Suggested Reading
Updated May 31, 2004
WelchWrite Main -- Douglas E. Welch -- Rosanne Welch
Back to Career-Op Archive
|
I came across this book in the New Books section of my local library
and the title intrigued me enough to take it home. I am always
looking for books on work as I write a weekly high-tech careers
column.
Whyte's style can be a bit "grand" at times, one of the hazards
of a poet writing prose, but there are some very important ideas
to be found here. Several times I found myself pausing suddenly
to contemplate a line I had just read that effected me deeply.
This book needs to be taken in small doses, allowing time to ruminate
and absorb what you read.
If you are looking for a book with a unique take on the nature
of work in the 21st Century, you would be well-served to pick
this one. |
While it might seem an odd choice to recommend for high-tech careerists,
"The Gigs Handbook" contains some excellent advice for anyone
acting as an independent contractor, both in the music industry
or high-tech.
As both an amateur musician and high-tech worker, this book works
on all levels. I have learned a lot about how to arrange bookings
and set up my repertoire, but I also see many parallels between
life as a gigging musician and working as an independent high-tech
contractor. The rules about building your business, how to follow-up
and how to use contracts will benefit everyone.
Black uses 4 different prototype musicians so that she can offer
suggestions depending on your current level of skills and what
goals you are trying to accomplish. One musician is just beginning
their music career while others are more established. Black then
works through some of the more common problems and how to avoid
them, or, at least, reduce their impact. |
 Don't sent a resume ...and other contrarian rules to help you land a great job
This is the book about job hunting that I would have written myself,
had not Fox beaten me to it. I highly recommend this book and
have written about similar tactics in my Career Opportunities
columns (http://www.welchwrite.com/dewelch/ce/) over the last 4 years.
The world of work has changed drastically over the last decade
and this calls for new tactics in getting your first job or your
next job.
According to Fox, it all comes down to selling yourself to your
future employer. It matters little what you want out of job or
a career. What matters most is how you fulfill the needs of the
hiring company. Of course, you should be trying to fulfill your
work need, but the person interviewing cares little or nothing
about your needs and only about their own. A hard fact to face,
perhaps, but an extremely important one.
Fox goes on to give hard examples of how to use letters, not a
resume to gain an interview, how to prepare for that interview
and how to do everything possible to get the job you want.
While I am sure that some human resource people and corporate
management will take issue with some of Fox's advice, as they
have with my columns about resumes. This is because Fox's tactics
seem to make their job more difficult. HR staff can no longer
winnow large amounts of resumes down to a select few quickly and
easily. What they don't realize is that if all candidates used
these tactics, hiring would be easier and the company would be
hiring better people.
Highly Recommended |
An excellent insight on how one company practices innovation in
attacking all sorts of business-related problems. IDEO, the focus
of the book, was involved in creating the Palm V, the original
Apple Mouse and hundreds of other products. Here they share their
philosophy of innovation and help you apply it no matter what
your work. |
|
The cold, hard rules in becoming and remaining an exceptional
salesperson. Regardless of your role in a company, you are involved
in sales in some fashion, whether selling your product to a customer
or selling your ideas to your management. Everyone can benefit
from the rules set forth in this book. |
 Audio Version
|
|
Despite its sometimes overly cute presentation, there is some
great information in this book about how to provide world class
customer service that results in Raving Fans instead of just satisfied
customers. |
Audio Version |
Career-Op Collected Columns 1997
A collection of my columns from 1997 collected in an easy-to-read
and print Adobe Acrobat PDF format.
This contains 24+ columns in 6 topics.
Electronic Download
Price: $1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Great Jobs for Computer Science Majors...
Are you trying to figure out what jobs might fit with your computer
science degree?
This book can help you sort out the types of jobs that are available
and how your skills match.
|
 Web Pages That Suck : Learn Good Design by Looking at Bad Design
by Vincent Flanders, Michael Willis
Teaches good web design by "bad" example. Irreverent but extremely
effective.
|
 The Non-Designer's Web Book : An Easy Guide to Creating, Designing,
and Posting Your Own Web Site
by Robin Williams, John Tollett
Another great book by Robin Williams (no, not the comedian) on
the elements of good design, this time for the web.
See also: The Non-Designer's Design Book : Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
The Mac is not a Typewriter, the
