Discovering Your Career In Business [Paperback]

Timothy Butler (Author), James Waldroop (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 17, 1996

Created by the Directors of MBA Career Development Programs at the Harvard Business School, Discovering Your Career in Business and the Business Career Interest Inventory (BCII) are based on over ten years of research with more than 650 business professionals. The result is a sophisticated, state-of-the-art career counseling tool that provides a highly nuanced self-assessment profile and direction to specific business work environments and activities that will lead to career satisfaction and success. The BCII, provided here on disk, contains its own scoring system and can be run ont he floppy drive of any Windows PC.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Meet Caroline Greeley, a very attractive movie marketer who, despite the industry's glamour, was very uncomfortable in her job. This individual (and others) from the business career front has psychologists Butler and Waldroop to thank, since the authors developed a remarkable series of guides to help the lost and confused find their way in the workday world. Expect more specific advice than what is proffered in What Color Is Your Parachute? or by highly paid (and unregulated) career counselors. The authors' unique eight-profile "Business Career Interest Inventory" (included in disk format) and active imagination exercises constitute a breakthrough in the job-counseling field. Explanations and case histories abound, as do realistic appraisals of how Americans are seduced by a career's different "siren songs" --i.e., money and status, extreme expectations, etc. This book travels beyond the all-too-common complaint--Why do bad jobs happen to good people?--in recognizing that work satisfaction would otherwise occur only by serendipity. Barbara Jacobs

Review

Any pursuing a business career would do well to examine this survey of career options, interests, and avenues to success. From analyzing one's own business profile to understanding the basics of business work, this reveals important business trends and keys to fitting individuals within business structures which work for them. -- Midwest Book Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; Pap/Dskt edition (December 17, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201461358
• ISBN-13: 978-0201461350
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,001,388 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fabulous book, November 29, 2001

By 

Anthony Ruggeri "hard to pin down" (Harleysville, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Discovering Your Career In Business (Paperback)

Perhaps the person who gave this book one star is not really among the intended audience. The insights are based on a high-achieving and high-profile group: business executives and students that the authors have encountered at Harvard Business School. This sample is not your typical slice of the population, which is what makes their analysis so good. They have analyzed this very high-achieving and intelligent group to find out what motivates them and what interests them. If you find yourself at a crossroads in your career, questioning how you got where you are or why you do what you do, the tools for self-analysis provided here may be very useful.

While there was some redundancy, I have found this to be typical of books of this type in which not all sections are applicable to every reader. It is also not really appropriate to read it through beginning to end in the manner of a novel; if you do, you'll be reading a lot of variations of the same themes. Focus on the parts that are relevent based on the included profiling tool and your own self understanding. It was helpful to me in recognizing career paths I may not have considered, and also in affirming strategies for success that I had formulated on my own but not tested. If you want to avoid simply falling into a career that may or may not be what you want, this book can help you better consider what will make you happy and what your real goals are, without too simplistic an approach.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One valuable part of a career discovery process, November 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Discovering Your Career In Business (Paperback)

I found the diagnostic (on disk) as well as the text of the book very useful in exploring careers in business. Clearly it deals with only part of what you need to know about yourself to chart your career - your interests. But you ignore these at great peril to your happiness and your success, so it is a great place to start. Jump in and do the diagnostic, otherwise you may be deterred getting started. Much of the latter part of the book was very well written. The early chapters are a bit slow.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book, it's insightful, direct and easy to use, May 24, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Bethlehem, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Discovering Your Career In Business (Paperback)

This book and disk combo are exactly what my career needed. I was struggling with my job at mid-career and Discovering Your Career in Business helped me define exactly where I needed to be to be happy. I took the test on the enclosed disk and referenced my rating back into the book. The book highlighted my true interests and strengths and how I should redirect my career. I've changed my career goals and I'm excelling in a new position that I reallly love -- thanks to the authors for their insightful approach.