With summer only 3 months away, many collegiettes are scrambling to find their dream job, whether that is interning at the esteemed Vogue magazine, volunteering at a local hospital, or even securing a post-college job. Here are 3 career books that have recently passed through our office that are sure to tell you everything you need to know in order to successfully land your dream job.
All Work, No Pay by Lauren Berger
-Stephanie Haven-
Struggling to write a cover letter for summer internship applications? Feel like you have nothing to list on your résumé? Well, Lauren Berger, “The Intern Queen,” has the solutions in her new book, All Work, No Pay.
Whether you’re still trying to figure out what you want to do when you “grow up” or you’ve been set on a particular career path since age two, Berger’s book will help guide you through the process of finding, applying for and snagging your dream internship.
“Obstacles motivate me; rejection motivates me,” Berger writes in her book, which is now available on Amazon for $10.39. “And I learned how to deal with obstacles and rejections over the course of my internship journey.”
If you’ve ever been unsure about how to network (believe me, we’ve all been there), Berger takes you through the process step-by-step using techniques that helped her land 15 internships during college with companies like MTV, FOX and NBC.
It’s definitely a must buy for all collegiettes looking to get experience before entering the job market after graduation. Especially because, “the internship remains the only proven way to provide students with the entry-level job experience, training, and relationships necessary to better prepare them for their career path,” according to Berger.
Better yet, she has a website where you can practice the tips from her book to find an interesting internship from one of her online listings at Intern Queen, Inc., a internet-based company she founded after graduation to share helpful interning strategies.
Don’t Hook Up with the Dude in the Next Cube by Nancy A. Shenker and Lindsay E. Brown
-Kelsey Damassa-
Finding your first internship, entering the workforce after college, or even changing jobs can cause unwanted anxiety and heightened emotion. Stress levels are unusually high, morale is low, and some days it seems as if crawling back into bed might just be the best option.
Nancy A. Shenker and Lindsay E. Brown recognized the need for a fun, career advice book and decided to compile over 200 easy-to-read tips and tricks that will give you, “the dos, don’ts, and never-ever-evers” of the career world.
Shenker, who refers to herself as “The Boss Lady,” has more than thirty years of experience as a marketer, writer, speaker, and innovator. Brown, on the other hand, has experience as a young twenty-something professional who has successfully survived her first jobs. Together, these two women cover everything – from how to pinpoint your passions to how to behave as a good girl at work.
For those collegiettes who constantly are feeling pressed for time, this is the career book you have been waiting for. It’s short, sweet, and to the point with checklists, illustrations, lists, and witty, real world advice. Where else will you receive tips about wearing too much perfume or make-up? And did I mention there is also a full-on workplace menagerie metaphor (think Cady Heron’s African watering hole fantasies in Mean Girls)?
Don’t Hook Up with the Dude in the Next Cube is available in bookstores everywhere as well as online for only $10. For more information about Nancy and Lindsay check out their website at www.2booms.com.
Getting from College to Career by Lindsey Pollak
-Kelsey Damassa-
Your mother, father, best friend, college mentor, and ex-roommate have probably all thrown career self-help books your way, but who wants to read a dry, text-heavy book listing everything you shouldn’t do in a professional setting? Luckily, career expert and global spokesperson for LinkedIn, Lindsey Pollak, is to the rescue with her insightful and captivating, revised edition of Getting from College to Career.
In the book, which is newly updated with online networking tips, social media’s effect on the job hunt, and post-recession employment realities, Pollak strives to answer the eternal question consuming all career-savvy collegiettes: “How do you get a job without experience and get experience without a job?”
Her tips range from actions you can take early on in your college career to actually finding opportunities once you graduate. Along the way, Pollak recommends gaining real world experience, finding your edge, and discovering your true passions. A successful career stems from a successful you, so it is key to genuinely know yourself.
Pollak understands how hard it can be to make the transition from college to the working world because she struggled herself. She explains, “There were some bad days when I sent one semi productive e-mail in the morning and then watched TV all day and ate nothing but frozen yogurt. And there were some very bad days when I felt I was a miserable failure with my best years behind me, and I spent the entire day under the covers.”
We have all been in that same position at some point in our lives, so now is the time fight the urge to watch “just one more” episode of Glee and to put down that pint of Ben and Jerry’s Half-Baked. Be productive and hit up the closest bookstore or Amazon.com to purchase Lindsey Pollak’s Getting from College to Career for just $16.99.