When pal Alexandra Levit sent me an advance copy of her book, New Job, New You: A Guide to Reinventing Yourself in a Bright New Career, I thought it was quite timely. With the economy still stagnant and the unemployment rate bumping up against double digits, many individuals have to reinvent themselves to find employment. For some this may mean moving in a whole new direction, for others, it may mean it’s time to step back and reprioritize.
Levit centers the book on seven motivators for change (listed below). Then throughout the book, she uses individual stories as examples for why and how people made successful career changes. At the end of each chapter there are tests to see whether this could be a motivator for you and also tips on how to get started making the change.
Here are a few interesting tidbits I picked up in my reading:
1. Family: When true work/life balance becomes a necessity
Two of her examples in this section were men.
One vignette that stood out was when Erica came home from work to find her children happily playing with her husband in their pool and realizing she was going to work every day to afford a life of which she wasn’t even a part. This was somewhat similar to my first career change (from law to marketing). A friend summed it up nicely when she explained her reason for leaving: “I understand that if I prioritize my kids, even if I produce the same results as the next associate, I will be passed over and never make partner in a big law firm. While I could probably handle it for a while and continue to remind myself that I’m doing it for my kids, I would still be totally pissed off . . . and pissed off is not how I want to go through life.”
Levit includes some good advice about flextime, work-at-home careers and how to include your entire family in the decision.
2. Independence: When you’ve been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug
If you’re reading this review, it’s likely that this section will resonate the most. The common theme among the examples was how analytical these individuals were. While many were driven to become entrepreneurs by their right side of the brain (the creative/intuitive side), what made them successful was their more logical left side.
3. Learning: When your bookish, curious side takes over
When it comes to going back to school, one of Levit’s examples said, “Don’t worry about how old you are, and ask the right questions of the right people.”
As in other sections, Levit points out the financial risks you are taking, like how much debt the average person takes on to go back to school.
4. Money: When an increase in earning potential is on the horizon
5. Passion: When you yearn to do what you love with all of your heart
I liked this quote from one of her examples: “I realized that you can have all the talent in the world, but you still have to be willing to get your hands dirty and be disciplined and eager to grow. It’s dangerous to think you have it all figured out.”
6. Setback: When one door closes, another one opens
7. Talent: When you’re too good at something not to give it a shot
With all of these motivators, Levit provides both interesting and varied examples, as well as hard-core advice and a decent dose of reality. Career changes aren’t easy. In fact, Levit identifies the four key factors you need to be successful at the end: Persistence, courage, self-confidence and business savvy. This is why I would highly recommend this book. It will help you with all four of those aspects as well as in identifying your reasons for the change and how to garner the support of family and friends.
Top Shelf Bottom Line: If you are considering a career change, this is the guide to help you motivate, plan and decide whether you are really up for it.
This entry was posted on Saturday, October 10th, 2009 at 9:41 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.3 Responses to “‘New Job, New You’ by Alexandra Levit”
Leave a Reply
October 10th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Where did you get your blog layout from? I’d like to get one like it for my blog.
October 11th, 2009 at 4:29 am
[...] successful at the end: Persistence, courage, self-confidence and business savvy. Read more here: Entrepreneur.com – Blog Network – Top Shelf Reading Picks Leave a comment | Trackback Related PostsBank Lending: Still Held Back By Bad Assets – [...]
October 11th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
[...] at the end: Persistence, courage, self-confidence and business savvy. Read the original: Entrepreneur.com – Blog Network – Top Shelf Reading Picks Leave a comment | [...]