Career Match: Connecting Who You Are with What You'll Love to Do (Paperback)

by Shoya Zichy (Author), Ann Bidou (Author)
Key Phrases: continuously revised data, strong secondary characteristics, service career orientation, Red Extroverts, Gold Introverts, Green Extroverts (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Using a workstyle assessment technique called Color Q, this is probably one of the best career self-testing books you'll ever run across." -- Mensa Bulletin, June 2007

"For thousands of Americans Shoya Zichy’s landmark 276 page masterpiece, “Career Match” may have simultaneously squelched the wretched specter of unemployment and brought career satisfaction to those who sing the blues at a time when their nation’s economy has been sporting a historically rosy complexion...The most compelling reason for reading this book and why we are bringing it to the attention of TravelSmart readers is that “Career Match” makes it easier for anyone who wants to squeeze the most out of their life experience to do just that. That’s why I bought copies for each of my children (all over 40 now). If they can get as much out of the book as I did they’ll be grateful for the rest of their lives. ''

--travelsmart.com

Review

Using a workstyle assessment technique called Color Q, […]probably one of the best career self-testing books you'll ever run across."

-Mensa Bulletin

"... insightful and complex."

-Accounting Today magazine

" the book makes for a great teaching tool...whether you're a career counselor, a college student, or the average Joe/Jane.

-Campus Career Counselor

"...Shoya Zichy’s landmark 276 page masterpiece, 'Career Match.'”

travelsmart.com

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM (February 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814473644
• ISBN-13: 978-0814473641
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,440 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars If you want to pick a career that fits you perfectly, there are better books, December 9, 2008

By	Bob U (New York) - See all my reviews

This is an enjoyable, well-written book. But basically, it is just a twist on personality type. Instead of using the usual 4-letter Myers-Briggs types, like INTP, it gives you a color for your personality. This is an enjoyable way to think of yourself, but it is just another career book with a cute idea for the casual career seeker. If you want to have a career that is going to give you a high-level of success and satisfaction, you are going to dig deeper than this book. I use three books with my clients, who are people very seriously committed to picking the right career. The first is Do What You Are: Discover the Perfect Career for You Through the Secrets of Personality Type. This book has been around for a few years and is still the best book on personality type and work. I highly recommend it and consider it much more useful than Career Match.

By far the most powerfully useful career design books are by the man who created the field of career coaching back in the early 1980s, when the word coaching was otherwise just used for sports. Nicholas Lore founded Rockport Institute, probably the best career coaching service for people seeking the perfect career, and invented many of the leading-edge tools and methods in his field. He says to have both success and fulfillment, you need to choose work that fits you naturally. Books like Career Match focus on your personality, but Lore says that is not enough. You also have to understand your natural talents, what functions you do naturally and easily, what subject matter would be interesting enough, how important is it to you to have a purpose, a mission or make a difference and some other areas you want to get right, or, like many, you may feel you have chosen the wrong career.

His first book, The Pathfinder: How to Choose or Change Your Career for a Lifetime of Satisfaction and Success is probably the best career design guide ever written. It takes you through choosing the perfect career for you from beginning to end. Read some of the review of it and you will see that many others agree with me. His new book, Now What?: The Young Person's Guide to Choosing the Perfect Career is for people under 30, students and people fairly new to the career world. The author knows his audience. Many people under 30 want their reading fast, lean and to the point. More straightforward and streamlined, than The Pathfinder, it doesn't have as much depth on some important subjects such as what to do when you get stuck, how to make the best decisions. But it is completely practical and designed to turn you into a career detective, observing what you do best and uncovering the best clues about what would make a career fit you perfectly.

I recommend you get all three of these excellent books. After all, picking your career could be the most important decision you will ever make. Most people just put up with their work. Don't let that happen to you! If you have already decided on your career direction, the old classic What Color Is Your Parachute? 2009: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers is, I think, the best job hunting book but not so good for picking a fitting career.

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly accurate, January 13, 2008

By	Michael (Paris, France) - See all my reviews

I was surprised at how accurate this book was. And when I read the careers that matched my personality, the list contained my current career, a career I've been recently studying for hoping to make a change, as well as a few other careers that I've seriously considered in the past. In fact every career that I seriously considered was in the list. I was amazed. My wife took the test and she found hers pretty accurate as well and it's helping her with her in between jobs job search. For the price it's entertaining and fun, yet helpful at the same time. Highly recommended.

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Assessment, August 13, 2007

By	Gail McDaniel (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I compared the Color Match assessment test with many others and Color Match wins for several reasons. 1. Ease of testing 2.Accurate results 3. Excellent career suggestions. More importantly, I learned so much about myself. . . . why my last job was the wrong culture for me, what to look for the next time, how to make a business presentation to a "Blue", why some relationships just don't seem to work. There is so much here that is more than career. However, I will never hire again without giving this test to the candidate.