Book of the Week: In Transition

From the Harvard Business School Club of New York's Career Management Seminar comes In Transition by Mary Lindley Burton and Richard A. Wedemeyer. Printed in 1991, this book is still relevant even 20 years later, as the tips, tricks and advice offered in it are still useful to job-hunters today.

The book focuses on how to:

• Locate, evaluate, and obtain the most satisfying job possible
• Understand what you really want out of your career
• Access all your options, including a new job in the same field, a new career direction, or enhancement of your effectiveness in your current situation
• Apply the business skills you already possess to your job search
• Integrate your personal and professional life

One of the key points mentioned in this book- and a hugely important piece of information to remember today- is that a self-marketing campaign is key to achieving success in your job hunt. The authors write that: "you are the product. Your values, priorities, skills, experience, even your high and low tolerances represent a combination some prospective buyer will find very attractive." What the book doesn't mention is that a key to self-marketing in 2011 is the use of social media outlets including LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogspot, and even Facebook in order to effectively market yourself. At Mullin, we've begun to offer weekly webinars on various aspects of social media, as well as a day where clients can come in and meet with a social media consultant, who will help them to build their online self-marketing campaign.

Feel like you're too busy to sit down and read the entire book? A personal favorite part of this book is that the final chapter outlines everything covered in the book, so even if you don't have time to read the entire thing, skimming through the last chapter can provide invaluable insight into your job hunt. 

Scott Peck, author of The Road Less Traveled, writes that In Transition is, "the very best book I know on the subject of career change and, in fact, one of the best books I know on the subject of adult life in general."

Buy it here.