Are There Any Good Jobs Left?: Career Management in the Age of the Disposable Worker [Hardcover]

R. William Holland (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0275990443 | ISBN-13: 978-0275990442 | Publication Date: July 30, 2006

This book is for and about the millions of people who are between jobs (code for out of work), have been between jobs, or know of someone who has been. It is about how to navigate the transition from employment-for-life, career development support, and a company-sponsored pension to downsized, outsourced, and replaced. Bill Holland explains the macro-trends that have converged to create an environment of job instability and anxiety, and then moves beyond this context to present specific tactics and techniques that readers can use to stay one step ahead in their careers. More than a manual for job searches and career-building strategies, Are There Any Good Jobs Left? helps readers interpret trends, assess such temptations as leaving the corporate rat race for the entrepreneurial life and considers the ethics of constant networking. Featuring an annotated listing of books and Web sites, the book is not so much an indictment of corporate disloyalty as an explanation of the phenomenon, and a guidebook for anyone faced with job transition, change, or growth in today's turbulent environment.

This book is for and about the millions of people who are between jobs (code for out of work), have been between jobs, or know of someone who has been. It is about the transition from employment-for-life, career development support, and a company-sponsored pension to downsized, outsourced, and replaced. It is about managing your career proactively and creatively in an environment where no job is presumed to be permanent. Bill Holland explains the macro-trends that have converged since the heyday of the white-collar worker after World War II to create an environment of job instability and anxiety, and then moves beyond this context to present specific tactics and techniques that readers can use to stay one step ahead in their careers, whether they are senior executives or just starting out.

Much more than a manual for job searches and career-building strategies, Are There Any Good Jobs Left? shows readers how to interpret trends (e.g., will this wave of outsourcing affect me?), assess such temptations as leaving the corporate rat race for the entrepreneurial life, and consider the ethics of constant networking. In addition, he explores the dynamics of the increasingly diverse workforce, and the prospects for men, women, and minorities as they all vie for the most attractive positions. Featuring an annotated listing of books and Web sites, Are There Any Good Jobs Left? is not so much an indictment of corporate disloyalty as an explanation of the phenomenon and a guidebook for anyone faced with job transition, change, or growth in today's turbulent environment.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Holland's book is a contextually enriching asset for many who find themselves in need of valuable career information."

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Midwest Book Review

"Holland offers suggestions and many resources about career transition. Holland's book is a contextually enriching asset for many who find themselves in need of valuable career information."

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TCM Reviews/Reviewer's Bookwatch

"Addressing the displacement of white collar workers, Are There Any Good Jobs Left offers direction and guidance for tapping into jobs and managing the ebb and flow of availability. Holland focuses on applications, providing straightforward suggestions on how individuals can survive and prosper. From resumes to networking to personal financial issues, the book is a valuable resource for any individual who wants to shape and give direction to their career and to those just looking for work."

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ExecuNet newsletter

"Holland describes general trends impacting the American workforce and provides advice on career management. The material is presented in two parts, the first of which discusses company behavior in the global market place, the work experiences of his immediate social circle during recent economic transitions, the rise of outplacement in the American economy, and the impact of race and gender on the job search arena. The second half of the text presents advice on resumees, networking, interviewing, negotiations, and entrepreneurial opportunities and concludes with broad advice about overall career management."

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Reference & Research Book News

"If you are an older displaced worker, especially a white-collar wage slave, Holland feels your pain. His book is a tough but extremely compassionate discussion of the current state of affairs, what it means and how best to deal with things if you are making an unwanted transition during what you had hoped would be the latter stages of your career. There are lots of specifics offered for individuals and the value of such advice depends on one's situation, of course, but the heart of this book is broader in scope. William Holland looks at our country and its place in the global economy. It's difficult to avoid pessimism, perhaps, but he offers glimmers of hope to those able to seize the opportunities provided by entrepreneurship and retooled expectations after exiting the corporate cocoon. Not everyone will have the wisdom and fortitude to act upon his advice, but there's much food for thought here, regardless."

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The Miami Herald/San Jose Mercury News

"The best business books of 2006. A tough but extremely compassionate discussion about older displaced workers and how best to make unexpected and unwanted transitions during the latter stages of one's career."

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The Miami Herald

Review

"Welcome to the no-nonsense zone, where most career coaches and business gurus fear to venture. William Holland offers no corporate jargon, no new age mysticism, and no gimmicky formulas--just the hard news about what a job seeker is up against today. And unlike 90 percent of the business advisors, he doesn't flinch from the usually taboo topic of how race, gender and age discrimination affect your chances of getting hired."

(

Barbara Ehrenreich^LBest-selling author of ^INickel and Dimed^R and ^IBait and Switch^R

)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Praeger (July 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0275990443
• ISBN-13: 978-0275990442
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,444,752 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bill Holland's career has included significant value-added accomplishments as a scholar athlete, award winning educator, senior business executive and author.

As Executive Vice President at Right Management, Inc. (a global human resources consulting and career transition company with annual sales of 500M) he was responsible for 60 offices, three franchise territories and over 200M in annual revenue in the United States and Canada. Under his leadership sales grew at an annual rate of 20 percent for four years. Bill recently left Right to establish R. William Holland Consulting, LLC and serve as a Senior Vice President for BeamPines, a New York City based talent management firm.

Bill was Chief Human Resources Officer at Meridian Bank, the University of Pennsylvania and the Business Process Outsourcing Division of Accenture (Andersen Consulting). At Accenture he led a globally dispersed staff responsible for employee transition and transformation on more than 200 outsourcing engagements on five continents. He also held senior HR positions at Chase Manhattan Bank, Charles Schwab and PepsiCo.

In 2006 Bill published the first in a series of three books on career management Are There Any Good Jobs Left? Career Management in the Age of the Disposable Worker (Praeger) in which he explains how we have gone from a work environment of employment for life, company funded pensions and career development programs to downsized, outsourced and let go. It was chosen by The Miami Herald and San Jose Mercury News as one of the top 10 business books written that year. His second book, Cracking the New Job Market: The 7 Rules for Getting Hired in Any Economy AMACOM, was published in July, 2011 and features a foreword by Barbara Ehreinreich, author of best-selling books Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Switch. There is also ground-breaking advice and follow up workshops for professional women, parents with college-aged children and unemployed professionals in general.

Bill attended Michigan State University on a football scholarship and received his PhD from there in political science. As a graduate teaching assistant at MSU's distinguished James Madison College, Bill received the University's first Excellence-in-Teaching award and later, an Honorary Distinguished Alumni Award. He went on to become a member of the teaching and research faulty at the University of California, Riverside. He has served as a director on the boards of several organizations including the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, United Professionals and The Pennsylvania Partnership for Children. .

Bill has appeared on numerous radio and TV shows and is available for speaking engagements and consulting services.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable Career Guidance!, August 11, 2006

By 

M. A. Rowe (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Are There Any Good Jobs Left?: Career Management in the Age of the Disposable Worker (Hardcover)

"Are There Any Good Jobs Left?" is an absolutely indispensable guide for anyone who is just entering the work force (like myself), is in career transition, or is in what they perceive to be a "job for life". Holland is the only author I have ever seen who not only shatters the fallacy that the jobs of yesteryear still exist, but he actually gives the reader a step-by-step methodology on what to do about it---that is, how to write a resume, interview, network (among other things), and simply survive in this new age of the disposable worker. I actually followed Holland's steps to "Value Creation", and within 2 hours of posting a resume on Monster, I had 3 phone calls for interviews. I've ordered a bookshelf's worth of "how-to" job search books in the past, and just completed Louis Uchitelle's "The Disposable American" as well. While Uchitelle identifies the similar situation of the "disposable worker" that Holland does, Holland's advice on how to survive and prosper in the age of the disposable worker is light-years ahead of Uchitelle's. A fantastic book overall.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Tremendous Asset in Thinking Different About Work, May 8, 2007

By 

Kelly Pierce (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Are There Any Good Jobs Left?: Career Management in the Age of the Disposable Worker (Hardcover)

This book was a tremendous asset in causing me to think different about jobs, career and the employment market. A big picture perspective is tempered with practical advice and a highly seasoned understanding of what is needed to succeed in the job world today and tomorrow. However, the tone is optimistic and supportive in helping people re-tool their attitudes and configure their skillsets for today rather than that of yesterday. An incredible amount of brainpower went into this book in making the ideas easy to grasp and explain.

On the other hand, the author could have done tons more to demonstrate his idea of showing how applicants can add value to an employer. For example, there are no resumes in the book showing his approach at work, let alone resumes before applying his approach. Also, more descriptions of how people applied his ideas would have been helpful. Being able to operationalize good ideas is highly important so a number of real examples of people applying his approach successfully would have been a great addition. Certainly, there must be a group of deserving highly talented folks who are interested in receiving the message of this book and applying it in their job search so we can see how it worked for them.

The future can be a scary thing, but with Bill Holland on your side with this book you can be equipped for an exciting rather than depressing future.