What Color Is Your Parachute? Job-Hunter's Workbook, Fourth Edition

I bought "What Color is Your Parachute?" in about 1984. I've used the techniques it teaches several times, not only to get the jobs I wanted, but also in other areas of my life.The first time I used the techniques I was unemployed. I spent several weeks working the exercises; writing down the pros and cons about what I liked in a job, looking at a number of potential career paths, deciding which companies I really wanted to work for and working out exactly what I was going to say on the phone.Once I started calling prospective employers, I received a number of job offers, all of which I turned down! Two of the job offers were over the phone, sight unseen, in a field that I had no professional experience in! One manager literally told me, "I don't care if you don't have the tools and the experience. I need people like you."When I finally decided to get the job I wanted, the Human Resources Manager literally had to beg me to come in for an interview. Needless to say, I got the job offer, accepted and did quite well there.I can't help but think that those who pan this book either don't understand it or refuse to believe it can happen as Richard describes it.The old "mail your resume, respond to ads, try to get interviews, hope for a job offer" way of job hunting just results in frustration and a loss of confidence. You have to believe in yourself to stand out from the crowd. Richard's book helps you do that IF!! you apply his techniques. If you think you're too good to do such "stupid" things or you apply the techniques half-heartedly thinking they're "silly", then maybe you need to rethink what you really want in life.

Richard Bolles has published a new version of this book every year. I read it first in college and used it extensively when I worked as a career counselour. I also used it for career seminars. I can honestly say that every edition seems to be quite different from previous versions, so it is not a waste of money at all to buy a more recent version. (the most recent editions seem to talk about online job search, appropriately enough)As a writer, I can admire his work for its readability, sense of humor and gritty realism. Bolles tells some remarkable stories and while not directly applicable to your career area, they make you aware of how similiar job searching is regardless of your field. Before reading this, you should be aware of what this book is NOT: it does not provide resume advice nor does it provide very much advice about general trends in the job market. This book is a sobering dose of reality, but the interesting thing is that the reader finds this information heartening rather than disappointing because it unmasks many of the treacherous parts of the job search process. As such, this book is a great gift for a loved one who is out of work. It will make them feel good about themselves, and that is good, because a lot of unemployed approach job searches with a chip on their shoulder. I used the exercises in the book with clients to help them analyze what they wanted in an ideal job because clients really had little idea what was important to them. Other readers might find that part helpful. I was a little surprised to find that the 2000 edition was smaller than previous versions. Bolles decided to reduce some of the religious/spiritual stuff and to cut out some of the reference lists (with the internet, a lot of references can be put online). Overall, I was not impressed by how Parachute covers online job searching aside from discussing generalities. People really need to learn more about job boards like monster and how freelancing opportunities are opening up that never before existed. Another thing is that I thought it was unnecessary to deemphasize the spiritual component in the latest version of the book. I'm not superreligious, but his stuff on the spiritual element added a unique perspective to the book and was nondenominational enough not to offend anyone. In summary: this is a milestone of a book. Bolles has spent his entire life making each version of the book better than the last. His effort shows.

For those of you who have reached the point in your life when you start asking the question:"What do I really want to do with my life?", this book is for you. It does not simply contain quick-fix job hunting techniques (although I suppose it could be effectively used for that), but instead guides you through the process of thoughfully examining your previous jobs and understanding what you like to do, what skills you have that you may be unaware of, and how to use this information to get a job that is ideal for you. This book is well-written and easy to follow. The exercises can help you to develop not only insight but also more confidence about the skills you have to offer an employer. After reading this book you will never again settle for just looking through the want-ads again!

Richard Bolles has published a new version of this book every year. I read it first in college and used it extensively when I worked as a career counselour. I also used it for career seminars. I can honestly say that every edition seems to be quite different from previous versions, so it is not a waste of money at all to buy a more recent version. (the most recent editions seem to talk about online job search, appropriately enough)As a writer, I can admire his work for its readability, sense of humor and gritty realism. Bolles tells some remarkable stories and while not directly applicable to your career area, they make you aware of how similiar job searching is regardless of your field. Before reading this, you should be aware of what this book is NOT: it does not provide resume advice nor does it provide very much advice about general trends in the job market. This book is a sobering dose of reality, but the interesting thing is that the reader finds this information heartening rather than disappointing because it unmasks many of the treacherous parts of the job search process. As such, this book is a great gift for a loved one who is out of work. It will make them feel good about themselves, and that is good, because a lot of unemployed approach job searches with a chip on their shoulder. I used the exercises in the book with clients to help them analyze what they wanted in an ideal job because clients really had little idea what was important to them. Other readers might find that part helpful. I was a little surprised to find that the 2000 edition was smaller than previous versions. Bolles decided to reduce some of the religious/spiritual stuff and to cut out some of the reference lists (with the internet, a lot of references can be put online). Overall, I was not impressed by how Parachute covers online job searching aside from discussing generalities. People really need to learn more about job boards like monster and how freelancing opportunities are opening up that never before existed. Another thing is that I thought it was unnecessary to deemphasize the spiritual component in the latest version of the book. I'm not superreligious, but his stuff on the spiritual element added a unique perspective to the book and was nondenominational enough not to offend anyone. In summary: this is a milestone of a book. Bolles has spent his entire life making each version of the book better than the last. His effort shows.

"What Color Is Your Parachute 2000?" is a classic. In my opinion, it is the best book on how to find a job in print. Highly readable and filled with practical, doable, and successful ideas from skill identification to Worst and Best ways to find a job, it assists the beginner and the experienced job searcher equally well.In my twenty years as a Career Consultant, clients who have followed the ideas in "Parachute" that apply to their job search have been 100% successful in finding the work they love and for which they have the skills regardless of the job market in their area. Jim Kell, Texas.