Customer Reviews

Career Change: Everything You Need to Know to Meet New Challenges and Take Control of Your Career (Careers Series)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

The book starts out with 2 surveys. One survey assesses you and your work environment. You get to pinpoint, in quantitative terms, what works for you & what doesn't. The other assessment surveys your entrepreneurial skills, and whether starting your own business is for you. Armed with that information, the book launches into presenting all sorts of options, and references for following up, on whatever peaks your interest. The options approach in this book is a welcome change from the 'do it this way' format of some career books. A unique section on adult development points out how women's life goals at different stages, are often different than a man's life goals at the same stage. At last, it is in print, what we knew all along. This book also gives ways to overcome common problems. This is a welcome change from other books, whose motto is 'just do it'. Sometimes getting off the starting block is the real problem. This book has frank talk in that category, to get you going, and ease you into the process comfortably. If you need a gentle push, try this book.

"I found Career Change to be full of practical and helpful strategies (including real life experiences of 10 career changers). Dr. Helfand has put together a treasure of resource material much needed in these troubling recessionary times. The author's writing style is very down to earth and easy to read. The highight for me was the 50 plus page Chapter on helping people identify career options with the use of a case study, the actual complete assessment details of a real person..........very helpful in seeing how to get your results and understand them. No other book I'm aware of quite covers this topic so thoroughly. Kudos to Dr. Helfand for hitting a grand slam Home Run in the World Series of job search and Career Change.

I did not find this book helpful at all. It is packed with academic speak and very little practical material. I would recommend Richard Bolles' What color is Your Parachute, Howard Figler's The Complete Job Search Handbook, and J. Michael Farr's How to Get the Job You Really Want (this book is more of a manual and has some great ideas in terms of job searching and how to go about it. This one is definitely a must).

I enjoyed several parts of this book, especially the case studies and the focus on specific categories of job seekers. I can see the value in adding this book to your library of tools in pursuit of a new job.

Wayne D. Ford, Ph.D., author, "The Accelerated Job Search" docwifford@msn.com

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What People Are Saying

Joyce Lain Kennedy, Los Angeles Times Syndicate, picked "Career Change" as one of the Top Ten Career Books for 1999.

"Career Change is a four star book..........this authoritative guidance by a well-credentialed career counselor earns a fifth star for addressing special needs of women, minorities, over 50, disabled and ex-military."

Michelle Tullier @ Monster.com
"......accurate in it's advice and comprehensive in it's approach. Anyone contemplating making a career change-whether by choice or necessity-will be well served by this book. "Career Change" is the most comprehensive handbook available on every aspect of the career transition process."

American Counseling Association
"A succinct, well focused guide to career planning and job issues."

National Career Development Assoc.
"Very useful....Dr. Helfand offers solid, concise advise, reflecting 20 years as a career counselor and professor."

Career Opportunity News
"A comprehensive review....contains far more content than the usual career guidance book."

Highlights of 2nd Ed. of Career Change include:

10 Profiled Career Changers - Read about their successes, some difficult decisions, and what strategies have worked for them since their last interviews four years ago.

Tony, Our Case Study Subject, Has Been Reinterviewed - Find out how Tony's career is going and his reaction to the career counseling he experienced five years ago.

Internet Sites Added - Over 200 top internet sites, related to career planning topics in the book, are referred to. Discover the wealth of information that awaits you on the internet.

Self Assessment Exercises - To help you better focus your career change both the Work Values Satisfaction Self Assessment and the Entrepreneurial Personal Characteristics Self Assessment have been simplified and are now easier to complete and score.

Demographic & Job Market Statistics - All demographic, as well as job market outlook statistics, have been updated to aid you in your career change.

List of Recommended Readings - Over 140 recently published, recommended career books, have been added to the list, bringing the total to over 300 books. Let our work save you hours in identifying the best books, in every major career planning topic.

Highlights of 1st Edition, Still Included in 2nd Edition:

A detailed, in-depth, client case study is presented, showing step-by-step how to complete an Analysis of Life Experience exercise and with this client&339;s actual Strong Interest Inventory and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator results, readers are shown how all this information is combined, to identify meaningful career options, for adults who may be unsure about what career to pursue.

Additional self assessment exercises are included to help readers assess; their current level of job satisfaction (or identify the most important aspects for future job possibilities) by rating 80 Work Values in 7 categories, their entrepreneurial potential by rating 50 Personal Characteristics in 8 categories.

Strategies for overcoming the fears of change, failing and success, as well as related perfectionism and procrastination.
Solid suggestions for increasing one's self-confidence and self-esteem, thus enhancing one's view of self and possibilities in the world of work as well.

Ideas for resolving issues related to time and money, such as; the possible need for further education, training or experience, job searching while employed, and coping with potential salary reduction when changing careers, and more.

Strategies for dealing with a tight job market, how to best job search and get the job one most wants, as well as insights into where the jobs will be during the 90's and beyond.

Step-by-step directions on researching employers in the library along with descriptions of over 60 related library resources.
Seven chapters dedicated to eight groups with special challenges in the workplace; women, minorities, people over 50, people with disabilities, dual career couples, single parents, ex-military personnel, and mid level managers.

The actual experiences of 10 career changers are profiled throughout the book.

I hope that Career Change can make a difference for you.

David P. Helfand, Ed.D., Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, National Certified Career Counselor...

Just realized I could not leave a message without rating my own book (which does seem a bit awkward). I've recently taped two segments for the national NBC daytime reality show "Starting Over", where I did some career counseling for a member of the cast. Filming in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood--the show chronicles the lives of six women, each experiencing some type of life transition. For addtional information check out the website www.startingovertv.com---for times and stations in your area--click on "where to watch", for the current week's lineup of shows --click on "show guide".

Randall Hansen, Ph.D., Webmaster/Publisher of the leading career website Quintcareers.com had this to say about Career Change:

"There is no question that if you are to use just one book in making the decision to change careers, that Helfand's Career Change is the book to use.....extremely thorough, provides excellent and empowering examples.....an impressive and comprehensive book about career change, the best of the bunch".
February, 2003.

Barbara Grauer, Book Review Editor for the Career Planning & Adult Development Journal had this to say about Career Change,

".....valuable resource, remarkable book, written with enthusiasm and the utmost sensitivity, a wonderful compendium of the best strategies for a major career change, used as a bible and guide--one could effect a career change with fabulous results".