Use Your Head to Get Your Foot in the Door: Job Search Secrets No One Else Will Tell You [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

Harvey Mackay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 4, 2011

New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller

"You can have the finest moves in the talent contest, you can boast a trophy speed-dial list on your iPhone, you can possess the single-mindedness of Paul Revere and be as self-assured as Muhammad Ali . . . and you still won't nail the job unless you know how to mold and merchandise your personal pitch. If this is true when times are booming-and it is-you can only imagine how true it is in times like these."

Harvey Mackay, Fortune magazine's "Mr. Make- Things-Happen," has written five New York Times bestsellers, including one of the most popular business books of all time-Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive. Now he returns with the ultimate book on how to get, and keep, a job you truly love whether you're twenty-one, fifty-one, or seventy-one.

The average person will have at least three career changes and ten different jobs by age thirty-eight. In this era of downsizing and outsourcing, you can never be sure your job will still exist in five years- or five weeks. So you'd better think of your career as a perpetual job search. That demands a passion for lifetime learning and the skills for relentless and effective networking.

Mackay shows you how to be at your best when things are at their worst. His hard-hitting topics include:

- beating rejection before it beats you
- warning signals that you might be losing your job
- acing interviews
- negotiating the job you want not the job they offer
- taking advantage of the way bosses make hiring decisions
- blending the latest contact tools with old-fashioned face-to-face networking

Uplifting, amusing, and jam-packed with proven tips, Use Your Head to Get Your Foot in the Door will guide you through the toughest job market in decades. It's also the definitive A-to-Z career resource for the rest of your life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This collection of job search tips by Mackay (Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive) follows the style of his previous best sellers, complete with humorous examples and "Quickie" one-page stories that illustrate his main points. Don't let the cover or any worry about his sense of humor dissuade you: this is a very useful book. The short chapters with descriptive titles make it easy to navigate, and Mackay offers tips-from changing your attitude to getting hired-both for those currently employed but wishing to position themselves better in their current companies and for those who are out of work. Highly recommended for job seekers and career changers at all experience levels."
-Library Journal

"If you want the worm, be an early bird. But if you want the job, be one of the later birds interviewed for it. Harvey Mackay, a corporate executive, syndicated columnist and bestselling author, dispenses that seemingly counterintuitive advice along with scores of other useful and delectable morsels of wisdom for job seekers and ladder climbers. Mackay points out that with most job openings, the specs are usually vague at first, and they are refined as candidates are interviewed. "You don't want to be the test dummy, smashed into a wall, so the company can design a better set of wheels for someone else," Mackay writes. He suggests finding out how many candidates have already been interviewed and making excuses to avoid being among the first or doing something to make the interviewer remember you if you can't avoid being an early bird. The general thrust of this highly readable book is that in today's world of accelerated technological change, people must think of their career as a continual job search that requires ongoing upgrading of knowledge and skills and unceasing networking. Using real-life examples from his experience as an interviewer, Mackay provides expert guidance on how to behave during an interview, including both how to answer questions and what kind of questions to ask."
- Nationally Syndicated Columnist Cecil Johnson

"Harvey Mackay hits the bull's-eye. An important book for important times in our lives. The Shark Man at his very best."
-Larry King

"Harvey Mackay knows how important the mental game is. Use Your Head to Get Your Foot in the Door helps you form a good game plan, execute it, and win."
-Shaquille O'Neal

"Harvey Mackay was born to write this book. I have seen him use his head to open a million doors, and drawing on his amazing experiences, he shares invaluable advice. Harvey gets it. Without question, I know he can help every reader with this masterpiece."
-Lou Holtz

About the Author

Harvey Mackay is the author of five New York Times bestsellers, including Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive. He has been named one of the top five speakers in the world by Toastmasters International. Mackay is chairman of MackayMitchell Envelope Company.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Portfolio Trade; Reprint edition (January 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159184343X
• ASIN: B0058M74RM
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #808,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Harvey Mackay is the author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive and Beware the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt, both books are among the top 15 inspirational business books of all time, according to the New York Times. His books have sold more than ten million copies worldwide. His newest book Use Your Head To Get Your Foot In The Door: Job Search Secrets No One Else Will Tell You, was released on February 18, 2010. When Larry King interviewed Harvey in late February 2010, Larry said, "I really believe this is the most important book right now." The book is already in its 4th printing as of March 1, 2010. It immediately climbed the bestseller list at Amazon.com and hit #1 in four categories: Job Hunting, Counseling, Vocational Guidance and Education. It can also be found on the Wall Street Journal Business Bestseller list.

Harvey writes a nationally syndicated newspaper column and is one of America's most popular and entertaining business speakers. he is also the founder and chairman of MackayMitchell Envelope Company. He has been married to Carol Ann for forty-nine years. They have three children and nine grandchildren.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 38 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars MacKay's Prescription for Success for Job Seekers February 18, 2010

By Thomas M. Loarie TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Best selling author Harvey Mackay in his "Use Your Head..." has decided along with many others to cash in with advice for those in career-transition as a result of the 2008 economic meltdown. MacKay's book will be a good read for those in-transition as he covers all of the basic elements - the personal time out to understand who you are and what your talents are, the resume, the importance of networking, preparation for the interview, the interview, and follow-up.

Mackay also authored "We Got Fired!" which is an excellent book and should be read along with "Use Your Head..." Other books of this genre which I highly recommend for those in-transition are Myer's "Get the Job You Want, Even When No One's Hiring," Perry's Guerilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0." Those who have read these books and/or others like them will find Mackay's book redundant. Mackay does pepper some job search "secrets" throughout the book which provides some fresh insights, but they are few.

As both a reviewer of "jobs" books and as a team leader for a ministry devoted to helping executives, managers, and professionals get back on their feet, I have read and reviewed numerous books on this subject. Most, including Mackay's, are a good supplement to the search effort.

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Use Your Head to Get Your Foot in the Door February 26, 2010

By Richard Brooke

Format:Hardcover

This book is so long overdue and fills such as huge need. I have processed thousands of job applications; interviewed hundreds and hundreds of people and hired of course a lot less.
The degree of differentiation candidates create for themselves is pathetic. All the resumes look the same and most candidates show about as much creativity and personality as a mud puddle.
Harvey knocks it out of the park with this book as only he can. Study this book even a little and you will probably be the ONLY applicant your next interviewer even remembers.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of great nuggets! April 14, 2010

By A. Turner

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

There are lots of great nuggets throughout the book. I dog-eared pages as I went to remind myself to go back and check websites and other resources that are mentioned in each chapter. It's also a quick, easy read and I found myself laughing out loud at some of Mr. Mackay's stories.