Richard N. Bolles (1927–2017)

Bolles' book is a primer on job search; containing a wealth of wisdom about all its aspects. Readers learn HOW and WHERE to search, and not to rely on one method exclusively but to network and branch out. He understands and discusses the emotional toll of job hunting and how to deal with feelings of worthlessness, anxiety and depression. Bolles explains that experiencing a job loss and the ensuing process of searching for a new position can motivate us to learn more about our transferable show more skills, preferences, and surprising strengths.

The tone is realistically optimistic and hopeful; encouraging the job seeker to recognize (s)he does have some control over the future. This helps to develop enthusiasm and passion for the interview.

There are so many helpful pointers, suggestions, tips and resources in this book I decided I needed to purchase it before returning my copy to the library. show less

Bolles thesis was pretty much about finding the kind of career that excited you, that you would be passionate about. There were collections of excellent tools for first finding where you wanted to be, what your skills were, how you related to things, people, and ideas, and only then how to find that kind of work.

This was very helpful when I needed to find a way thru my work life. It led me to many other books, techniques, and methods of proceeding. I've had two or three different editions show more over time, but being retired, none now.

I soon realized I was looking for a different kind of work/career than what Bolles proposed, but that his book was still a good tool for finding what I wanted to do.

I used his techniques to make clear to myself what kinds of jobs I definitely did not want to do, then narrowed down the remaining ones to something that would be pleasant enough, pay well enough, and allow me as much time as possible to spend with my wife, family, friends, doing things that really interested me.

And his methods worked well for me. show less

Well, what was happening in 1991 that set me to exploring this book. I think my organisation was being "Mckinseyed" and a fair few staff were leaving and I was considering my options. As I've finally come to review this book (some 30 years later), I've just discovered that i have the 1998 version sitting on my bookshelves so I might review it in more depth before I dispose of this version. To be fair, I found the book to be profoundly helpful. It gave me a whole new suite of ways of show more examining myself and where I wanted to go. Now I'm staring down the funnel of the end of life and a parachute is not so necessary if one has a national health scheme and superannuation. But I've used this book and subsequent versions of it. And I've used it effectively with some of my staff who we were undergoing yet another re-organisation...(read "forced-redundancies"). And the thing that struck me was that it really gave people a sense that they had options. This was not the end of the road. In summary, a really useful and helpful book. five stars from me. (Even if it is dated) show less

The first version of this book came out in 1970 at a time that many businesses were downsizing and people in the middle of their careers found themselves out of work. This was in an era that people expected life time employment from large companies. Bolles' book was an encouragement to consider what a job seeker wanted to do for their next season of life. I first read this book with my wife at the start of our careers trying to figure out how to move forward. This book was invaluable in show more helping us figure out what we wanted to do, and where we wanted to do it. Since then I have periodically picked up updated versions of this book, and repeatedly give this book to point who were working on determining they career path. As a direct result of doing the exercises in this book my wife selected her career, I changed workplaces, and we moved across the country. While this book can be useful to people at any stage of life, it is most helpful to someone who has had sufficient life experience to reflect on what they have done. This book encourages the reader to figure out what they are called to do (a vocation) and do that. The money (or at least enough for you survive) will follow. You might not be rich materially, but you will be rich in experience and quality of life. Sometimes people say do a job you love, but I prefer to say do a job that is meaningful, that has impact, and you you will love the job. When I first worked through the exercises in the early 1990s, I didn't change my career, but I had a deeper sense of purpose in my day to day work experience. show less