1/7/10: Top Career Posts this Week
Every week I check dozens of “career” blogs and other online publications, looking for things that will help you find a job, get promoted, develop your skills, and keep everything in perspective and balance. Here’s the pick of the lot for this week. I’m pointing you to items about job search books, advanced degree programs, home offices, balance, and letting go.
From About.com: Top Job Search Books
“Need job search help? There are a variety of books available that will help you with every step of the job search process including how to write a resume and cover letters, how to find a job, using social media to your advantage, how to change careers, how to ace the interview, and how to target and streamline your job search.”
Wally’s Comment: Alison Doyle lists ten great books that will aid your job search. Some you’ve heard of. Others, probably not.
From the NY Times: Ten Master’s of the New Universe
“Highly specialized master’s programs provide a field guide to the zeitgeist. There are degrees to fit every niche and new twist in the culture.”
Wally’s Comment: Lots of people who are between jobs seem to be considering using the time to go back to school. What’s different from years past is that they’re considering a broad range of specialty degrees with an eye on career development. Here’s a look at some of those degrees.
From the Wall Street Journal: For More Workers, Home is Where the Office Is
“The home is the new hotbed of entrepreneurial activity. Here are some basics of maintaining an efficient home office.”
Wally’s Comment: I’m typing this in my home office. It’s my only office. A few minutes down the road, my daughter and son-in-law just bought a home with a space designed as a home office. This is a far cry from the days when no one admitted that they actually had a home-based business. But just because more of us have home offices doesn’t mean that we’ve got the best possible home office for us. This article will help remedy that failing.
From Your Voice of Encouragement: Striking a Balance – A Contrast in Coaches: Skip Prosser and Urban Meyer
“The lives of these two men – and the contrast in the way they managed their personal lives – reminded me that time with family is precious and can never be recovered.”
Wally’s Comment: Balance, or lack of it, is a common topic of discussion and the subject of multiple gaggles of articles. This post stands out from the crowd.
From Random Acts of Leadership: Casting off the “Good Junk”
“For me 2009 was a year of tremendous learning and change, love and loss, as well as shedding stuff and organizing. Now that the frenzy of activity has passed I have enjoyed some time to reflect on many things including lessons learned. The lesson revealed to me was one my dad tried to teach me more than once. You see we moved quite a few times. Each time he had us take things that were perfectly useful, but that we had not been using (or even remembered we had!) and put them in a box labeled “good junk”. He would date the box. One year later, after we were long since settled into our new home, he would take the box and donate it.”
Wally’s Comment: Even those of us who aren’t packrats are packrats. I think it’s hardwired into our species to hang on to things, just in case. Susan Mazza analyzes why casting off the “good junk” is a good idea.