A while back, I started toying with a book on how an English major can get a job at NASA. Well, a website/group called Dear English Major has released a book that covers some of the same ground, focusing specifically on the concrete tasks needed to pursue a job out of college.
As the title implies, From Graduation to Career Ready in 21 Days: A Guide for English Majors is a time-limited, step-by-step process to help the reader through the process of job hunting. In fact, while it’s addressed to its target audience (many of the same people as who read this blog), the advice could apply to any “fresh-out” college student, and so is useful well beyond that audience.
Covering topics from wardrobe to what you share on social media to tailoring your resume to networking, Alyssa Christensen succinctly provides practical advice for the process of job-hunting. And when I say succinct, I’m not kidding: this paperback is 64 pages long and can be read in less than an hour if you’re not taking notes. I highly recommend it. While I am a few years beyond graduating college and have been through the interview process a few times since then, I still found some pieces of advice worth acting on, so like I said, it’s worth reading.
As for whether I’ll get back on track writing my own book, I’d have to say that the sorts of questions I get are very situational and specific:
- “I have X experience and I’m trying to pursue a career in Y field. How do I go about getting the job I want?”
- “I have X situation in my career/task, how should I approach it?”
I suppose there’s still room for the types of wisdom this blog can dispense. From Graduation to Career Ready is good for people just starting out, but I seem to get questions about people who are already working and trying to handle or change what they’re doing. might require a separate posting…and maybe a dusting-off of the book I’ve let languish over the summer. Stay tuned (that means “keep coming back to this site” for those of you who aren’t old enough to have tuned a TV set).
Meanwhile, go buy this book. It’s worth your time.
