The number of career books available is overwhelming. Below is a list of books that I refer to frequently, and that I recommend to clients.
Career Exploration
Do What You Are, Paul Tieger and Barbara Baron-Tieger. This career classic is based on the Myers-Brigges Type Indicator (MBTI). If you don't know your MBTI type, this book will help you identify it. It provides excellent overviews and suggestions for each of the 16 types.
Is it Too Late to Run Away and Join the Circus? Marti Smye. A practical guide to career change from a corporate management consultant.
Wishcraft, Barbara Sher. A book about developing strategies to turn career fantasies into realities.
I Could Do Anything, If Only I Knew What it Was, Barbara Sher. A step-by-step guide to identifying potential careers and working through the inevitable obstacles.
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Self Employment
Finding Your Perfect Work, Paul and Sarah Edwards. A career book designed specifically for people who want to work on their own.
How to Succeed as an Independent Consultant, Herman Holtz. A comprehensive guide to all aspects of running an independent consulting practice.
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Job Search
Kate Wendleton, founder of the Five O'Clock Club, has a series of four career books that I always recommend. They can be used individually, or, taken together, provide a comprehensive guide to the career process:
Building a Great Resume, Kate Wendleton. This is the best guide for creating a strong professional resume.
Targetting the Job You Want, Kate Wendleton. A step-by-step process for developing a target statement and identifying potential employers.
Getting Interviews, Kate Wendleton. A detailed program for creating a job search strategy and accomplishing the search in the most effective manner.
Interviewing and Salary Negotiation, Kate Wendleton. A guide to preparing for interviews and salary negotiations.
Federal Resume Guidebook (3rd ed.), Kathryn Kraemer Troutman. Available at JIST.com. This excellent guidebook walks you through the entire federal application process, from finding the announcements and understanding what the announcements are asking for to how to structure a federal resume and respond to the dreaded "KSAs" (knowledge, skills and abilities).
The Metropolitan Washington D.C. Job Bank. (16th ed.). A good overall guide to local employers. Companies are grouped by sector.
The Book of Lists. Published annually by the Washington Business Journal, this tabloid-sized book is a wonderful source of information on local companies, listed by sector. Usually found in the magazine section of local bookstores.
What Color is Your Parachute? Richard Nelson Bolles. This is the parent of all other job search books, and still an excellent guide to the exploration and job search process. Approach it as a resource book, rather than as something to be worked through from front cover to back, and it will be less intimidating.
Rites of Passage from $100,000 to $1 million +, John Lucht. An excellent guide to managing a job search, including how to work with headhunters, even if you are nowhere near the six-figure-salary mark. Written by an executive recruiter, it is the real inside story. Ignore the over-the-top language, and focus on the content.
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Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
You Mean I'm not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy? Kate Kelly and Peggy Ramundo. A basic introduction to adult ADD and how to live and work with it.
ADD in the Workplace. A great primer on how to deal with ADD in the workplace. I especially love the ADD-friendly layout—no big blocks of text.
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Difficult People
Why is it Always About You? The Seven Deadly Sins of Narcissism, Sandy Hotchkiss. A guidebook on dealing with narcissists in your life and especially in the workplace. Got the boss from Hell? Think "narcissist" and read this book.
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