Career TOOLBOX #34: 6 Books to Boost a Graduate’s Career

Read Your Way to the Top

With lots of graduates entering the workforce and with new job openings springing to life, now’s a great time to dig into smart books that will help boost your career. Each week Amazon seems to showcase hundreds of new self-help, how-to and business titles, all promising a new, rich life full of success and money.

The process to make the choice to read the right, most influential book that will influence our lives in a positive way can be overwhelming. What’s actionable for some will be absurd for others. What’s relateable for you can be a total disconnect for a friend.

To be clear, none of the books I included on this list came out this year and I read most of them prior to 2014. But, I have thought about them, referenced them or leaned on them frequently. Their wisdom is timeless and, if you’ve recently graduated and are open to post-textbook discovery, these authors and their words and advice will lead you down a good professional path.

Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and in Life by Donald Trump – Love him or hate him The Donald tells it like it is. In a generation of political correctness, his words will motivate you to fight for your job, your profession and your worth. Because no one owes you anything and in today’s competitive world, you have to fight for everything you want.

Oh, The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss – Whether a recent college grad or someone looking to shift how they earn a living, Dr. Seuss, with his perfect tempo rhyme and comforting wisdom, steers our inner child through the complex world of the unknown. It is only by exploring risk, with no helicopter parents to rescue you, that develops your character.

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell – In an age of instant gratification Gladwell presents case study after case study of why certain individuals became the mega success that they are. You want to be a well known industry leader? Put in your 10,000 hours. As in do the work, every single day, for hours upon hours and don’t expect any ribbons for doing so.

Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charam with Charles Burck – I’ve written about this title before, and for good reason. We can talk about our ideas all day. We can even complain how someone else isn’t being respectful to our thoughts. But, bottom line, it’s the doing of things that generates results. Put action before words. Watch the magic happen.

The Daily Drucker: 366 Days of Insight and Motivation for Getting the Right Things Done by Peter Drucker – The original Godfather of corporate management, this man had the wherewithal to understand that recruiting, hiring, training and mentoring quality talent to do what’s right vs. what’s easy is, above all, the way to generate long-term success. Read his daily nuggets of wisdom daily, do what he says and others will quickly take notice.

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg – If you are female graduate and are ready to position yourself against the competition, I strongly encourage you to read this reality check of what’s expected out of you. Because if you’re not ready to give it your all, every single minute of every single day, then you will not only not thrive, you won’t survive the environment. Yes, it really is that tough and brutal, so equip yourself with the truth now.

Image: Google.com

Reprinted with permission and gratitude from CoolCleveland.com.