Book Review: What Color Is Your Parachute?

What color is your parachute?
Posted by: Matt Keegan
, Matthew C. Keegan, LLC

Find a job today presents unique challenges that did not exist five years ago. That's why Richard Nelson Bolles' acclaimed job hunters bible, "What color is your parachute?" is so important. Taking into account the impact of the terrorist attacks of September 21, 2001, the crisis following the NASDAQ, and the globalization of the world, driving Bolles' encourages the reader to implement time tested, and new strategies in the search for a suitable job.

With a subtitle, "a practical manual for job-Hunters and Career Changers," Parachute emphasizes the need to find their "mission" in life, in order to obtain meaningful employment. Not content to simply draw a paycheck, Bolles asks the reader to discover those areas of personal interest, which can be translated into a rewarding career as relevant. For example, if you have been a secretary and you also love to write about animals, perhaps your desire is to become a contributor to magazines in nature, however.

Bolles lists several reasons why a job search may include a career change. Some key components to consider when you decide a change are:

∙ We have made a bad choice when we chose our career, and now we have decided to set it right.

∙ We have been asked to do the work of three, and we feel stressed, angry, exhausted, burned, and surly ...

∙ We decided that we want to go into business for ourselves.

∙ All we wanted in the past for a job was the money, now we want a job that makes sense ...

In addition, Bolles convincing job seekers do not solely rely on old strategies to find work, namely the submission of CVs and waiting for an answer, but to use what they
decided to be one of the most effective and proactive strategies including:

∙ directly targeting companies that want to work.

∙ Enter the group a job hunter to share contacts, receive and give encouragement to develop your curriculum and research, etc.

∙ discipline yourself to make phone calls to companies [to determine who has the authority and avoid taking the HR department because they exist only to screen out!]

∙ When you send an e-mail resume, follow it with a paper copy and a letter, followed by a phone call next week to the contact person.

As regards the methods of hunting for jobs, Parachute has a great surprise. Bolles in his very detailed research reveals that the Internet, with all his ability to research,
can actually provide the method could not find work. Too often, alledges Bolles, job seekers rely solely on job boards sending your resume to and then
wait for the employer of choice to call them to an open position. Unfortunately, according to Bolles, internet only offers only a 4% success rate in finding a job when used as the sole method of job search.

Bolles also guides the reader through the process of starting a business instead of working for an employer; shares interviewing tips for smarties, lists the seven secrets of salary negotiation, and reveals the secret to finding your dream job.

Writing style is rustic and cozy Bolles is expensive, more than seven million readers after the initial publication of the parachute in 1970. Annually, I suggest you read the latest version of his book since he speaks of the nature of the current labor market.

Finally, Bolles has a website called the friend of Job Hunter's Bible [http://www.jobhuntersbible.com]. The site contains a collection of articles written by Bolles and other experts.

Overall, Parachute is a book very informative and fun
read. The player can choose to skip around to different chapters, instead of reading the book straight through because it reads more like a guide, not a novel. Combined, the two resources should go far to help the job seeker on a mission because of their "dream job." ......