Cool Careers For Dummies (For Dummies (Business & Personal Finance)) (Paperback)

~ Marty Nemko PhD (Author), Richard N. Bolles (Foreword)
Key Phrases: neat niche, impressive interviewing, cool careers, Finding Your Cool Career, Landing That Cool Job, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Looking for a job? Thinking about a career change? Dreading it? Well, Cool Careers for Dummies promises not only to help you find jobs you never knew existed, but to make it fun! From enologist (that's winemaker, dummy) to attorney specializing in outer-space issues, career specialists Marty Nemko and Paul and Sarah Edwards have compiled over 500 interesting, offbeat, and just plain cool jobs. But that's just the first step.

After the short descriptions of cool careers--thoughtfully separated in their own yellow-pages section--the authors present a smart, funny, well-organized guide to choosing and nabbing the perfect job, even jobs that don't make the "cool" list. Filled with practical advice such as using e-mail to reach potential employers (it's more likely to get answered), Cool Careers for Dummies is a sure cure for the interview jitters. Important tips and pitfalls are highlighted with bold icons, making this useful as a handy reference as well as a career guide.

Sections on résumés, interviews, and salary negotiation round out the package, making this the perfect companion for the first-time job hunter or the seasoned professional looking for a change--after all, you don't have to be a dummy to need a little help. A word of warning: if you think you're satisfied with your career, be careful with this book--you might find yourself longing to be a newborn photographer or a dating coach! --Rob Lightner --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Every year, thousands of people change careers. Whether you are a recently graduated student looking to put what you studied to good use or an experienced professional looking for a change in routine, finding a career that really suits you can be a daunting task.

Cool Careers for Dummies helps you discover what you really want out of life, what your passions are, and how well you perform in different environments, and then shows you how to use this information to find a career that suits you. Now revised and up-to-date, this easy-to-use guidebook helps you explore your job options and make clear-minded decisions. This new edition gives you the tools you need to:

• Search for and find a career that fits your talents
• Land the job you want
• Train for your new found career
• Mold your resume into a masterpiece
• Put on a stunning interview
• Improve your career by making the most out of your job
• Explore the fun and profit of self-employment

Along with these features, Cool Careers for Dummies provides a self-assessment section to help you identify your interests. After answering a few questions about yourself, you’ll apply your answers to the Cool Careers Yellow Pages, which profiles more than 500 great careers. It also lets you in on some unwritten codes of the office, such as having integrity, defusing saboteurs, and maintaining office relationships. So what are you waiting for? Get Cool Careers for Dummies and find the job of your dreams today!

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Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 3 edition (April 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470117745
• ISBN-13: 978-0470117743
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #55,315 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gift that kept giving, December 29, 2000

By	artemis w (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cool Careers for Dummies (Paperback)

For a little while in college I was queen of career guides and resume books. But that wasn't helping me figure out what I wanted to do. And it certainly wasn't helping me find a post-college job. An arbitrary cousin sent me this book for graduation, and 2 years later I still use it. I threw out all the other books. "Cool Careers" outlines new approaches to finding both careers and jobs, and walks you through interviews and salary negotiations with simulations. The authors also pay special attention to shaping your job to suit your needs once you have it... a section that distinguishes it from other books in this category. Most importantly, the book leads you on a job search that balances the short-term panic with the long-term perspective needed to secure the RIGHT job for you.

Using this book, I found an unadvertised entry-level job without a resume in a field I didn't know existed. A year later I found a managerial position in the same field. The friends who graduated with me work meaningless jobs in cubicles, and they still don't know what they want to do when they "grow up". I have a career, making real decisions, and the confidence that I can find a new one whenever I want.

40 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Bad....But Not Great, February 10, 2004

By	M. Lee (Santa Monica, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cool Careers for Dummies (Paperback)

I was somewhat disappointed with this book. Although it was organized very well, had a nice index, which made it easy to find things, and was written in a simple, right-to-the-point, easy to read way, the book was a little innacurate when it came to some job descriptions. For example there are many jobs which 5 years ago may not have required a college degree but due to the ultra-competitive world we live in now, they may now require a college degree. This was overlooked on a few of the careers listed. Take for instance becoming a foreign language/interpreting. This has become a highly competitive sought after job and the minimum requirement is not only being fluent in another language but to also have at least a Bachelor's Degree. Having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, I know how cut throat the job market is so I was hoping that the author of this book was more aware of things like that. Even careers like becoming a police officer has changed quite a bit. Now many police departments require police recruits to have a college degrees, which was definitely NOT the case 5 or 10 years ago. But overall this book was fairly good. I recommend it just as long as you are aware that there may be a few flaws. I also think it depends on where you live. If you are from a super competitive urbanized part of the United States, like the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, or New York, remember that the standard for getting a decent jobs is completely different than anywhere else in the country. In fact I'm hoping oneday a book called "Cool Careers for People Living in California" will be published! Lol!

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally . . . a career book that works!, August 27, 1998

By	Judith Grutter, M.S., NCCC "gstahoe" (South Lake Tahoe, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cool Careers for Dummies (Paperback)

I've been a career counselor for over 30 years and referenced every self-help book there is. This one MOTIVATES clients to DO something. The others all start with what the COUNSELOR wants to do -- this one starts with what clients want -- information about the cool jobs! And it doesn't force the usual program of testing, more testing, and even more testing down their throats. In fact, if clients don't know the answers to the assessment questions, they're told to "skip it" and move on. That's the key -- users aren't stuck in the hard stuff that keeps them from acting. This book is wonderful -- what looks like just a fun surface approach to a very complex subject is actually very thorough. But it doesn't hurt! It makes you want to really take a look at your career.