About the Book
From the Financial Times careers adviser, this book of wisdom will help you feel more empowered about your career. You can read it from beginning to end, or dive into specific sections for immediate advice on, for example, writing your CV.
'We will certainly be recommending the book to all our parents. It's quite simply the best available' - George Fussey, Head of Career Education, Eton College
'One of the most practical and comprehensible career guides ever produced' - Baroness Gillian Shephard
How to Find the Career You've Always Wanted is made up of three sections:
Stepping Back - What's this all about?
The bigger issues that frame the whole area of your career and jobs; looking down on your career map from 10,000 feet.
Practicalities - What do I do on Monday morning?
CVs, applications, interviews and all the other details on your map.
Along the Way - Or, how do I keep going?
How to cope with the hurdles and challenges that you might encounter while you're travelling along your route It includes an extensive set of real examples to bring it all alive, and is grounded with helpful statistics and sociological research.
Jonathan Black is Director of the Careers Service at the University of Oxford. He himself has had many different jobs, including: management consultant, professional publisher, co-found of a start-up company, finance director, aerospace engineer, computer salesman and strategy direct. In this book, he dispenses wisdom accrued in the course of a long and varied career, in which he has helped many thousands find the career of their dreams.
'Indispensable, inviting and engaging' - Prof Dame Carol Black, DBE, FRCP, FMedSci
'A book about how to lead a happy life' - James Hodgson, Bedford School
'A uniquely powerful guidebook' - Mark Byford, Egon Zehnder
'The definitive careers guide' - David Palfreyman, OBE
'Wise, calming and pragmatic' - Emma Jacobs, FT
'A true career design compendium' - Caroline Konrad, Ryerson University
'Winningly combines anecdotes, surveys and years of professional experience' - Dr Tim Hands, Winchester School
'Elegant, light and humorous style' - Prof Dame Carol Black, DBE, FRCP, FMedSci
'From an expert at the top of his game' - David Palfreyman, OBE
About the Author :
Author Jonathan Black has been Director of the Careers Service at the University of Oxford for the last eight years. Before that, he's had a number of different jobs including: management consultant, professional publisher, co-founder of a start-up company, finance director, aerospace engineer, computer salesman, and strategy director. He has worked in the UK, Europe and the USA, in small businesses and large corporations, private and public sector. In his day job, he works one-to-one with students, presents at international conferences, on the radio and TV, and comes up with new ideas and programmes to help students in schools, university and beyond, to improve their career prospects.
Review :
We will certainly be recommending the book to all our parents. It's quite simply the best available.
For students spending £27k-£36k on their degrees, a further £12.99 on this book is a certain step towards getting a better return on that massive investment.
Winningly combines undergraduate anecdotes, professional surveys, and years of top level professional experience, providing as a consequence an indispensable and totally authoritative source of wisdom to students, teachers and parents alike.
From an expert at the top of his game . . . the definitive careers guide for a stressed generation of high-fees debt-laden graduates understandably far more concerned about employment than ever before. Grounded in theory, he provides a wealth of practical advice.
This is not just a book about careers; it is a book about how to lead a happy life.
Both as a philosophy for career planning and as a last minute crib for interviews, this book is invaluable for all those setting out upon the next step. It is a treasure trove of common sense and experience, underpinned by the wisdom of a life well-trodden.
A guide for people of all ages as they prepare, often hesitantly, to take an unfamiliar path. Better than a map, this book shows by captivating example how we can shape our own lives and careers.
This must be one of the most practical and comprehensible career guides ever produced. It is also extremely reassuring for the reader, who needs to understand that there is a mass of help and advice to hand, and that in a rapidly changing world, a career choice is not necessarily for ever. It is packed with useful practical advice on how to consider your personal options, how to construct a CV, how to prepare for an interview - pointing out that a thorough knowledge of your own CV is essential! - and how to approach the tricky issue of salary negotiation, among many other invaluable tips.
This is not yet another book on cv writing, job interviews and salary negotiations... Where Am I Going and Can I Have a Map offers a fresh approach to personalised career development in a personal tone of voice. Under headings like "not a life sentence", "passing the two second test" and "trial by sherry" the author shares original "words of wisdom" from his rich experience and engages (prospective) professionals in an aerial view on career exploration.
I wish I had had this book when I was leaving university, worrying that my friends' paths were the right ones. The book tackles the anxiety and indecision head-on. Black is a wise, calming and pragmatic advisor to those climbing the first rungs of the career ladder.
A true career design compendium for the 21st century graduate. The author's extensive global experience, combined with his role leading one of higher education's most innovative Career Centres, is now available for all to benefit from. Realistic in its approach, this indispensable guide addresses and empathetically tackles the sensitive issues confronting students, such as family pressure to pursue a particular path. Acknowledging the competing demands of student life - both academic and co-curricular, the rich guidance provided is complemented by pragmatic exercises to assist the reader with converting goals to action.
Jonathan Black has written a uniquely powerful guidebook for those taking the first steps in their career journey. He provides a rare combination of really current knowledge of the detailed practical steps that are needed, with the clarity of perspective and judgement garnered from many years working in careers advice and related research. The result is a manifesto for action, helping the reader quickly orient themselves towards a path that reflects their individual goals and skills, while accessing the experience of many others about how best to progress along it.
Reading it is like having a really good conversation with someone who knows you well who is able to challenge your limiting assumptions and get you to rethink some rather useless cliches. I thoroughly recommend the book not just for undergraduates or recent graduates but for their advisers and tutors.
Not only full of indispensable guidance, this book is also a joy to read. This is witty, encouraging and intelligent with some great stories and superb insights.
From giving students an insider's perspective on employer's recruitment strategies to helping them build up a communications tool kit for answering questions in interviews, Jonathan's straightforward, common sense approach takes the fear out of thinking about your career.
The book is a highly readable and accessible approach to career planning and action - aimed at 16 to 30 year olds.
This is a must-read book for anyone standing (or about to stand) at a careers-crossroad in life - or those charged with (or interested in) guiding them. ... If you're about to leave school, college or university, get a copy before you do much else. It might just help you onto the right track.
