The Play of Your Life: Your Program for Finding the Career of Your Dreams--And a Step-by-Step Guide to Making It a Reality

Rating:
Summary: Unique and Helpful
Review: As a person exploring a career change I found the book extrememly helpful in evaluating different career paths. It also facilitates the integration of your values, past work experience and personality into new career decisions through various exercises. I found the worksheets especially helpful as well as the tips on creating professional resumes and cover letters. The format of the book is easy to follow and the metaphor for the play is one that we can all relate to as we search for the "final act" of our professional lives.

Rating:
Summary: Take center stage in your career
Review: If you are looking for a fresh approach to that drama we call the job search, this book is it. The metaphor that provides the theme of this book is that of performing on a stage. When you think about it, this metaphor is more than just a little appropriate.

When you look for a job, don't you feel you are putting on a performance, in the hopes of pleasing the hiring audience? Don't you dress for the part, and even rehearse your lines? If you are like most job seekers, you even bring a program (resume) to the interview.

Many job seekers study their lines, but deliver stiffly or play to the wrong audience. Or, they audition for a role they just aren't cut out for. If they do get the part, they find themselves miscast. This book helps you avoid those mistakes and others.

While the thespian theme makes this book interesting and engaging, you begin to real value right away. In the first few chapters, the book presents extensive self-assessment tools. In using these, I was impressed with their accuracy. I also found them fun to use. According to a wide selection of literature on the subject, few job seekers properly address this area. One reason for that is it's a tough area to address. Most of us find it too much effort, and so we skip it and hope for the best. Which we seldom get. However, Sabatino makes that self-assessment work seem effortless.

The book would be well worth its price, even if it stopped as early as its third chapter. But, that's only Act One. In Act Two, Sabatino offers hard-hitting, practical advice on everything from landing the interview to negotiating the salary. Her advice on networking is something the career-minded would do well to re-read quarterly.

Throughout, the book contains case histories and examples. So, in addition to providing information in an interesting way it also provides you with a glimpse into what others have done. You can draw lessons from these examples as you walk through the experiences of others.

If you follow this book from start to finish, you will have a well-choreographed job search. You will have addressed all the vital points, leaving nothing to chance. And in today's job market, such an approach can make all the difference.

I give this book a standing ovation.

Rating:
Summary: Take center stage in your career
Review: If you are looking for a fresh approach to that drama we call the job search, this book is it. The metaphor that provides the theme of this book is that of performing on a stage. When you think about it, this metaphor is more than just a little appropriate.

When you look for a job, don't you feel you are putting on a performance, in the hopes of pleasing the hiring audience? Don't you dress for the part, and even rehearse your lines? If you are like most job seekers, you even bring a program (resume) to the interview.

Many job seekers study their lines, but deliver stiffly or play to the wrong audience. Or, they audition for a role they just aren't cut out for. If they do get the part, they find themselves miscast. This book helps you avoid those mistakes and others.

While the thespian theme makes this book interesting and engaging, you begin to real value right away. In the first few chapters, the book presents extensive self-assessment tools. In using these, I was impressed with their accuracy. I also found them fun to use. According to a wide selection of literature on the subject, few job seekers properly address this area. One reason for that is it's a tough area to address. Most of us find it too much effort, and so we skip it and hope for the best. Which we seldom get. However, Sabatino makes that self-assessment work seem effortless.

The book would be well worth its price, even if it stopped as early as its third chapter. But, that's only Act One. In Act Two, Sabatino offers hard-hitting, practical advice on everything from landing the interview to negotiating the salary. Her advice on networking is something the career-minded would do well to re-read quarterly.

Throughout, the book contains case histories and examples. So, in addition to providing information in an interesting way it also provides you with a glimpse into what others have done. You can draw lessons from these examples as you walk through the experiences of others.

If you follow this book from start to finish, you will have a well-choreographed job search. You will have addressed all the vital points, leaving nothing to chance. And in today's job market, such an approach can make all the difference.

I give this book a standing ovation.

Rating:
Summary: Good reference
Review: The book is ok and does a great job in consolidating all the elements required to implement a good job search. However for those that have already organized their career search, have a plan of attack and taken "Myers-Briggs" or "Right Path" assessments, it may not bring enlightenment but help in attaining focus to your previous efforts.

Rating:
Summary: Fresh perspective on an old problem
Review: Using a unique format to help you find the career that will make you happy, author Colleen Sabatino approaches a career search like it is a play. The first act is career exploration. The base on which the rest of the "play" will rest is finding the right career for you. Act two is implementing a successful career search so you can actually get the job you want.

For many people the hardest part of finding the right career is deciding what that career should be. Colleen A. Sabatino addresses that problem in the first part of her book by providing several questionnaires for the reader to fill in. From the results of the questionnaires you determine many of the most critical factors to finding the career you want. Some of the factors examined are your values, personality type, talents, interests, and fascinations.

The next part (beginning of Act Two) is to develop a great resume and tailor it for the audience to whom you will be presenting it. Of course the final part of the play is the actual production. In this section she covers networking, the open job market vs. the hidden job market, and the interview process.

For those who are seeking their first job or seeking to make a career change to a career where they can feel more satisfied this is a book they will want to look at. The Play of Your Life is highly recommended to any career or job seekers.