What Color Is Your Parachute? 2018 By Richard Bolles
Do you really need to get the latest edition of PARACHUTE?
No, it is not necessary to get the very latest version. Of course, if you are buying PARACHUTE for the very first time, get the latest one; however, if you already have a recent edition, I think that’s good enough. For slightly older editions, the main annoyance will just be some links that are outdated, or some references that are wrong.
WHAT COLOR IS YOUR PARACHUTE 2018 is jam-packed with tons of good career advice. In fact, it’s SO LARGE, that one is easily overwhelmed. Fortunately, the editors provide lots of “Bullet Point” lists that make reading easier. If you just concentrate on the sections that are relevant to you, it’s not such a formidable read. You can likely skip many sections that aren’t relevant to your own career.
I would recommend looking through the Table of Contents and picking areas or lists in which you feel you need help. Perhaps start with the preliminary, “A Two-Minute Crash Course on How Much Has Changed in the World of Work.” This is quick reading, and provides a good overview of the job search process. Being prepared and informed is just as important as being the best qualified: “In today’s world, he or she who gets hired is not necessarily the one who can do that job best; but, the one who knows the most about how to get hired.”
One of my favorite lists is near the end: “The Ten Greatest Mistakes Made In Job-Interviews.” This list is wryly subtitled, “Whereby Your Chances of Finding a Job Are Greatly Decreased.” Here are some of my favorite mistakes: #3, “Doing no homework on an organization before going there.” Or #8, “Failing to give examples of the skills you claim you have.”
The author explains the different perspective of job-seeker versus job-filler:
“Many if not most employers hunt for job-hunters in the exact opposite way from how most job-hunters hunt for them.”
His point is that the HR department wants to ELIMINATE candidates. Naturally, you do NOT want to be eliminated: “You want the job-market to be a hiring game. But the employer regards it as an elimination game— until the very last phase.”
PARACHUTE is an uplifting, encouraging book written by a master in the field. We can always do something to advance our cause:
“No matter how overwhelmed you may feel, no matter how much you may feel you’re at the mercy of huge forces that are beyond your control, some part of it is within your control: maybe 2%, 5%, who knows? There is always something you can work on…”
WHAT COLOR IS YOUR PARACHUTE 2018 is right at the top in career resources. For me personally, it is THE #1 career resource. The author writes well, and is ever-encouraging. If you are serious about your job hunt, get the book, and review the relevant sections. I have used this book in my own career hunt.
Finally, the sad news: The editors, in an afterword, note that the author, Richard Bolles, “passed away earlier this year at age ninety after a lifetime of service to job-hunters across the world.”
I had the chance to correspond with the author not so long ago, but regret that I never met him in person. By all accounts, Richard Bolles was a kind, decent man, who genuinely wanted to help people in their careers. In my last email, he asked me to pray for him, which of course, I did.
I feel like I lost a friend.
