Outwitting the Job Market: Everything You Need to Locate and Land a Great Position [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

Chandra Prasad (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2004 | Series: Outwitting

What do you need to take the job market by storm? Outwitting the Job Market will tell you all the essentials, from your earliest research efforts to negotiating your compensation once an offer rolls in. You'll learn the basics on resume and cover letter construction, how and when to network, tricks to winning over an interviewer, and tactics for enhancing your marketability. You'll read canny advice from human resources personnel, career counselors, recruiters, and hiring managers from companies large and small. You'll also learn from other people's mistakes--what not to do along the path to your dream job.

Outwitting the Job Market is for everyone--from new graduates scouting for their first jobs, to career changers, to employed professionals looking to assess their options. Practical and hands-on, it offers exercises, anecdotes, examples, and strategies that can be put to use immediately. It also offers dozens of resources to help you target and improve your career trouble spots. No matter who you are or where you want to go in the workplace, this book will enable you to outsmart your competition, impress employers, and in time, land a job that truly fits your personal and professional needs.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Chandra Prasad’s Outwitting the Job Market is an absolute must for today’s job seeker...Very highly recommended!" -- Marky Stein, author of Fearless Interviewing: How to Win the Job by Communicating With Confidence

"Delivers sound strategy, proven technique, and specific resources with engaging style and wit." -- Kristy Graham, Director, Experiential Education, Yale University

"Outwitting the Job Market provides multiple approaches to the same challenge: finding a rewarding, fulfilling job in today's marketplace." -- Julia Cardis, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Finding Your Dream Job Online

"Perfect for people new to the job market or who are looking for a refresher." -- Dr. Randall S. Hansen, coauthor of Dynamic Cover Letters

"This book is packed full of practical step-by-step advice and effective strategies for your job market success." -- Timothy Falcon Crack, author of Heard on The Street: Quantitative Questions from Wall Street Job Interviews

From the Back Cover

What do you need to take the job market by storm? Outwitting the Job Market will tell you all the essentials, from your earliest research efforts to negotiating your compensation once an offer rolls in. You'll learn the basics on resume and cover letter construction, how and when to network, tricks to winning over an interviewer, and tactics for enhancing your marketability. You'll read canny advice from human resources personnel, career counselors, recruiters, and hiring managers from companies large and small. You'll also learn from other people's mistakes - what not to do along the path to your dream job.
Outwitting the Job Market is for everyone - from new graduates scouting for their first jobs, to career changers, to employed professionals looking to assess their options. Practical and hands-on, it offers exercises, anecdotes, examples, and strategies that can be put to use immediately. It also offers dozens of resources to help you target and improve your career trouble spots. No matter who you are or where you want to go in the workplace, this book will enable you to outsmart your competition, impress employers, and in time, land a job that truly fits your personal and professional needs.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592283500
• ASIN: B001QCX3ZU
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,922,094 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hello, all! I was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and grew up in a neighboring town.
I knew from an early age, eleven or twelve, that I wanted to be an author. When I was a child, one of my favorite activities was spending quiet hours in my room writing short stories (come to think of it, that is still one of my favorite activities). I also reveled in make-believe games with my two brothers; I remember pretending to be pirates and ghostbusters and jewel thieves and deep-sea miners. Those early, fanciful imaginings no doubt gave me creative fodder for the books that I've written, and the books that I hope are still to come.

As an undergraduate at Yale University, I gravitated toward history courses, particularly the history of the U.S. during the 1930s. From a literary standpoint, the economic, cultural, and social turbulence of that era'the sense of being on the brink of vast and permanent change'appeals to me. Two of my books, Death of a Circus (Red Hen Press) and On Borrowed Wings: A Novel (Atria) are set in the '30s, and I can honestly say that I enjoyed the research almost as much as I enjoyed the writing.

I also have a strong interest in the politics of identity, perhaps stemming from my hodgepodge ethnic background. My father is from India and my mother is of Swedish, Italian, and English descent. The seemingly contradictory urge to explain my racial identity, and to get past simple, often superficial or misleading categorizations, inspired me to create Mixed: An Anthology of Short Fiction on the Multiracial Experience (W.W. Norton), a book I edited and contributed to. Mixed, the first anthology of its kind, includes original pieces by acclaimed authors such as Danzy Senna, Cristina Garcia, Rebecca Walker, Mat Johnson, Ruth Ozeki, Marina Budhos, Diana Abu-Jaber, and Peter Ho Davies. It's an arresting read, and the feedback I've received can be summarized this way: if ever there was a collection of short stories that is both stunningly diverse and universally sympathetic, Mixed is it.

Having lived in New York, Arizona, and Washington, DC, I've returned to Connecticut, where I now reside with my husband, a native of Odessa, Ukraine, and our young son. In our spare time, we enjoy swinging in our backyard hammock and sharing stories. In a way, I feel like I've come full circle.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't let the job market beat you!, June 22, 2004

By 

M. L Lamendola (Merriam, KS USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Outwitting the Job Market: Everything You Need to Locate and Land a Great Position (Paperback)

During the 1980s and 1990s, I read just about every job book published. Of all those books, What Color is Your Parachute? and Don't Send A Resume stand out in my memory. And now I can add a third.

When I first came across this book, I recognized Chandra Prasad's name because I had read her in the Wall Street Journal countless times.

This book was well-researched, and it helps the reader connect the dots. I've read books where the author admonishes the reader, "Make sure you research the company! Look them up in Value Line!" I've been on dozens of interviews and have found this advice completely worthless. You probably have, also. This made me think maybe I could write such drivel and sell a book.

Quite frankly, you won't impress an interviewer just because you can rattle off the names of the members of the Board of Directors or quote from the company's last annual report. If anything, you will just irritate this person--especially if you don't know other things that you should know.

Ms. Prasad took a different approach, telling us what kind of information to look for when researching a company. As I read this, I thought, "Yes! This is exactly what a job seeker needs to know!" And so it went throughout the book.

Ms. Prasad's practical advice takes you through the entire job search process, starting with a personal inventory--a step most people shortchange because they don't understand how to do it. And they pay for that shortcut with longer job searches and shorter stretches of employment. That consequence is true of each step in the job search process, actually. Which is why the approach of this book is so valuable to anybody who is in the job market. Most people let the job market beat them, but this book shows you how to beat the job market--just as its title implies. If you want to win this particular battle of wits, you need to be well-armed--and this book is a regular Howitzer.

If you hold a job, you are likely to be looking for one soon. If you are looking for a job, you will likely be looking again. If you are spending your time massaging your resume, you will be looking for a while. If you take the time to read and apply this book, you will shorten your job search and lengthen your subsequent employment.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Useful, June 29, 2004

By 

Quyen T. Truong (RI, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Outwitting the Job Market: Everything You Need to Locate and Land a Great Position (Paperback)

In the past, having a job interview has been a fear-inspiring event. Not only have I been unable to sleep the night before an interview, but the following evening has also caused me insomnia: how was I supposed to answer that question? what were they looking for? are my chances for getting a job ruined?
This book has given me a new edge. Not only was the witty writing enjoyable to read, but I no longer look at interviews (and interviewers!) as obstacles on the windy road to employment. Now I have an understanding of what is being expected of me and of how I can frame myself in the most positive light when asked unusual questions.
Additionally, the sections in this guide dealing with the job-seeking blues have been particularly timely. To get my current position, I had to interview and apply to well over sixteen companies. The tips in this guide about networking and following up were what finally landed me a position as a property manager in a firm that I really enjoy.
To the author: Thank You!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have!, May 19, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Outwitting the Job Market: Everything You Need to Locate and Land a Great Position (Paperback)

In a tight job market you need all the help you can get. Chandra Prasad offers insightful and practical strategies to land the job you want by helping you through the whole process--from resume, to interview, to negotiation. This is an essential guide anyone will find valuable and needed. Chandra is a true expert and a great writer!