Customer Reviews

Back in Control: How to Stay Sane, Productive, and Inspired in Your Career Transition (Culture Tools Series)

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In life we are often presented with challenges. We can take control of those challenges or we can let those challenges control our minds and emotions. In this era of rapidly changing job and work environments, many people find themselves faced with job losses or underemployment. In an excellent treatment of the issue of emotional responses to career change, Diane Wilson guides individuals through the process of taking control of their careers and of career transitions. Diane's book, Back in Control, deals with the emotional side of job hunting, and, therefore, fills a real hole in the existing literature. Diane's book will aid self-awareness by showing people that they are not alone in experience a wide range of confusing emotions when faced with career moves. But she goes beyond just illustrating the problems; she also offers a variety of potential solutions to the problems encountered in career transitions.

"This book is a rare treasure in that it goes beneath the surface to grapple with the real psychological and social effects of unemployment. Diane Wilson provides a "roadmap"of the emotional terrain one is likely to encounter in successfully navigating a career transition. Awareness, acceptance and action ... her three pronged approach helps us to transcend counter-productive knee-jerk reactions and find our way safely to the other shore."

"This book offers something different from the typical job search book--hope. Reading it is like having an ally in your corner-a source of support, comfort, fresh perspectives, and practical wisdom. I recommend it to anyone who is struggling with the frustrations of a career transition."

In my 15 year career, I have gone through enough job transitions to understand that reading career development books in part of life and re-enforcement of the skills I fortunately already have. I came across this book in my library. Book was given to me as a gift a couple of years back. Author is from Chicago and many of the "cases" she discusses in the book are local Chicago residents going through a job transition.

It does not matter if your transition is voluntry or involuntary. The effort of finding the next job (or a career) and emotional stress during the search is nevertheless the same. Author explains that loosing a job is a grieving process and one goes through the same stages of grief as if your dear friend or a family member died. Additionally, the job search process has three phases. I have learned a new trick about four basic types of personalities and how to spot them during interview.

This author will not give you examples of what questions to ask during the interview, but she will teach you how to learn about yourself, understand your strenghts and weaknesses and play them in the game of job search. She also was recommendaton on how to de-stress: music therapy, journaling, workout, yoga and meditation. She also believes that order of one's surroundings is important and de-cluttering space frees oneself with more personal freedom to venture into the unknown.

Author apparently is an Oprah fan (whoich I am not) and likes some of the general public best sellers - which I do not share with her. But the unique thing about this book is that it is sincere in desire to help people with the transition and explores every aspect of life, psyche and personality so that individual can conquer them when it is the most imports: during job intervioew, stressful situations at work or at home and during any other changes in life that are significant.

Easy read. Good reference materials recommendations in the back of the book.