An invaluable resource on Career Management.
1/6/2002
An excellent text on Career Management. It is well referenced and an extensive number of case and experiential studies. The text focuses on four key areas in career management : (a) career management as a process; (b) a developmental approach to career management; (c) additional demands on career management and (d) career management for the individual can be assisted by the organisation. This book is ideal for everyone who needs to deal with careers. The first part addresses the concerns of the individual who wants to learn about career management as a process as well as trainers/facilitators, etc who are helping others to learn about the career management process. The send part is ideally suited to coaches and counselors who may be guiding individuals with their careers. The third part is vital for anyone you wants to understand the consequences of the 'turbulence' impacting careers and strategies to adopt. This section addresses concerns like work-life balance, work stress, lifestyle issues, entrepreneurial careers, etc. The fourth part is ideal for human resources practitioners and consultants who assist organisations in the planning, development and management of careers of their employees. Learning exercises help users of the text practice career management skills, too. An invaluable investment not just for corporate and public library but those actively engaged in the career management industry. It is more than a university study text - it is vital resource handbook on careers.
Outdated
8/12/2005
While I admired the attempt to integrate scholarship from the
career-development and organizational-entry realms, I found the
chapter on organizational entry shockingly outdated, with most
sources used from the 70s and 80s. At a time when the Internet
has turned the recruiting world upside down, there are only 2 scant
mentions of the Internet in this chapter. Way too much emphasis on
Wanous's Realistic Job Previews, a concept on which tons of
research has been done, but few organizations actually use.
There also seems to be a major research gap on resumes and
cover letters, given that this chapter skips right from
"Identification of Prospective Employers" to the Job
Interview -- as though all a job-seeker has to do to
get an interview is identify a prospective employer!