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Summary: Lucht's Book Delivers Helpful Advice Overall
Review: "Rites of Passage" provides an insider's advice on how to navigate through the often uncertain waters of job-changing at the executive level. It should be distinctly understood that the book is intended for higher-level executives -- much of the advice in the book is unsuitable for lower and mid management career changes. I especially liked the well-developed idea that an executive should avoid being presented to a company with a price tag on her head (the recruiter's fee), and should attempt to make herself known directly, without "representation". This is a novel idea that makes sense after you read the book, and this one idea alone is worth the read.Lucht details an effective plan to go directly to company decision makers for the top jobs. The plan is not presented as a faddish, magic wand technique, but as a no-nonsense "elbow grease" way to get noticed. There are some problems with the book. First, job changing at all levels is in flux these days, largely because of -- you guessed it -- the Internet. You get the idea that Mr. Lucht was caught off guard by this new big thing. He devotes only a couple of pages, stuck disjointedly in the middle of the book, to online recruitment and job-posting, and nothing at all to how technology will affect the industry. I would have preferred a more thorough going-over of the world of contingency recruiters, but since they find jobs for lower level managers, Mr. Lucht gives the contingency recruiters a light touch. The book is odd typographically. For some reason, text in parenthesis is in a font that appears to be several sizes smaller than the regular text, giving the reader the impression that the typesetter just discovered font menus in Microsoft Word. The text often switches between bold and regular and italic, sometimes on the same page. My eyeballs at times were crying "enough already!" Overall, however, I would recommend the book because it contains some powerful ideas, along with an understanding of the motivations and limitations of executive recruiters. "Rites of Passage" leaves you with the impression that you just got good advice on executive job hunting from a distinguished uncle, without having to feed him dinner.
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Summary: This book is out of date for today's job market
Review: a great resource for executive job searching--includes the best of the best headhunter agencies---the only qualm i had was that he sold his own website throughout the book which was a little too much like a used car salesman for me
the long job search example at the end was good but a bit too unrealistic
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Summary: What you need to know about Executive Job Changing
Review: After 10 months of being an unemployed executive, I stumbled across this book. I wish someone had told me the 2 truths I am about to tell you! If you are an executive, do not -under any circumstances- contact a recruiter without reading this book. Secondly, do not -under any circumstances- post your resume on the Web without studying the chapter about the Internet. Let's face it, as an execuitve, it's sometimes feasible to sneak by pretending to know more than you do. But when it comes to getting your next job, what you don't know is detrimental. And all of the typical "get a better job" books don't cater to executives. Trust me, the time to get educated about the world of recruiting and executive level job changing is while you are still employed. And the place to get educated is Rites of Passage. Then just when you think you've gotten all possible benefit from the book, it's time to visit Lucht's Website, RiteSite.com for more. P.S. If you hadn't guessed, I credit using Rites of Passage and the Recruiter lists I downloaded from it's Website with helping me land my new job!
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Summary: Rites of Passage by John Lucht
Review: I am Executive Vice President-Sourcing of a listed U.S. company. Rites of Passage by John Lucht has helped me more than I can express in words when I had to look for a new position. The book was easy to read, very succinct and provided all the information I needed to prepare a strong resume and letter. Following the advice in the book, I sent my resume to companies I wanted to work for and was able to get a new position within a few weeks in my preferred location, Hong Kong. I owe Rites of Passage my new career! Any Executive looking for a new position could not do any better than use the guidance and help Rites of Passage provides. It is an invaluable tool and one that I will treasure always, because it helped me have a great new career. Recently, I have purchased the book for a couple friends who have been helped by Lucht's coverage of Internet job-hunting for executives, a real problem if you're stranded abroad.
Erna Zint, Hong Kong
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Summary: Great insights and great advice
Review: I bought this book based upon the recommendations I read in one of the executive recruiting sites. The book is not only a good read, but it is full in great information for both the employed and unemployed professionals everywhere. John Lucht does a great job of explaining a great deal of recruiting behavior in a simple, easy to comprehend manner. Reading this book should help you wherever you are in your career. Good luck!
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Summary: Great insights and great advice
Review: I bought this book based upon the recommendations I read in one of the executive recruiting sites. The book is not only a good read, but it is full in great information for both the employed and unemployed professionals everywhere. John Lucht does a great job of explaining a great deal of recruiting behavior in a simple, easy to comprehend manner. Reading this book should help you wherever you are in your career. Good luck!
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Summary: Great Book Lead to Fantastic Job
Review: I can't say enough about how Rites of Passage has helped me. Mr. Lucht's approach is certainly different from the usual run-of-the-mill 'read my book and get a wonderful job' book. His thinking is RIGHT ON TARGET. I read and reread Rites of Passage, and then worked my way through his Executive Job Changing Workbook. Was it a lot of work on my part? Yes. Did I get the job I wanted? No -- I got a BETTER JOB than I had originally hoped for! Thank you, Mr. Lucht!
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Summary: Wonderful Book Very Informative
Review: I purchased "Rites of Passage" when it first came out and used it as a text book for a job search at that time. Now I am going through another search and I bought the new version of the book. It contains valuable information that is so up to date! I am so thankful for all the information concerning using the Internet and using it in a career search today. John is still the expert in the field and keeps updating his material to help any high level executive.
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Summary: On-line Rites
Review: John Lucht has been a recruiter for 30 years and has been writing executive guides for nearly as long. You need to get this edition as he has thoroughly updated his material to explain rules, procedures, and protocols for job-hunting on the Internet. I was an unemployed executive for nearly a year before landing my current position and Lucht's book is the roadmap for any similar journey. He has insightful sections on resumes, cover letters, severance negotiations, outplacement, networking, references, as well as the better known how-to-guide for dealing with all stripes of recruiters. Don't get hung-up on the title. While Lucht is most familiar with recruiting at the C-level, most of this applies equally well for managers, directors, and experienced professionals. The only criticism I have is that Lucht is focused on job-hunting in strong markets, and needs more analysis of today's humbling markets. He is fairly critical of the typical outplacement service that considers it a success when they place laid-off software executives as owner-operators of ice cream parlors and coffee shops and franchisees of muffler and transmission repair stores. Lucht also thoughtfully debunks a lot of media myths about finding work without a resume or a network. His promotion of direct mail as a marketing tool sounds old-fashioned but it works if you understand that less than 1% of your mail will yield leads, but these are likely leads that would not have been otherwise obtained. Lucht also has built a useful website and avoids the high fees and endless cross-promotions that his competitors favor.
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Summary: The Gold Standard
Review: John's book is the gold standard of executive job-changing.
I just purchased my fourth copy of Rites and plan to use it to land a fourth terrific job. I discovered the Rites of Passage during my first career transition in 1989 and have followed its patented formula to multiple offers everytime. John's writing style and his thorough understanding of the transition process will make you feel as if you are sitting down and talking to an old wise friend. Thanks to John and his landmark book, my family and I have always lived a comfortable lifesyle. The Rites of Passage are a must buy for any serious executive considering a job change.
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