert Resumes for Career Changers
Wendy S. Enelow and Louise M. Kursmark, Jist Works, Indianapolis, IN, 2010.
The authors have produced the most effective series of career self-help books on the market, this book included. If you intend to write your own resume, this book will safely vector you through difficult writing situations and help you land an interview on your career objective.
Disclaimer: Resumes we have written appear in Enelow and Kursmark's book.
Give Your Speech, Change the World. How to Move Your Audience to Action
Nick Morgan, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA, 2003.
If most people fear public speaking more than death, and so many people remember so little after a speech, why bother with speeches at all? Because they're a powerful way to connect with people. Morgan will prepare you for great speech-making...and you'll live another day to tell about it.
The Twitter Job Search Guide: Find a Job and Advance Your Career in Just 15 Minutes a Day
Susan Britton Whitcomb, Chandlee Bryan, and Deb Dib, Jist Works, Indianapolis, IN, 2010.
The crisp, clear writing style of this book make it a compelling read. The authors persuasively show why Twitter is so important to building your brand. This is the most effective Twitter User's Manual you'll find, and is required reading if you are serious about your career success.
Confessions of an Introvert: The Shy Girl's Guide to Career, Networking, and Getting the Most Out of Life
Meghan Wier, Sphinx Publishing, Naperville, IL, 2009.
Introverts will breath a sigh of relief when they read Wier's smorgasbord of insight and advice how to self-promote in the extroverts' world of business. The author writes from an introvert's perspective and illuminates a clear path to your career success.
The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World
Marti Olsen Laney, Psy.D., Workman Publishing, New York, NY, 2002.
This is must-read for introverts. Some quotes from the book: Appreciate your uniqueness.
—Captain Kangaroo.
The pendulum of the mind oscillates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong.—Carl Jung.
To find the good life you must become yourself.—Dr. Bill Jackson.
The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work.—Richard Bach.
Think and Grow Rich
Napoleon Hill, Dover Publications, New York, NY, 2014.
It's never too late to benefit from the advice offered in this self-help classic. Hill's masterpiece is a complete reference book that outlines the fundamentals of the Philosophy of Personal Achievement. If you haven't read Think and Grow Rich, do it now. You won't be disappointed.