Customer Reviews

Use Your Head to Get Your Foot in the Door: Job Search Secrets No One Else Will Tell You

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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.

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.

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.

Harvey Mackay has a talent for condensing advice into short, easy to remember phrases and this book is no exception. Not all techniques will work for everyone (I'd like to have Harvey's Rolodex) but everyone will find something that will help in this book. Plus, it's easy to dip back into to find that advice you need to read again.

This book is absolutely the best compilation of information on how to get the job you are looking for. From his interview prep check list (including everything from what to wear to checking the weather and traffic before heading out to the interview) to the "MacKay 22" a list of things one should do after the interview, I found so much valuable information that no stone was left unturned. Mackay's infectious sense of humor is ever present, making the search for a job upbeat, even in this down climate. He inspires us to dig deep and go the extra mile to achieve what we seek: a job! Thanks Harvey for another wonderful read!

I finally finished this book. I enjoyed Mackay's style. Short chapters concentrating on a subject. This is the first book of his I have read. He provides a lot of guiding points. He provides many real life examples. I found that I had heard some of these ideas before but Mackay teaches you in detail how to use the secrets. One of the main secrets I learned is that a resume is a marketing tool. Flushing your resume out into the internet and thinking you have properly marketed your skills is only fooling yourself. I hope to use information in this book to get my foot in the door.

One of the best things about Harvey Mackay's books is how accessible they are for you. He distills important information into one-page, easily remembered advice. It ranges from deep internal drives--the value of self-confidence and determination--to the practical--shine your shoes and turn off your Blackberry during the job interview--all of it valuable.
Although he has emphasized the importance of networking in previous books, it's particularly helpful in this book. For a job seeker, it's essential to understand and use this tool. Mr. Mackay shows, step by step, how you create and expand your network to open doors. This is the best of the book. You'll benefit from following Mr. Mackay's steps religiously.
My only criticism is that much of his advice seems obvious, except perhaps for a
job seeker, it's valuable to read this advice over again in order to recall and practice it. It's also too long; it covered topics that wouldn't be of concern to a job seeker, like the chapter on how to get a raise, for instance.

Harvey and this book are two of the best friends you will ever have! I will use the interview question "Well, what did you do today?" I can only imagine how the answer to this question will separate A players from the crowd. Whether you are looking for employment or asking for a raise you will be taking Harvey's advice right to the bank.

My favorite Mackay's Moral: A smart cookie converts "No" into "Know".

Do yourself and your family a favor and be prepared to land the job of your dreams.

You did it again! Highly recommended!

Kevin Hall

Harvey Mackay's writing voice, his tales of firing, career disaster and career repair for those who are fifty and over, rings with authenticity. If you are tired of career guides and how-to-find-a-job guides written by people who have nothing but academic credentials and are completely clueless about the realities of work--this is an excellent guide. Mackay begins his book with solid advice on how to hang on to a job, good advice on what to ask for when you are fired (get the recommendations IN WRITING) and what to tell the recruiter about how you lost your job. Yes, there are a few too many show biz references (how Hillary Swank came back from a TV series firing) but they are balanced by things like an excellent, very realistic, interview with a retained executive recruiter.

MacKay is both realistic and reassuring about the problem of age discrimination. Rather than focusing on resume tricks (leaving the graduation date off the resume) he stresses the importance of working on excellent health, fitness and vitality. Don't act your age, says MacKay, act the age you want to be. While this might sound like pie in the sky to some, it makes sense. The best way to combat age discrimination is to make it abundantly clear that you are the best candidate. While it won't help you get around a determined discriminator--it will help a lot with a person who mistakenly thinks that people in their thirties are superior regardless of experience, education or talent.

MacKay has excellent ideas for a career makeover including videotaping yourself and getting feedback, keeping up with industry literature and talking about it, deciding on whether to get an MBA, using career change columns and industry discussion groups, remaining visible and becoming a resource. He warns people off waste-of-time money making sites and other internet time wasters that can suck the life out of an entire day.

I'm an executive recruiter with a lot of experience working with senior people. I am constantly looking for resources that I can recommend to people (usually people I contacted when they were employed) who write to me, asking for advice. These days there are a lot of those people and I will be very happy to recommend this book.

Harvey Mackay's USE YOUR HEAD TO GET YOUR FOOT IN THE DOOR offers job seekers some expert strategies that include those who have been unemployed for a long time as well as newcomers to the job market. Learn the concept of making a personal pitch to merchandise and market skills effectively in hard times using a guide that shares all his tips from his lifetime as a CEO.