Customer Reviews

What Color Is Your Parachute? 2010: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As a career counselor and career coach, I have been following the progression of this book every year since 1972! Since September 11, 2001, there have been dramtic changes in the world of work, and Richard Nelson Bolles has revised this book every year, and kept it so contemporary. I recommend this book to all my clients and also use the section, How to Find Your Mission in Life, as reading material and a starting point in my career counseling sessions, especially with career changers.

The 2010 edition has been dramatically revised. You may want to look at the recently published companion volume also: The Job-Hunter's Survival Guide. This book (Parachute) is truly a Job-Hunter's Bible, as it has been affectionately nicknamed. I would recommend that people between the ages of 16 and 69 read it and digest it. Even if you are not actively looking for a job, it will give you additional smarts. No wonder more than 10,000,000 copies have been sold, including translations in several languages! It is also a New York Times and Business Week best seller, and has a deserving place in the Library of Congress as one of the 25 books That Have Shaped Readers' Lives.

Don Sutaria, MS, IE (Prof.)
Founder, President & Life-Work Coach
CareerQuest
Author: CAREER AND LIFE COUNSELING FROM THE HEART (YOUR CAREER IS A PATHWAY TO YOUR SOUL!)

I've read the two previous versions of What Color is Your Parachute for 2008 and 2009. They were indispensable in my job hunt. So I curiously picked the 2010 version of the book up. In a Gasp, you can tell this book cut out a chunk of what the previous versions that I have read had in them. There exercises for finding work and changing your career are very skimpy, and these exercises and what the author writes about them are key to what makes this book a best seller. This is clearly a rip-off and it shows how the recession is affecting the publishing industry. After reading it, I threw it in the Garbage and sticking to last years What Color is Your Parachute!

I've heard about this book since I was a kid and finally decided to pick up the "Hard Times" edition to help my husband with his job search. I was shocked at how little it helped at all.

While I understand the value of networking, I don't know anyone who gets an interview before presenting a resume -- at least not in my or my husband's fields. The idea that you would only write a resume "if you must" and that it should be something that you "leave behind" after the interview is contradictory to the fact that most employers ask for one.

I really didn't like the fact that Bolles only briefly mentioned a cover letter and called it an "alternative" to a "classic resume." A cover letter is a letter that *covers* your resume and gives you the opportunity to catch the reader's eye and explain why you desire to work for the company/organization -- it is not optional and it is not a replacement for a resume; It serves a totally different purpose.

It also bothered me that Bolles didn't really explain his methodology for the studies on job search effectiveness. He explained each time what the percentage meant (that ___% of job-seekers will find a job using this method if they ONLY use this method) but not really how he got those percentages. It seemed very unscientific. Maybe I missed that information? I don't see how he could include those kinds of numbers without a more thorough review of methodology.

The part that bothered me the most was the one example that he gave of what he considered an effective resume -- an outdated resume that displayed a heavy dose of sexism. It was like he was so out of touch with modern society that he didn't even realize the inappropriateness of that resume.

It seemed, overall, that his information was outdated -- or at least specific only to certain fields. I've worked with a lot of hiring managers and none of them have ever posted a job as a "last resort." It's the first thing they do when they find out that there is going to be a vacancy -- unless they have an internal person in mind. I just found Bolles' advice to be universally . . . bad.

"Anyone who is currently looking for a new career challenge or is about to begin a job search should grab a copy of What Color is My Parachute? as their first step towards planning and executing an effective process. The book is completely updated and rewritten every year, and the 2010 edition is markedly better than previous editions. I think the fact that Bolles has slimmed the book down this year, about which a few readers have complained, is actually a virtue. In this hurry-up culture of ours, it makes essential information more accessible to people who will flee from a thick book.


"One new thought I would emphasize: the book is for families, not just for job hunting adults. One of the best gifts parents can give their children is teaching them how to identify their individual strengths and preferences, and learn the effective job hunting strategies outlined in this legendary book. (10 million copies, and counting). Don't depend on schools and colleges to help your kids develop this sense of their own uniqueness, plug in their education, and find their place out there in the job market.. Read and share the exercises Dick Bolles provides his readers, and you will be giving your children a priceless gift and lifetime legacy that they can pass along to their children and your grandchildren. In the olden days, families passed along the family farm or business. In 2010, we have to impart our job search knowledge and instruct our children how to think about their unique contribution to employers so that they can sustain themselves, realize their goals, function effectively in the modern job market and contribute meaningfully to society."

This edition is especially vital to the unemployed and underemployed populations, including career changers. There are many tips, career and job development worksheets, helpful links, and resources that I have not found in any other job hunting/career development book. It is easy and fun to read. 5 STARS!

I can't give this the greatest review because some of the advice is frankly unrealistic and dated, given the world we live in today.
The first example that struck me as innappropriate was the author's overly aggressive and "personal" to networking. Whereas it's sure to get the job done, you're also bound to irritate hoards of people of whom you have no social connections too. In today's big box world, your stylist who cuts your hair at great clips every six weeks and doesn't even know your name is NOT going to get you that analyst job you want nor is that individual going to connect you to his or her friends in HR. Thats a LONG SHOT, I'm sorry....

Next, the advice on resumes... one he doesn't prefer them... well corporate recruiters and HR professionals do. This advice seems unusual.

Finally, the author advises that you incorporate your affiliations with religious groups, etc. as interests on your resume... sure, if we want to possibly be subject to religious discrimination or some other sort of discrimination if the recruiter has bias against our interests. That's just bad advice.

My point, some of the advice is dated, inappropriate, and unprofessional.

I have been a physician recruiter for a hospital and have served as a lay employment advisor for a church regional and local setting. What Color is Your Parachute continues to be an ongoing, updated standard for the entire employment umbrella. It is comprehensive and easy to read. As an interviewing recruiter the one question I would ask that decided if I would move forward with the candidate is:"What are you looking for?" What color is your parachute will help you give the best answer possible.

This is a great book, but it's best if you work in a group setting. I am taking a class with 3 others and a facilitator. After each section, we do the exercises and get together the following week to discuss what we have discovered about ourselves. I recommend What Color is Your Parachute to all those job seekers in transition.What Color Is Your Parachute? 2010: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers. My career path is taking a 180 turn for the better and I am very excited. It's what I've always dreamed of, but was not aware. This book helped me get re-acquainted with my "real" self.

This is THE book for Job Hunters. I buy it annually. New "Hard Times" edition for 2010. Richard N. Bolles really knows his stuff. He takes reader feedback every year (by a deadline) to input into future editions. READ THIS and follow all instructions if you are out of work or hate your job. READ THIS even if you are employed and/or wish to start your own business. Yes, Bolles addresses would-be Entrepreneurs/esses, too!

Dick Bolles's Parachute is the ultimate job hunting handbook, packed with advice, experience, knowledge, and tips. It is not beyond reproach - some may find it a tad preachy, others the grammar overly quirky - but the canny reader should look beyond to the accumulated wisdom within. Bolles's personal flower diagram, whereby you lay out your transferable skills, interests, values etc to try and envision the job of your dreams, remains the single most useful tool in bottom-up career planning. For the alternative top-down, demand-driven, passion-driven approach, where you identify a range of jobs that inspire you and systematically screen them for fit with your strengths, the reader should look elsewhere. But Bolles's everlasting Parachute remains the yardstick by which all career guidance books are judged.

Vaughan Evans, business and career strategist
Author, BACKING U! A Business-Oriented Approach to Backing Your Passion and Achieving Career Success