The unthinkable happens. You’ve lost your job, fired from a sure-fire thing. Or you’ve graduated from college into the great unknown, or you decide you’d like to return to the workforce, after a hiatus for child rearing. Any number of issues might affect a career change. We offer a wide range of resources to help you prepare for that change, whether it’s your first job or your fifteenth. With a wealth of text, Internet sites, CD-ROMs and more, even the most timid soul can gain the confidence s/he needs to move ahead.
Standard reference books, such as the Encyclopedia of Careers and Vocational Guidance 2000, (Ferguson Publishing,) or the 13 volume Career Information Center, (Macmillan Reference,) can tell you about specific careers, job requirements, salary ranges and employment outlook. Also, many books in circulation offer practical help. Among these are the more widely known “What Color is Your Parachute: A Practical Manual for Job Hunters and Career Changers,” (Bolles, Richard Nelson,) the “Bible” of career information, or “The Pathfinder: how to choose or change your career for a lifetime of satisfaction and success,” (Lore, Nicholas). They offer practical self-tests and exercises.
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Getting fired or laid off can be pretty demoralizing. We suggest preparing a plan to deal with it. Getting Fired: “What to do if you’re fired, downsized, laid off, restructured, discharged, terminated or forced to resign”, (Sack, Steven Mitchell,) or “Getting from fired to hired: Bounce back from losing your job and get your career back on track”, (Elkort, Martin,) can help you do just that.
Preparing a resume doesn’t have to be overwhelming. We have books to help including: “The Best Damn Resume Guide,” (Parker, Yana,) and “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Perfect Resume,” (Ireland, Susan.) And there are specific careers guides, such as “Asher’s Bible of Executive Resumes and how to write them,” (Asher, Donald,) or those for sales and marketing, high-tech, computer, and nursing careers. For the all-important cover letter, look to “Cover Letters that Knock ‘Em Dead,” (Yates, Martin,) or “Cover Letters for Dummies,” (Kennedy, Joyce Lain.)
“The Occupational Outlook Handbook” (U.S. Gov’t Printing Office,) can tell you where ‘tomorrow’s jobs,’ are, and the May 22, 2000 issue of Time Magazine has a piece on the 10 hottest jobs of the 21st Century, by author Tom Peters. The Dun & Bradstreet annual Career Guide, and the “Almanac of American Employers: The only complete guide to the Hottest, Fastest Growing Major Companies” (Plunkett, Jack,) name large Corporations, positions, locations and benefits.
If wages are your biggest concern, look to “The American Almanac of Jobs and Salaries,” by John W. Wright.
Maybe you want to start working on your own, out of your own home. Consider Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Starting a home based business,” or check with the Home Based Business Association of RI (www.homebasedbusinessri.com.)
Once you get the foot in the door, you’ll want to know how best to impress an employer. “Landing the job you want: How to have the best job interview or your life,” (Byham, Wm.,) and the 10 minute guide to job interviews, (Morgan, Dana,) can give you that advice.
This listing is by no means complete. Check our Web site at www.provlib.org/jobs.htm, for local information, career advice and even jobs in show business. Consider also our CD-ROM collection which includes “Macmillan Resumes That Work Deluxe,” or our elibrary resume writing classes, and the “WinWay Resume” writing software we have in our computer labs.
Together, we’ll help you find the right ‘color of your parachute.’
(The preceding column is provided by the Providence Public Library)
