10 Best Career Books To Read Today

Here is a selection of books about choosing the perfect job and creating a meaningful career in the modern workplace, ranging from new releases to best-sellers.

#1. Do What You Are: Discover the Perfect Career for You Through the Secrets of Personality Type by Paul D. Tieger, Barbara Barron, Kelly Tieger

Do What You Are employs Myers-Briggs personality types to provide readers with job advice. The book begins with a personality test to identify the identities of the readers, after which it offers careers and outlines strengths and weaknesses based on the results.

There are chapters for each kind, including an analysis of which jobs are most stimulating and gratifying to certain personalities.

The book advises on how to find a job that complements one’s interests and natural skillsets, as well as how to advance and gain leadership positions within one’s chosen field.

Do What You Are explains how to choose a professional who can help you reach your full potential and customize your career. This is one of the best career books to read today.

#2. What Color Is Your Parachute? 2021: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers by Richard N. Bolles

What Color Is Your Parachute is one of the best career books to read today. This helpful guide teaches you how to navigate the job search and discover fulfilling work.

The Flower Exercise, a self-inventory tool, is used in the book to assist readers to get to the heart of their work identity and discover what motivates them professionally.

This book also includes tips on resumes, job interviews, salary negotiations, and beginning your own business. What Color Is Your Parachute is the ultimate guide to determining the best career path for you.

#3. Designing Your Work Life: How to Thrive and Change and Find Happiness at Work by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

Designing Your Work Life is a spin-off of the best-selling Designing Your Life. While many self-help career books focus on obtaining the perfect job, Designing Your Work-Life teaches readers how to be happy in their existing employment by changing their attitudes and behavior.

The book encourages readers to avoid classifying workplaces as “excellent jobs” or “poor jobs”. And encourages them to look for solutions to transform miserable circumstances by reframing dysfunctional beliefs in more productive ways.

Designing Your Work-Life addresses issues such as the balance of money and meaning, office politics, and resiliency.

The book also discusses how to gently exit if the prescribed actions do not result in fulfillment. This is one of the best career books to read today.

#4. So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love by Cal Newport

So Good They Can’t Ignore You is a skill-development manifesto. While most people feel that “following one’s passion” is the key to professional satisfaction, Cal Newport contends that ability and competency are the factors that help people find purpose and pleasure in their work.

To put it another way, most professionals don’t know what they want to accomplish until they do it. Building abilities and developing the craft leads to excitement about work, rather than waiting for inspiration to strike.

The book analyses case studies of professionals who enjoy what they do and lays out a strategy for swiftly becoming skilled at and enjoying work.

So Good They Can’t Ignore You reveal the attributes that most assist people in standing out among their peers and choosing a career that stands out from the crowd. This makes this one of the best career books to read.

#5. The New Rules of Work: The Modern Playbook for Navigating Your Career by Alexandra Cavoulacos and Kathryn Minshew

The New Rules of Work is one of the best career books for modern-day career advice. In an era of ever-changing opportunities, the conventional advice of “find a decent job and work hard to progress through the ranks over several decades” hardly applies.

Instead, many professionals are thinking more strategically and changing positions more frequently to continue improving and have more control over their careers.

This book lays out strategies for locating and securing attractive jobs, networking, and creating a good first impression.

The authors are the creators of the well-known job-search website The Muse. The New Rules of Work is an excellent resource for anyone wishing to master the job search and achieve modern career success.

#6. Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One by Jenny Blake

Pivot is a manifesto for changing direction and reclaiming control over your career. The book shows how to take tiny measures that will put you in a better position for a better job.

Reduce decision fatigue, for example, or clarify your vision statement, uncover work-history highlights, or broaden your zone of influence.

This book teaches readers how to shift course and explore new chances, whether by changing occupations or redefining roles inside their existing organization or by switching jobs and industries entirely.

Pivot is a step-by-step guide that makes the process of professional reinvention considerably less intimidating because the book argues for a gradual approach rather than a quit-and-start-from-scratch approach. Being one of the best career books to read today, it is a must-read.

#7. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink

One of the best career books to read today, Drive delves deeply into the world of motivation. The book delves into the psychology behind the motivations that motivate people to behave, drawing on decades of behavioral study.

Money, for example, is a considerably less motivator than the need for self-expression and the desire to make a difference. The book aims to gain a better understanding of how the brain works and to improve employee mindsets.

Workers can find more appropriate professional objectives and managers can more effectively encourage team members by recognizing actual motivations and sources of fulfillment.

Drive unlocks the doors to passion and excellent performance at work by assisting professionals in caring about their work and finding work that they are passionate about.

#8. Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success by Adam Grant

The goal of Give and Take is to reinvent the notion of success. Adam Grant believes that relationships, rather than luck, hard work, or aptitude, are the most important component in determining career success.

The most successful people add value to their professional interactions and, simply expressed, give more than they take. This generosity produces gratitude, which results in a trustworthy reputation and more opportunities.

The book describes three categories of professionals: “takers,” who receive more than they contribute, “matchers,” who aim to make all trades equal, and “givers,” who put in the most effort without considering the benefits.

Grant contends that, contrary to conventional belief, these “givers” routinely outperform and earn various rewards in their employment. Give and Take includes case stories and statistics that show the advantages of being professionally generous and sincere. It is one of the best career books to read today.

#9. What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There is a how-to guide for next-level professional advancement and one of the best career books to read today for career development.

Often, the habits that lead to early professional success are insufficient to sustain success or propel individuals to higher tiers.

Professionals must always learn and improve to thrive in today’s competitive corporate world. This book defines the characteristics that distinguish elite performers from the pack.

The book examines twenty common habits that inhibit high achievement and recommends self-improvement actions such as listening, praising, and following up. What Got You Here Won’t Get You There is chock-full of practical, realistic advice for advancing to the top of any career.

#10. Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges by Amy Cuddy

Readers will learn how to convey confidence and competence in professional encounters by reading Presence.

Amy Cuddy, a Harvard researcher and the speaker of the iconic “power posture” TED Talk, reveals physical and mental techniques that may make or break relationships and first impressions.

This book explains how to make minor modifications to one’s body language and thinking to assist professionals to perform better in high-stakes scenarios such as job interviews or deal negotiations.

Presence is a how-to manual for overcoming professional obstacles and becoming the best version of yourself at every stage of your career. This is one of the best career books to read today.

What Is a Career Path?

A career path is a long-term plan that comprises distinct occupations that lead to the desired employment. An organizational career path and a personal career path are the two types of career routes.

Organizational Career Path

A career path created with your direct manager is known as an organizational career path (also known as a career ladder or vertical career plan). The goal is to advance up a company’s career ladder.

While many career routes lead to management jobs, there are several options for those who do not want to work in management.

Many businesses have already established a career path structure for their staff. Here’s an example of how the procedure might work: You and your manager devise a career plan.

Together, you will set career objectives for yourself. These objectives will help you prepare for the next step in your career, and they include:

Contributing to special initiatives
Participating in an online course
Getting a certificate
Colleague mentoring
A day spent shadowing a coworker

You should examine your milestones and goals regularly to keep on track with your career path. You should also meet with your direct manager at least quarterly to discuss your career plan. Set aside time with your manager to check in on your progress.

Personal Career Path

A personal professional path is one you design for yourself. It is based on a self-evaluation of your abilities, interests, hobbies, values, and passions.

A personal professional path can establish the groundwork for your future job without tying you down to a single business.

If you’re ready to plan your career, make a list of the talents you’re good at, followed by your interests and hobbies.

Then, write the things that are most important to you.

Examine everything on your list and consider the industries that could benefit from your skills. Consider a career in education if you enjoy working with youngsters. If you prefer healthcare to teach, consider a career as a pediatric nurse or doctor.

You may also take a career path quiz or a personality test to determine which jobs are ideal for you.

You have ultimate control over your career growth with a personal career path. A personal professional path may cause more effort, but it may be extremely rewarding.

You must identify materials that will assist you in your career development. Investigate the items that will help you get the next job.

Network with other professionals in your industry, even if they work for a different company.

Types Of Career Paths

Career routes are classified into four types: knowledge-based, skill-based, entrepreneur-based, and freelance. Every professional path caters to a certain set of qualifications that will assist you in performing your work.

#1. Knowledge

Knowledge-based career routes allow you to apply what you’ve learned through time to your profession. Human resources, marketing, and accounting employees all pursue knowledge-based careers. IT experts and engineers are two such examples.

#2. Skills

Skill-based occupations cause an understanding of how a certain job function works. These are frequently physical, hands-on, or service abilities. Many of these positions are found in the construction business, as well as in the fields of entertainers, artists, and restaurant cooks.

Many positions are cross-functional, as you may have noticed. Your job may cause a mix of knowledge-based and skill-based labor. This is true for lawyers, doctors, and administrative staff.

#3. Entrepreneurs

By selling their own product or service, an entrepreneur solves a problem or a specific need. An entrepreneur can work for themselves or establish a business and hire staff. Many firms, including BetterUp, begin with an entrepreneur attempting to solve a consumer need.

#4. Freelance

People hire independent contractors (also known as freelancers) to complete a specific task. Freelancers provide a wide range of services, such as graphic design, consultancy, house repair, and photography.

FAQs On The Best Career Books To Read Today

What are career books?

Career books are guides that help readers choose a fitting job field and develop professionally. These works cover topics like job searching, forming relationships, and building skills. These books help readers find job satisfaction and flourish career-wise.

What are the steps to change a career path?

The following are steps that will guide you to change your career path.
Take a personal inventory
Decide if you want to change industries
Brainstorm careers
Research potential job matches
Make an action plan
Rebrand yourself
use your network
Consider educational resources and develop new skills

What is career?

A career is the variety of experiences that you have undertaken throughout your life. As you gain more experience in the worlds of work and life, you are building your career. Your career path considers your education, training, and paid or unpaid work.

What is career guidance and the path to it?

Career guidance refers to the services and activities intended to assist individuals of any age and at any point throughout their lives, to make educational training and occupational choices and to manage their careers.
Find an “Academy” Organization.
Remain Tech-Savvy.
Develop Skills to Carry With You.
Think Globally.
Keep a “Success Journal”
Build Your Professional Network.
Scan the Environment.
Keep a Clear and Open Career Path.

Conclusion

There are hundreds of professionals available to assist you in motivating yourself to develop and find meaningful work. Many of them have authored books to share their knowledge with the rest of us.

Take advantage of the sound guidance by reading the best career books listed above so that you can find the perfect job or advance in your career.

10 Best Career Books To Read Today | 2023

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What Exactly Are Career Books?