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Career Books to Help You Find Your Calling in 2019

Career chosen. Now its time to advance it.

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Alright, school is over, most likely forever now. So it’s time to move on to the next big thing: a career. Back when you were in school things were easy since someone already laid out the plan for you. Now, it’s not so simple.

Besides choosing a career, which is the easy part, things are going to start getting a little hazier when it comes to developing the career itself. There you’ll find many different ways to develop as a professional. Different paths to take, and areas to specialize in.

Lots of different options will be presented to you. You’ll feel hurried to figure out which one is the best. The thing is, you are just starting out. Your information about a career is wholly incomplete and could use some guidance. Which is exactly what these career books provide you with. Read them and find out which is the career path you’d rather take.

#1 How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age by Dale Carnegie

How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age by Dale Carnegie
A classic book that has been rebooted for the digital age. A guide on understanding people, psychology, and sales. Teaches some important life lessons on how to treat people so that trust is built.

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#2 Find Your Why by Simon Sinek

Find Your Why by Simon Sinek
If you don’t figure out what drives you, you’ll be trying to discover fulfilment in whatever form you can. Not everyone gets to have their passion be their paycheck, but why not try to find your ikigai?

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#3 CRAVED: The Secret Sauce to Building A Highly-Successful, Standout Brand

CRAVED: The Secret Sauce to Building A Highly-Successful, Standout Brand
Craved: The Secret Sauce to Building a Highly-Successful, Standout Brand walks entrepreneurs through the essentials for building a brand that continually captivates and engages people in today’s super-competitive, crowded space.

Written for bloggers, entrepreneurs, small business owners, aspiring influencers, content creators and creative directors, Craved offers critical direction for those looking to distinguish themselves from the competition. Hammond teaches her readers how to achieve brand acceleration using everyday resources like social media, storytelling, and video to attract people to them.

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#4 The 4 Hour Workweek, by Tim Ferriss

The 4 Hour Workweek, by Tim Ferriss
I use this as a guide for how to work more effectively and for inspiration in my career. It is ideal as it caters to entrepreneurs and to employees also.

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#5 Brave New Work, by Aaron Dignan

Brave New Work, by Aaron Dignan
This has helped me immensely from a management and ownership point of view. It is a new take on working with employees and getting things done together.

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#6 The Millennial Whisperer by Chris Tuff

The Millennial Whisperer by Chris Tuff
The Millennial generation is the largest, most diverse generation in the history of the United States. They will make up 75 percent of the workforce by 2030. Unfortunately, Millennials made a poor first impression in the business world, developing the reputation of being lazy, entitled, selfish, and disloyal. The truth is, Millennials are no lazier or more entitled, selfish, or disloyal than any previous generation; they just grew up with different experiences than older generations and are motivated by different things..

In The Millennial Whisperer, Chris Tuff puts into context the ways Millennials differ from previous generations and shares practical steps companies and leaders can take to immediately boost productivity without building an office full of ping pong tables, beer kegs, and participation trophies.

Chris provides practical ways for leaders to build a corporate culture in which Millennials can thrive, establish effective rewards systems at lower cost, address disciplinary methods effectively, and more! Get ready to turn your conference room back into a conference room, bring the beer kegs home for your next birthday bash, and put the participation trophies in the trash where they belong.

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#7 How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Though a bit long compared to most books in the career-help business genre (roughly 320 pages cover-to-cover), this easily-digested text (written by a pioneer of the self-improvement movement) has sold more than 15 million copies and has helped a vast number of folks in the business world improve their interactions with their bosses, colleagues, subordinates, customers, and suppliers. (Further, following Carnegie’s advice has likely enriched their personal relationships as well.)

In this book, Carnegie teaches thirty principles of human relations which provide useful advice about making good first impressions, engaging others in productive conversations, gaining co-operation from folks with opposing views, and tactfully handling difficult situations. When it came to explaining the ‘nuts & bolts’ of human relations, few authors were ever better than Dale Carnegie!

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#8 Quitting by Design by Dr. Lynn Marie Morski

Quitting by Design by Dr. Lynn Marie Morski
Dr. Lynn Marie Morski knows how to address fears and prepare your health, relationships, and finances for a quit because she’s been there time and again. She has quit educational pursuits, jobs, careers, relationships, political parties…you name it; she’s found a way to quit it while maximising the benefits and minimising the challenges associated with major life changes.

And she wants nothing more than to pass these skills along to you. With this book, Dr. Morski aims to pass on what she’s learned about quitting not only from her own experiences, but also through interviews with others who have made successful quits themselves. She tackles the stigma surrounding quitting, while highlighting what a useful and necessary tool it can be in carving out a life you enjoy.

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#9 Leadership Lessons Inspired By a Six-Year-Old by Joseph McGee

Leadership Lessons Inspired By a Six-Year-Old by Joseph McGee
As new leaders, we often overlook simplicity and overthink things when performing everyday work. Published by Austin Macauley, Leadership Lessons Inspired by a Six-Year-Old, by Joseph McGee, may not initially relate fatherhood to leadership, but through story-telling and objects, lessons can be leveraged from at home into the workplace.

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#10 Maternal Optimism by Jamie Ladge and Danna Greenberg

Maternal Optimism by Jamie Ladge
Every working mother’s path is unique and should be celebrated, not lamented. Yet all too frequently, working mothers are presented with advice, rules to follow or guidelines as if all women’s experiences are the same and a one-size-fits-all solution is appropriate. Maternal Optimism: Forging Positive Paths through Work and Motherhood aims to provide readers with stories and research that support the notion of women owning and feeling confident in the choices they make, as they navigate a complex series of work and family transitions.

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#11 The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson

The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson
“Having started from a very average lifestyle, like many of you what i was told is:Go to school, Study hard so you can have a steady income and a good life. While that can be true for some people it wasn’t really my cup of tea.

Randomly stumbled across the slight edge which was one of the most eye opening book about how to create success in your life. Touching on the subject of what makes successful people successful and the difference between the rich and poor. Also speaks about the mindset that is needed for such thing. All in all, amazing book to learn and practice.”

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#12 Leadership and Subordination by Valor Breez

Leadership and Subordination by Valor Breez
Breez shares leadership principles and techniques from the U.S. Army and shows you how you can put them into action in your organisation. He breaks down the significance of both the leader and the follower roles in a professional relationship, walking you through being the best possible subordinate so that you CAN be the most effective leader.

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#13 You Got This!: How to Win at College by Juhi Kore

You Got This!: How to Win at College by Juhi Kore
This book is especially great for recent graduates looking to join the workforce. The book does a great job at explaining the elements of building a professional brand and image. It is filled with great tips and strategies on how to stand out as a young professional and how you can get other people to take you seriously.

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#14 HOW TO WRITE YOUR BOOK: From an Idea to Your Published Story by Bobbi Madry & Francine Barish-Stern

HOW TO WRITE YOUR BOOK: From an Idea to Your Published Story by F Barish-Stern
Writing, A Great Career! Do You Write or Want To Write? Creative Writing is a fun, therapeutic and a great way to earn a living. Most people want to write, and in this day and age of technology, it has never been easier to write, publish and sell stories and/or books. HOW TO WRITE YOUR BOOK, From an Idea to Your Published Story, makes it easy. Written as a road trip, to get anyone from an idea to a finished story, the fun part comes in when our 3 Wise Guides, the writer, editor, and publisher give their quips, advice and guidance to get through even the most difficult Write road blocks.

In 12 Chapters these characters are constantly alerting the writer to ways to accomplish their objective of a finished story. This book was also used to create the sci-fi trilogy, Code 47 to BREV Force, written by F. Barish-Stern, and each chapter uses a review map that shows how the techniques in that chapter were implemented for BREV Force, and as a bonus, a guide is given to help anyone do the same; each step of the way. Writing is a great career; it can be done anywhere, anytime and doesn’t care how old or young the writer is. With the internet and social media there are so many places to utilize good writing, that learning this craft has become a great way to earn a living. Do It Now and succeed for a lifetime!

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#15 Building Wealth One House at a Time by John Schaub

Building Wealth One House at a Time by John Schaub
Great real estate 101 book. It will teach you all facets of buying single family homes as a long term investment strategy.

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#16 SAFETY NETwork: A Tale of Ten Truths of Executive Networking by Suzanne Garber

SAFETY NETwork: A Tale of Ten Truths of Executive Networking by Suzanne Garber
Based on 100+ C-level executive interviews who have been laid off, downsized or just plain fired, SAFETY NETwork intertwines professional defeat with hope, humour, and humanity. Current and future executives will want to utilise the tenets presented here to build your own professional safety net in order to avoid the pitfalls that will most likely besiege even the most distinguished of careers.

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#17 Finding Square Holes by Anita Houghton

Finding Square Holes by Anita Houghton
If you’re looking to find a more meaningful career that ticks all your boxes, this is one of the most comprehensive and useful books on the market. Unlike other books it is highly motivating, practical and actionable, and if you follow the advice you’ll be able to give yourself career coaching of a professional standard.

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#18 The Graduate Book by Chris Davies

The Graduate Book by Chris Davies
It’s a tough world out there for graduates-and students definitely know it. As a result, we’re seeing more and more that they’re preparing for post-graduation life early. The Student Book and The Graduate Book are invaluable resources, showing them exactly how to get ahead of the game whilst still at university, and what to do if they’ve left their career planning until the very last minute! From a real-life success story, it offers crucial advice in an engaging and light-hearted way. An essential wherever you are in your university career or graduate job search! Lucy Miller, Senior Editor – The National Student

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#19 The Student Book by Chris Davies

The Student Book by Chris Davies
Chris Davies is acknowledged to be Britain’s foremost graduate coach. He founded his company, Graduate Coach, seven years ago and, since then, has kick-started the careers of over 300 graduates. As a result, Amazon, Aviva, Bloomberg, Coca-Cola, Deloitte, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, Google, JP Morgan, Lloyds Bank and many other blue chip companies count Chris’s alumni among their employees. So, too, do organisations such as Network Rail and the NHS. Before Graduate Coach, Chris pursued two other careers, in magazine publishing and advertising and marketing. In both cases, Chris built successful enterprises from scratch.

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#20 Leaving the Armed Forces and Getting a Job by Michael Sykes

Leaving the Armed Forces and Getting a Job by Michael Sykes
As many ex-service personnel will agree, the move from military to civilian life is often difficult and can be complicated. For a few, it can even be traumatic. After the armed forces, with its routines and traditions, civilian life may appear straightforward and informal. It is not. It has its own way of doing things which can be difficult to understand. Finding work to suit individuals may require re-thinking a person’s outlook, attitude and priorities, both in life and in work.

As a former armed forces person with wide and recent experience of recruitment, the author offers a comprehensive guide to dealing with the changes from military to civilian work. There is practical and useful advice on where to look for a job, how to write effective CVs/resumes to catch the eye of recruiters, how to prepare for interviews, and how to deal with job offers. The book also describes different company structures and departments as well as what to consider when starting up your own business. Leaving the Armed Forces and Finding a Job will prove an eminently practical tool for service personnel of all forces and all ranks.

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#21 A Guide to Successful Substitute Teaching by Wade McAfee

A Guide to Successful Substitute Teaching by Wade McAfee
This book is intended to be used by individuals, which have entered the educational field, who must go through the substitute teaching experience. In order to obtain a contracted position, individuals must gain experience only obtainable through substitute teaching.

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#22 Ladders 2019 Interviews Guide by Marc Cenedella

Ladders 2019 Interviews Guide by Marc Cenedella
Based on 15 years experience, the feedback from millions of readers, and over 100,000 HR professionals, recruiters, and hiring managers, Ladders 2019 Interviews Guide provides easy and effective advice for fast-rising and mid-career professionals from the leader in $100K- $500K careers. In about 90 minutes, Cenedella shares the best insights and hand-picked advice from decades-long experience.

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#23 Ladders 2019 Resume Guide by Marc Cenedella

Ladders 2019 Resume Guide by Marc Cenedella
In this 2019 updated edition to the Amazon bestseller, the author of America’s largest career advice newsletter shares best practices and expert advice for writing a great resume, without the drama or agony, in a quick 90 minute read.

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#24 Linchpin: Are You Indispensable by Seth Godin

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable by Seth Godin
Why? Each morning on the subway on my way to work at JP Morgan Chase I would read this book. It truly helped me discover my hidden potential and strengthened my mindset towards being an indispensable employee. I learned to be bolder and take on tasks or projects that I would’ve said passed to in fear that I wasn’t good enough. The author refers to this as the lizard brain the paralysing fear that stops us for from taking action and being bold. Above all, I started to feel a lot more confident, more respected and admired in the office as I was consciously pushing my boundaries every day.

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#25 The Boomerang Principle: Inspire Lifetime Loyalty from Your Employees by Lee Caraher

The Boomerang Principle: Inspire Lifetime Loyalty from Your Employees by Lee Caraher
I realise that the desire for most employees to remain at a company forever is unrealistic. Even so, there is something to be said for the benefits of inspiring loyalty among your workforce. Caraher does a fantastic job of explaining the many benefits, among which are employees returning later in their career, coming back as customers, referring clients, and remaining a brand advocate.

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Contributors to this article
Marc Afzal from Sell Quick California, LLC

Alexandra McDougall from Phelan Construction

Keli Hammond from KeliHammond

Marc Ballance from Ballance Hair & Beauty

Chris Tuff from TheMillennialWhisperer

Timothy Wiedman from Doane College

Cassidy Colarik from Austin Macauley Publishers

Michael Chmura from Babson College

Adil Sadout from Valrin

Cassidy Colarik from Austin Macauley Publishers

Juhi Kore from N/A

Francine Bray from Golden Quill Press

Don Wede from Heartland Funding Inc.

Suzanne Garber from SafetyNetworkbook

Christine Mitterbauer from Christine Coaching

Janine Hornsby from Austin Macauley Publishers

Stephanie Ciosek from Ladders

Ian B. from Kredmo

Yaniv Masjedi from Nextiva

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