During one of his many failed job interviews, Travis Hanson panics after the employer asks him, Tell me a little bit about yourself, and ends up answering the question by telling his entire life story. From being kidnapped at age three, through being abused on different occasions, through being homeless for a year, through incessant social awkwardness, to learning how to deal with it all without the aid of any therapy, drugs or alcohol. He reveals every significant event, both good and bad, that has made him who he is today and is shockingly open and honest about telling all of this to a complete stranger. Life is full of ups and downs, that's just life. And whether we view them as positive or negative, events happen in our lives only when we are ready for them to happen and not a second sooner. It's not all about what happens to us, it's about how we react to those events that matters the most
"In this definitive guide to the ever-changing modern workplace, Kathryn Minshew and Alexandra Cavoulacos, the co-founders of popular career website TheMuse.com, show how to play the game by the New Rules. The Muse is known for sharp, relevant, and get-to-the-point advice on how to figure out exactly what your values and your skills are and how they best play out in the marketplace. Now Kathryn and Alex have gathered all of that advice and more in The New Rules of Work. Through quick exercises and structured tips, the authors will guide you as you sort through your countless options; communicate who you are and why you are valuable; and stand out from the crowd. The New Rules of Work shows how to choose a perfect career path, land the best job, and wake up feeling excited to go to work every day-- whether you are starting out in your career, looking to move ahead, navigating a mid-career shift, or anywhere in between"--
From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday party Praise for Ask a Manager “A must-read for anyone who works . . . [Alison Green’s] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author’s friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers’ lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green’s Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together
Pairing interviews and case studies with a simple, scalable framework, this practical book will help you craft and deliver comprehensive, compelling, and dynamic introductions and personal stories for yourself, your team, or your company. --
This book introduces storytelling as the key to excelling in job search activities, such as writing resumes and cover letters, networking and creating portfolios.
Land Killer Internships—and Make the Most of Them! These days, a college resume without internship experience is considered “naked.” Indeed, statistics show that internship experience leads to more job offers with highersalaries—and in this tough economy, college grads need all the help they can get. Enter Lauren Berger, internships expert and CEO of Intern Queen, Inc., whose comprehensive guide reveals insider secrets to scoring the perfect internship, building invaluable connections, boosting transferable skills, and ultimately moving toward your dream career. She’ll show you how to: Discover the best internship opportunities, from big companies to virtual internships Write effective resumes and cover letters Nail phone, Skype, and in-person interviews Know your rights as an intern Use social networking to your advantage Network like a pro Impress your boss Get solid letters of recommendation Turn internships into job opportunities With exercises, examples, and a go-getter attitude, this next-generation internship manual provides all the cutting-edge information students and recent grads will need to get a competitive edge in the job market. So what are you waiting for?
Forget the 10,000 hour rule— what if it’s possible to learn the basics of any new skill in 20 hours or less? Take a moment to consider how many things you want to learn to do. What’s on your list? What’s holding you back from getting started? Are you worried about the time and effort it takes to acquire new skills—time you don’t have and effort you can’t spare? Research suggests it takes 10,000 hours to develop a new skill. In this nonstop world when will you ever find that much time and energy? To make matters worse, the early hours of practicing something new are always the most frustrating. That’s why it’s difficult to learn how to speak a new language, play an instrument, hit a golf ball, or shoot great photos. It’s so much easier to watch TV or surf the web . . . In The First 20 Hours, Josh Kaufman offers a systematic approach to rapid skill acquisition— how to learn any new skill as quickly as possible. His method shows you how to deconstruct complex skills, maximize productive practice, and remove common learning barriers. By completing just 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice you’ll go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing noticeably well. Kaufman personally field-tested the methods in this book. You’ll have a front row seat as he develops a personal yoga practice, writes his own web-based computer programs, teaches himself to touch type on a nonstandard keyboard, explores the oldest and most complex board game in history, picks up the ukulele, and learns how to windsurf. Here are a few of the simple techniques he teaches: Define your target performance level: Figure out what your desired level of skill looks like, what you’re trying to achieve, and what you’ll be able to do when you’re done. The more specific, the better. Deconstruct the skill: Most of the things we think of as skills are actually bundles of smaller subskills. If you break down the subcomponents, it’s easier to figure out which ones are most important and practice those first. Eliminate barriers to practice: Removing common distractions and unnecessary effort makes it much easier to sit down and focus on deliberate practice. Create fast feedback loops: Getting accurate, real-time information about how well you’re performing during practice makes it much easier to improve. Whether you want to paint a portrait, launch a start-up, fly an airplane, or juggle flaming chainsaws, The First 20 Hours will help you pick up the basics of any skill in record time . . . and have more fun along the way.
If you are interviewing with a company, you are likely qualified for the job. Through the mere action of conducting the interview, the employer essentially implies this. So why is it difficult to secure the job you love? Because there are three reasons you actually get the jobnone of which are your qualifications and, unfortunately, you can only control one of them. iNTERVIEW INTERVENTION creates awareness of these undetected reasons that pose difficulty for the job-seeker and permeate to the interviewer, handicapping the employers ability to secure the best talent. It teaches interview participants to use effective interpersonal communication techniques aimed at overcoming these obstacles. It guides job-seekers through the entire interview process to ensure they get hired. It teaches interviewers to extract the most relevant information to make sound hiring decisions. iNTERVIEW INTERVENTION will become your indispensable guide to: ? Create self-awareness to ensure you understand the job you want beforenot afterthe fact. ? Conduct research to surface critical employer information. ? Share compelling stories that include the six key qualities that make them believable and memorable. ? Respond successfully to the fourteen most effective interview questions. ? Sell yourself and gather intelligence through effective question asking. ? Close the interview to ensure the interviewer wants to hire you.
"'Lose the Résumé' breaks down every aspect of job hunting, explaining what matters and what doesn't." —The New York Times Book Review Lose the resume and land that coveted job Gone are the days of polishing up your resume and sending it out at random. At every level today, you need to "lose the resume" in order to land the right job. In other words, you have to learn to tell a story about yourself that speaks to your competencies, purpose, passion, and values. Lose the Resume, Land the Job shares the new rules of engagement: How you must think, act, and present yourself so you can win. Based on inner exploration drawn from the IP of the world's largest executive recruiting firm, the book gleans insights and stories (the good, the bad, and sometimes the ugly) from Korn Ferry recruiters across the globe who work with thousands of candidates each day. It helps you gain a deeper perspective on who you are, what you're passionate about, the cultures in which you fit, the kind of bosses you should work for, and where you can bring the most value to organizations. Includes assessments, questionnaires, and other tools Candid advice for young professionals through middle managers Offers trusted guidance from the same firm that has shown 8 million executives how to achieve their career goals, and that puts a professional in new job every three minutes Helps you build a plan for the future so you can contribute more to the next employer Getting a job and, more importantly, building a career has never been more complex. Lose the Resume, Land the Job helps you score the positions that align with your passion and match your attributes — and that will put you on a trajectory toward bigger and better things.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A stunning “portrait of the enduring grace of friendship” (NPR) about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. A masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century. NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST • WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE A Little Life follows four college classmates—broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition—as they move to New York in search of fame and fortune. While their relationships, which are tinged by addiction, success, and pride, deepen over the decades, the men are held together by their devotion to the brilliant, enigmatic Jude, a man scarred by an unspeakable childhood trauma. A hymn to brotherly bonds and a masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century, Hanya Yanagihara’s stunning novel is about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. Look for Hanya Yanagihara’s latest bestselling novel, To Paradise.
