Customer Reviews

Job Hunting for Dummies

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

 

 

After several years of complete dedication to my career and to the company I was employed by, I experienced a layoff a few months back. Thus, I suddenly find myself back in the job market and felt ill-prepared to deal with it until I got this book.

I went on a few interviews but had been nervous about certain questions such as; do I tell them how much I was making at my last job? Do I write a "thank you for interviewing" me letter after the interview? etc, etc...

This book covers all the topics that you are nervous about. Examples; what to say in a cover letter, interviewing, salary negotiations + much more. Included are some useful sample resumés and cover letters in different formats.

After reading this book, I feel much more confident that I'm handling my job hunting in a more professional manner. I would recommend this book for anyone who is looking for a job, or even if you have a job but hate your boss and want another one.

In general, I like the For Dummies clear and concise and easy to read format. While there are some For Dummies books that have very little substance, this is not one of them.

A job market author, I give this book five stars for its breadth. As it promises, it covers all its bases, helping the reader to organize the job search, prepare for an interview, hone a resume, and achieve myriad other successes in the process of finding that dream position. Job Hunting for Dummies could offer more in the way of up-to-date technological information--more on online job sites, posting your resume on the Internet, the proper protocol for emailing a potential employer, etc.--but perhaps more detailed tips will be provided in a later edition. Overall, Messmer achieves what he sets out to do: he gives the reader a solid starting point.

This was my very 1st book that I got for my new Kindle so for $10 it was not a total waste. I loved the Kindle experience and found myself rocketing through this book. Unfortunately the publisher was disingenuous in saying that this was updated in 2011. It seems like it has no updates since it was initially published in 1999.

I could not stop laughing as the book urged me to get a 28.8 modem and sign on to AOL. Make sure you fax your thank you letter in. Scant attention to searching online for jobs. Constant urging to buy more related "...for Dummies" books. Suggestions to buy job periodicals for hundreds of dollars. Oh, and did I mention it NEVER ONCE suggested a free resource that we all used call "Craigslist"?

I found the publisher and author extremely lazy and Amazon dishonest in not giving the unemployed job-seeker a 2011-era book. That said....

There is some good stuff in here despite the author constantly self-promoting studies that his company authorized. BTW, if the author is reading this, how about ditching the "hysterical" lists of dumb things that people do or say on resumes or in interviews. It's boring, not funny and you're just padding the pages. BTW, Amazon how about adding real page #s on this book?

There is good advice and tips for the minutiae of tailoring your resume and cover letter and how to dress and talk on your interview. This book is mainly geared to young people right out of college and needing some coaching as to the many things you need to do to adapt to the new realities of the job market. It also has many tips for those deep in the workforce how to adjust to re-market yourself in a competitive marketplace.

You might want to borrow this from a library but if you like the immediate gratification of a Kindle download I would say get it. But get ready to roll your eyes about this pre-broadband, pre-high speed wifi world the author lives in.....

I ordered Job Hunting for Dummies and I guess Amazon found one. It turned out that this wasn't Job Hunting for Dummies but a mini-book with a few excerpts for the full book. Since the picture on Amazon looked like a book and Amazon didn't flag that this was a mini-book, I didn't know that I bought the wrong thing until it arrived in the mail. As a result, I had to go to the bookstore and bought the real thing. Buyer beware!

"Job Hunting For Dummies" is an easy-to-read book that spells out the most effective ways to find a job and it does so in a clear and concise manner. Even in the best of times, the job market is an imbroglio that is difficult to navigate and that is why JHFD is a must-read for all job hunters.

Although job hunting is serious business, JHFD adeptly uses humor for comic relief as well as to emphasize a point. The section on actual resume' and job interview miscues is both funny and cautionary; readers would do well to take note.

Of all the job hunting books I've read, JHFD is clearly the best. While Richard Nelson Bolles' "What Color Is Your Parachute?" has been acclaimed as the job hunter's "bible," I know from experience that it is a tedious and often contradictory piece of work that has outlived its usefulness. Accordingly, job hunters should consider bypassing "Parachute" in favor of JHFD as it has more to offer its readers.

I was told I needed to purchase this for my internship at college. I was not thrilled about it. I have to admit it has been very helpful not only to complete my assignments but for what I will need to know when I graduate college.

Did not realize when I ordered that this was the tiny version. Not the big book version. No information on this in listing.....abbreviated version; not what I had expected or hoped for when
I ordered it.....

Max has written the final word on finding a job! It is put together very well - a quick yet informative and in depth read. Hey! This book even helped me get a job at Robert Half International - Max's company! Love ya, Messmer!

I have ordered a few used books through Amazon.com and have had good luck with the purchase. This book I decided to try and when I received the book it was in really bad shape. It was not worth the price of a used book. I did not expect the book to be in perfect condition as it was being purchased used but I did not expect for the book to be filthy dirty and torn. It looked like it had been dropped several times on the floor and ran over by a fork truck or pallet truck. It will really makes me think twice before I purchase another used book. It might be worth paying the full price just so I can have a book that is readable. Everyone needs to think about "Is the discounted price worth the trouble". I would rate this purchase as very poor!