How Successful Career Changers Turn Fantasy into RealityWhether as a daydream or a spoken desire, nearly all of us have entertained the notion of reinventing ourselves. Feeling unfulfilled, burned out, or just plain unhappy with what we’re doing, we long to make that leap into the unknown. But we also hold on, white-knuckled, to the years of time and effort we’ve invested in our current profession.In this powerful book, Herminia Ibarra presents a new model for career reinvention that flies in the face of everything we’ve learned from "career experts." While common wisdom holds that we must first know what we want to do before we can act, Ibarra argues that this advice is backward. Knowing, she says, is the result of doing and experimenting. Career transition is not a straight path toward some predetermined identity, but a crooked journey along which we try on a host of "possible selves" we might become.Based on her in-depth research on professionals and managers in transition, Ibarra outlines an active process of career reinvention that leverages three ways of "working identity": experimenting with new professional activities, interacting in new networks of people, and making sense of what is happening to us in light of emerging possibilities.Through engrossing stories—from a literature professor turned stockbroker to an investment banker turned novelist—Ibarra reveals a set of guidelines that all successful reinventions share. She explores specific ways that hopeful career changers of any background can: Explore possible selves Craft and execute "identity experiments" Create "small wins" that keep momentum going Survive the rocky period between career identities Connect with role models and mentors who can ease the transition Make time for reflection—without missing out on windows of opportunity Decide when to abandon the old path in order to follow the new Arrange new events into a coherent story of who we are becoming A call to the dreamer in each of us, Working Identity explores the process for crafting a more fulfilling future. Where we end up may surprise us.

'A beautifully told story of courage, determination and, above all, magnificent defiance' Alan Johnson 'Bracing and inspirational' Nigella Lawson 'A wonderful writer... life-affirming' Jon Snow 'There are lots of reasons to read this book, which has the fineness of detail, sharpness of humour and grace of a novel by Penelope Lively. But it's this business of changing one's mind - the thing most of us least like to do - that I admired the most' Observer 'I am immersed in a new world that feels a long way from my old one. Though I've not been re-invented, what has happened is just as radical and a lot more interesting: I am being re-educated.' Lucy Kellaway had a comfortable life. For years she had the same prestigious job, the same husband, and the same home. To the casual observer, she was both happy and successful. But one day, Lucy began to realise that the life she had built for herself no longer suited her. Was it too late to start again? The answer was no - so she proceeded to tear down both marriage and career, and went back to school. Retraining as a teacher, Lucy discovers there is a world of new possibilities awaiting her - and learns that you can teach an old dog new tricks (providing they are willing to un-learn a few old ones along the way). A witty and moving story of one woman's pursuit of a new life, Re-educated is a celebration of education's power to transform our lives at any age, and an essential companion for anyone facing the joy - and pain - of starting again.

How is it possible that both university graduates and unfilled job openings are both at record-breaking highs? Our world has changed. New and emerging occupations in every industry now require a combination of academic knowledge and technical ability. With rising education costs, mounting student debt, fierce competition for jobs, and the oversaturation of some academic majors in the workforce, we need to once again guide students towards personality-aligned careers and not just into college. Extensively researched, (Re)Defining the Goal deconstructs the prevalent "one-size-fits-all" education agenda. The author provides a fresh perspective, replicable strategies, and outlines six proven steps to help students secure a competitive advantage in the new economy. Gain a new paradigm and the right resources to help students avoid the pitfalls of unemployment, or underemployment, after graduation.

Your next act starts now. You're ready for something new, but it's hard to start over. Just the idea of trading the security you have now for the unknown or throwing away the education and time you've invested in your current career can plunge you into a swirl of indecision and anxiety. But mixing things up every few years is an increasingly normal and cyclical part of a healthy work life--a way to gain new skills and stretch your existing ones by applying them to different contexts. Whether you know what you want to do next or you're still evaluating options, the HBR Guide to Changing Your Career will help you: Imagine other professional selves Identify the skills you need--and those you already possess that will transfer to another industry Assess the financial implications of the change you're considering Try out new roles without endangering your current job Explain a seemingly winding career path Pitch yourself into a new role

We all know someone who is dissatisfied with their career but feels trapped in their current trajectory. What's not always clear is how they got there or, more importantly, how we can avoid the same fate as we develop our own careers. In a competitive job market, we need concrete, field-tested advice to help us ace the interview, land the job, and launch a career we love. Enter Dee Ann Turner. After more than three decades leading teams and coaching staff members at Chick-fil-A, she knows what it takes to build a fulfilling career. In this practical, hands-on book she reveals the secrets of - finding a job - preparing for an interview - conquering the first 90 days - managing work relationships - overcoming mistakes - adding value to your team - and so much more Anyone entering the job market or hoping to make a transition in their career--along with the parents, teachers, college counselors, or career counselors who coach them--will find invaluable, hard-won advice on how to create a work life you love.

Bestselling author offers a step-by-step program to making the right choices about a new career move Don't fear taking the leap into a new career with this seven step program from bestselling author and life coach Talane Miedaner. Whatever the situation or economic environment, Coach Yourself to a New Career gives you the tools to take matters into your own hands by assessing your needs and strengths, finding the right work fit, weighing options and possible sacrifices, and preparing your family for transitions. Packed with expert advice and helpful examples from her many statistical clients—as well as her own career change process—Miedaner shows how anyone can reinvent their professional life. Coach Yourself to a New Career: Offers a seven-step approach to career reinvention and practical advice for a smooth transition Profiles everyday people who achieved career reinvention on their own terms - and what their stories can teach you Shows you how to assess your needs and strengths Helps you decide what tough decisions or sacrifices you may have to make Prepares your spouse or family for transition Miedaner shares her own story of launching her coaching business—with careful planning, hard work, commitment and faith. She shows how you can follow other’s examples to achieve the professional life you want.

This powerful guide for new employees provides proven strategies to succeed in the first 90 days in a new job. You will learn valuable tactics that can be applied by any new hire in any career path.

A deeply-reported examination of why "doing what you love" is a recipe for exploitation, creating a new tyranny of work in which we cheerily acquiesce to doing jobs that take over our lives. You're told that if you "do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life." Whether it's working for "exposure" and "experience," or enduring poor treatment in the name of "being part of the family," all employees are pushed to make sacrifices for the privilege of being able to do what we love. In Work Won't Love You Back, Sarah Jaffe, a preeminent voice on labor, inequality, and social movements, examines this "labor of love" myth—the idea that certain work is not really work, and therefore should be done out of passion instead of pay. Told through the lives and experiences of workers in various industries—from the unpaid intern, to the overworked teacher, to the nonprofit worker and even the professional athlete—Jaffe reveals how all of us have been tricked into buying into a new tyranny of work. As Jaffe argues, understanding the trap of the labor of love will empower us to work less and demand what our work is worth. And once freed from those binds, we can finally figure out what actually gives us joy, pleasure, and satisfaction.