Customer Reviews

Princeton Management Consultants: Guide to Your New Job

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Por fin al cabo!, finally!, at last!-there is book published that describes and details the process of getting a new job for exactly what it is. It is a sales and marketing job, with the only difference being that you have only one potential customer, and that customer is your employer to be.

This Guide to Your New Job covers all aspects of getting a job. The author, Niels Nielsen, starts out by describing the process of taking on a whole new career, as that of going into business for oneself with the single goal of getting one customer-your next employer. Nielsen goes on to describe this process as the same as if one were setting up a new business. This includes writing a business plan, just as if one were starting a new business-which is exactly what is being done.

Nielsen outlines and then details ten steps in finding the job, the position, you want, the one you are best qualified to fill.

Starting off with setting up shop, preparing a financial plan, getting started and staying motivated, the author continues with guidelines for defining one's business strategy; developing a product plan, a marketing plan, pricing and then a sales plan.

The author gives several caveats including that there is no one right way. He takes issue with most of the job-hunting articles and books which tell you that the only way is the way the author advocates. Simply stated there are too many variables for any one formula to work. Such variables range from the job hunters experience, the culture, to the mood of the interviewer. Each job seeker's work experience is different and cannot be made to fit a mold. Thus the central theme of the book as I see it is that each and every reader, job seeker, is different and this difference can be utilized to determine, set and then achieve the goal that of getting the job wanted.

Will it take work? Yes. Will it be "easy?" No. But, in the final analysis the individual can and will succeed.

While all of the chapters are directly applicable to the end result of getting the job, the one describing the writing of a Business Plan is particularly important. It starts off with developing a business strategy. The author describes two major purposes of the strategy. The first is to crystallize the thinking of the entrepreneur (the job-seeker) and communicate a consistent strategy that can be understood by everyone involved in the job-hunting venture. Who else is involved? The spouse, the family, friends and acquaintances are integral to process. In other words, in order to get the assistance, the support needed the job seeker has to communicate his/her objectives and strategy in clear and simple terms.

This is integral to one of this reviewer's beliefs, and that is the work place paradigm has shifted dramatically over the last 20 or so years, and that is that each and every one of us are entrepreneurs, responsible for our own destinies, and that we are in control of our careers. The central belief is that companies are looking for what you to describe what you can do for them and this is the most important thing to convey to your prospective employer. What you have done is not nearly as important. This is the single most important thing that the Guide to Your New Job conveys and what causes it to stand out head and shoulders over competing books, one of which has been reissued annually for some 20 years. The employment and business world has changed and Guide to Your New Job is the beacon for this new era of the business world.

There is one additional chapter in this book which is titled Customer Relations Management, which is focuses on succeeding in the new job. The focus here is on building good relationships with peers and subordinates; a Fortune magazine survey is cited which says that the failure to build good relationships with peers and subordinates is a basic reason for failure in a job in an overwhelming 82% of the time. Two other points are made the first of which is to watch politics without making politics ones agenda at the expense of ones achievements. The second point is to listen carefully to what the boss wants and to ask questions.

Lastly, there are sample cover letters and resumes covering almost every field or job description that can serve the purpose of being models to help the reader craft his/her resume.

Bottom line, this is a must get and follow book, a guide, to getting your new job. In fact, the book is also a must read and use for those currently working, because it will help in increasing performance in the job by helping in guiding to identify, set and achieve goals. and keep the reader focused on what he/she is contributing to his/her employer/.

I would recommend this the book to Read after "Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life" which describes the mind over matter steps you need to deal with change - this book provides the road to follow.

Most Americans derive their self-worth and self-image on the work that they did, and going from a state of being involved and needed and paid - or even well paid - to a state of being unemployed, without a place to go each day, without the structure of work, without the actual facilities of an office (computer, fax, copy machine) and needing assistance from the government and help from others is a great deal to swallow.

Find yourself in this situation and what do you do? Most of us are completely unprepared for this situation, and the fact is that another job is likely to be inevitable, but HOW?

Well, you might as well start by going out and buying "Princeton Management Consultants Guide to Your New Job". If you have to start anywhere, it might as well be this book - in fact, if you are already working, I would get this book, because you never know...

The book prepares the readers step by step on how to manage their situation and take control of it. I was skeptical at first - it seems clear the steps that one should take, but the shock of unemployment is more devastating than can be imagined, and there is an emotional fog that obliterates all clarity. Reading the book slowly but surely leads you back to concrete steps you can take to develop your marketing strategy, build your resume, consider your options, keep your chin up and GET OUT THERE, and be flexible in your search. Always upbeat, it provides a clear and thoughtful path to re-employment.

I have read a lot of job search, resume-writing and networking books in my time. I have given seminars on all these topics; and I think this approach gets to the heart of the matter! Why didn't anyone write this before? Well, most of us don't want to think about "selling" ourselves. The job search must be strategic as well as tactical. Considering the stress of looking for a job, thank goodness Niels Nielsen gives the reader a step-by-step plan. The approach is unique, focused, and immediately useful. There are many parts of "Guide to Your New Job" I thought were powerful. Niels includes a large variety of cover letters and resumes that model creativity and assertiveness. Well-written by jobseekers, these examples are excellent guideposts for the reader. I really like the way questions were used in the cover letters. And what a great idea, "the 15-second elevator speech". All I can say is, this book should be in the hands and heart of every jobseeker.

The "Dummies" series of books on Resumes, Cover Letters, and Job Interviews are good, but would you like to probe something even better? How about a "Thinking Person's Guide to Job Search"?

Well, Neils H. Nielsen has written just such a timely book, "Princeton Management Consultants Guide to Your New Job".

The book is divided into nine chapters, with a useful Appendix containing over 50 sample resumes and 40 cover letters, which are certainly attention-getting by the employers. The chapters are: Introduction, Business Operations, Business Plan, Product Plan, Marketing Plan, Advertising Plan, Pricing, Sales Plan, and Customer Relations Management.

What is so unique about this book when there are quite a few books on career development?

First of all, this is not a rigid cookbook for job hunters. The author himself honestly admits that by saying, "There is no one right way".

This book brings a marketing and business orientation to today's job search. A job seeker is a small business entrepreneur in search of only one customer! Analyze that!!

Outplacement Counseling and Business Planning have similarities in semantics:

Job hunting plan v/s Business strategy
Resumes and cover letters v/s Advertising
Networking and referrals v/s Lead generation
Researching companies v/s Market research
Keeping a new job v/s Customer relations

Your "Unique Selling Proposition" is also emphasized here, meaning that the right job has a terrific fit between the potential employer's needs and what the job candidate has to offer.

Nielsen also emphasizes that thorough research and due dilligence must be done on all employers prior to an interview, because you don't get a second chance to make a good first impression. Image is important and perception is reality! How true that is!

I do not agree with Nielsen on one small point in Top 11 Ways of Getting the Word Out that you are looking, that is, Mass Mailings of Unsolicited Resumes to Employers and Search Firms. My experience and those of others over the past decade is that it generally turns into a disaster with less than 1% return. I would save my time and money.

If you want to stand out from the herd, buy this book, study it and follow it. Develop your special marketing, branding, and advertising strategy, package yourself as a unique product, carry out you sales campaign, and land your dream job!

Mr. Nielsen skillfully applies the same strategic approach as start up businesses, and uses well established marketing and sales techniques to sell services that have proven so successful to them. The myth of "doing the right thing" when searching for a job has been shattered by the author. Forget sending blind resumes to answer ads from news sources, searching the Internet, word of mouth etc. How many resumes do you need to send out before you realize that your credentials are stacked and eliminated along with 99% of the others who responded to the same inquiry? Mr. Nielsen's "there is no one right way" approach, i.e. building your support infrastructure, creating a need, and targeting the right person at the company you are interested in are standard operating procedures in the complex sales process. The practice of information gathering and understanding the goals of a hiring organization is key to any successful job search campaign. It separates you from all others who take the worn path.

Using the techniques to set yourself up as a business with functioning marketing, sales, and, financial responsibilities, and the abundant sample cover letters and resumes included in the book, you have the tools to construct a powerful introduction to any company. By properly researching the company and contact beforehand, you can be sure that your message reaches the right person.

Get started right now before everyone else reads this book! If you contact only one company next week, you will have the satisfaction of knowing your credentials have reached the person you targeted with a specific message, and who may have the most influence in acquiring your services.

Greg Caravello
IT Sales Executive

This is an excellent book on how to find the ideal job and career. It takes a unique view of the process, showing how a job search is like a start up business. The book is in fact a business plan for an "interim entrepreneur" that can be followed until that one ideal customer is landed, the employer. It even has a last chapter on "Customer Relations Management" about how to thrive in your new job.

It also has a full chapter on that most crucial part of the job hunt, compensation. It tell you how to "price" your services, and how to consider and negotiate salary plans, incentives, stock ownership programs, employee benefits, human resources policies, and perks. The book shows you how to wade through all the different compensation plans and to negotiate the best deal.

Besides that, there are 40 cover letters and 50 resumes that the author prepared for clients in a wide variety of occupations. They are so good, they are worth the price of the book alone.

Princeton Management Consultant's Guide to Your New Job is an important book to add to your library if you're out of work. The author provides concrete advice on how to find a job, using the effective analogy of the job hunting process as an entrepreneurial venture. He guides you through each step of the process, providing concrete details and practical advice. His many years of consulting experience are also apparent because of his obvious compassion for those who have lost their jobs. He is also able to use examples of real-life experiences to illustrate important points. Finally, the abundant examples of resumes and cover letters are very helpful.

Niels H. Nielsen is an experienced and very helpful consultant for anyone looking to new horizons for work. I know because I used his advice when I decided to retire as Bishop of the Diocese of New Jersey and reinvent myself vocationally, and I was very glad I did. Now, his book is available for the larger public and I recommend it to anyone willing to do the work it takes to find the right job, the one that suits them personally. He takes his insight about approaching the job search as a job in itself and fully develops the steps a prospective employee should take to find the one customer he has to sell, an employer. Good work Niels, and thank you.

The Very Rev. Joe Morris Doss
Bishop of the Diocese of New Jersey, retired

Keith Wheelock, Skillman, NJ

Mr. Nielsen has written a marvelous book on the nitty-gritty of how to devise a job search strategy, then, step-by-step, how to customize your search to maximize your opportunities. Though aimed principally at the seasoned professional who is seeking a new job, it is also valuable for the neophyte who can benefit from Mr. Nielsen's uncommonly practical advice.
Perhaps most helpful were over 40 sample cover letters and 50 resumes of diverse thrusts and flavors. Anyone would benefit from this Dutch uncle 'getting started' advice together with the detailed 'what to do' and 'how to customize it to your personal situation' that Mr. Nielsen shares from his decades of experience as a human resources manager and human resources consultant. Buy it, get your job offers, then turn to Chapter 7 to negotiate your best compensation package.

Niels Nielson covers some job search ideas that are very good and not commonly understood or talked about. Anyone who is in job search mode would certainly gain more than one good practical tip from this book.

Niels hits the nail right on the head when he says there is no one right way to get that job. But some of his ideas will surely help everyone.

Samples: 1) your search is a marketing effort. This is little understood by many job seekers and a very useful concept. 2) I had breakfast the other day with a job seeker & I mentioned he might want to get to the local chamber of commerce and other fixed networking functions - a very good idea that Niels covers in this book too - I've never heard anyone else mention chambers of commerce 3) having your 30 second statement prepared in advance 4) approach your job search like a job and work at it. 5) saving job search receipts for taxes

Lots of good model resumes, cover letters, other snippits too. A definite good read - join this with the book "60 seconds & You're Hired" (Robin Ryan); you'll surely have a better handle on getting the right job.