Customer Reviews

Career Guide for the High-Tech Professional

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was really impressed by this book. Perry understands the process behind attracting the interest of perspective employers and walks you through it. He even provides ALL the materials.. (the 'action words' websites for researching your target companies, many samples of new resume types) I found this book both enourmously helpful and entertaining. This is one of those books I have and will continue to give as a gift to others.

I am a business book junkie and always have a few "how-to" career books on the go and David Perry's book is the best I have ever read. The one thing career counsellors and the like always tell you is to target a company that you want to work for and then make contact with people inside that company. But what they can never tell you is how to go about doing that. David's book actually tells you how to do this! Plus it gives expert advice on building a resume that gets attention - it actually becomes a one page marketing datasheet and the product is you. Buy the book, you will not be disappointed.

David Perry's excellent book contains very creative ideas for working through all the stages of a job search. Although the guide focuses on the IT job market, Perry's advice can be easily adapted to find jobs in any field.

Perry has developed an aggressive approach to job-hunting that fits a post-dotcom-meltdown market. He provides new ways of conducting a job search, designing your resume, corresponding with those in a position to hire you, and preparing for that all-important job interview. He has also provided a comprehensive list of web resources for finding IT jobs.

The depth of Perry's experience as a top recruiter really comes through in this book. Readers can definitely benefit from his advice!

David Perry has distilled all the information necessary for high technology professionals to manage their careers to best effect. He has de-mystified the process that can challenge even the most dedicated 'career junkie'. This is not just a book about "what you should know", rather, it is a book about "what you need to know; what to do and exactly how to do it".

This collaboration with Jay Levinson has created a real standout in the usually boring ranks of self-help books.

The worksheet sections are a slightly different twist on Parachute, but pretty much amount to the same thing, although cynically enough I'll say a book written by a headhunter will of course recommend that you turn to a headhunter when all else fails (and it will).

The intriguing part of this book is the introductory portions. As a software engineer in the business 23 years, I have often felt stuck. The introduction identified factors that explain why I should feel this way, based on a gap between what executives look for in a hire vs. what line managers and HR are seeking. It explains the runaround technical types get when they try to break in to a "technical executive" position by arranging interviews with HR or first lines. The book explains why this is a waste of time and cannot succeed, because the hiring goals of the two strata are opposed.

Read Invisible Man along with the preface/introduction and you should be suitably depressed and paranoid. You will finally see the H1-B argument from Lou Dobb's angle, and take a more cynical view of some corporate sites' exhortations to overproduce engineers and mathematicians (raise supply, reduce wages).

I am now pleading with my sons to choose careers as lawyers, doctors, truck drivers, or even politicians. Technical specialists over the age of 43 are the Oakies of the 22nd century (The Grapes of Wrath (Centennial Edition)). Isn't that ironic? We created the information age and it made us obsolete. Even dentists weren't that stupid.

I enjoyed this book very much. David takes an otherwise intimidating process and makes it logical and dare I say even "fun"? All will become clear when you read this - can't wait to read his next book.

In general, the Career Guide for the High-Tech Professional is worth reading...if you have not already read Guerilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0. About 95% of the material of this book was included in the GMFJH book. The only additional nugget that is included in the CGFTGTP was how to deal with headhunters, recruiters, etc. It does provide excellent guidance on how best to approach these professionals (including mistakes that I have already made). Recommended if you have not already picked up the Guerilla Marketing for Job Hunters book or if you need a little addditional guidance on how to best work with recruiters.

The contents of the book is insightful and helpful but it is of VERY POOR print quality. The words are not focused and have shadows. I'd recommend you buy "Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters" instead. They have a great deal of the same contents.