Good career development books can help you take your career to a whole new level! Whether you’re looking to land your next job, learn to network properly, or simply learn something new, these 8 books come highly recommended!
What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard N. Bolles
Out of all the books mentioned in this list, this one outranks them all! I highly recommend you pick this one first. Richard N. Bolles focuses on how getting hired is better than knowing how to do the job the best.
Bolles believes that the person who gets hired isn’t necessarily the one who can do the job the best, but the one who knows the most about how to get hired. This book contains several tips and tricks on how to put your best foot forward so you can land that job!
The first half of the book focuses on how to improve your networking, interviews, and negotiating skills. He also talks about creating an eye-catching resume, complete with an amazing cover letter!
In the second half of the book, Bolles shows you how to find your ideal client. You don’t just want to work for anyone!
This book contains so much useful information for those looking for a job. I highly recommend you pick this one up!
Strategy and the Fat Smoker: Doing What’s Obvious But Not Easy by David Maister
This book is a business book, but the information inside can apply to all areas of your life. Need to make a change? This book will show you how!
In all areas of our lives, whether personal or professional, we know what needs to get done. Our brains keep a checklist of all the tasks that we need to complete that day, whether it be finishing a project for work or simply doing the laundry at home. With all the hustle and bustle in our day to day lives, it’s hard to focus on what needs to get done! We fail to focus, make the time, or make the necessary changes in our habits.
Maister talks about the strategy behind changing your habits, and how it works! Instead of taking on every single task yourself, focus on saying ‘no’ to the little things, and say ‘yes’ to the critical few things that will bring you success!
Related: What Do You Need to Thrive
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
This book is absolutely amazing!
Have you ever wondered how people like Steve Jobs became so successful? Malcolm Gladwell sure did! He set out to find the answers to how the best, brightest, and most successful people got where they are today.
In this book, Gladwell discovers that background has a lot to do with the mentality it takes to become successful. This includes their culture, family, generation and their individual experiences growing up.
Interested in learning more? Check out the book!
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Thanks to the digital age we live in, our brains have been re-wired to take in information differently.
It has become harder and harder to sit down and read fiction.
What we really want is ‘efficient’ reads. Books that will maximize our time and effort.
But this book demonstrates that even though information can be boiled down to pocket-size, wisdom cannot be.
If you truly want to grow you must invest time.
To learn you must open yourself up to the humility of not knowing.
This book is about adulthood. It sheds light on the human psyche and our motivations and desires.
To be a professional depends on who we are as human beings, not the other way around.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
Stephen R. Covey has condensed the behaviors of effective people into seven habits! If you want to be more successful, try developing these habits.
Covey recommends you work on being proactive. Always begin with the end in mind.
This best seller is a must-read for everyone who wants to read more career development books to advance their profession. Click here to check it out!
Related: What Do You Need to Thrive
Luck Is No Accident: Making the Most of Happenstance in Your Life and Career by John D. Krumboltz and Al S. Levin
Do you believe in luck?
Krumboltz and Levin believe that luck is no accident. This book will encourage you to be open to opportunities that may seem random. These experiences can lead to a fulfilling career and personal experiences.
The authors suggest that you can enhance your development and have a richer experience when embracing unplanned and chance events.
Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi
Are you a fan of networking? If not, you should be!
This book teaches you how to reach success using the power of relationships. Success is about who you know, not what you know.
Ferrazzi is a master networker. He used connections to get into Yale for his undergraduate degree to get into Harvard for his MBA. Later he landed a number of top executive positions using connections.
His book is based on his experiences and additional research. He claims that networking is the difference between average and super successful people.
Ferrazzi wrote this book to help others achieve their dream life.
The author shows the exact steps he used for reaching out to people in his network. Then he goes on to share other networking tips that helped him along his journey. Ferrazzi has learned a lot from the most well-connected individuals in the modern business and political world.
These tips helped him connect with Washington power players and Hollywood A-listers. You can feel confident that these networking tips will help you with your career.
The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines Into Massive Success and Happiness by Jeff Olson
The Slight Edge is an amazing addition to have in your career development bookshelf. Olson gives you great tips that’ll help you find success in your career and other areas of your life.
The goal is to find out that one thing that will help you achieve your career or life goals and apply it daily.
For example, a manager who wants to improve leadership and morale among his team should express appreciation to an employee every day.
For a marketing professional, it may be adding value and connecting with influencers daily.
This book is a good read if you want to find out how you can use that one thing and reach your goals.
I highly recommend you pick up these career development books to help you boost your career. They’re all a good read! These books will teach you several valuable tips and strategies to grow yourself and your business.
Which one are you going to read?
