Real-world guidance to launch your career
Find quality job leads, stand out in applications, ace interviews, and thrive once you’re hired.
Launch Your Career With Confidence
Many people starting out feel overwhelmed by internships, job hunting, and the uncertainty of “the real world.”
Career: ON provides the practical, real-world tools you need to get hired and begin building a working life that actually fits who you are.
If you want to feel prepared, not overwhelmed, this book can help.
You’ll Learn How To:
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Find internship and job leads that turn into offers
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Write stronger resumes and cover letters
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Network without feeling awkward or fake
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Interview confidently: in person, by video, and in AI interviews
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Develop habits that lead to long-term career success
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Avoid common early-career mistakes
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Build a career - and a life - that feels meaningful to you
Activate Your Career and Build a Life
That Fits You.
What's Inside the Book
PART 1: ACHIEVING LIFTOFF
Getting your first “career” job can be a lonely and frustrating experience, especially if you approach it the wrong way — which is common when you first go through it.
1. Finding Job Leads
2. Submitting Your Application
3. Preparing For Your Interview
4. Acing Your Interview
PART 2: NAVIGATING ORBIT
What it’s really like at work, including what to expect from your first day through the end of your first year, as well as what to do when the unexpected happens.
5. How Organizations Work
6. Year One on the Job
7. "Houston, We Have a Problem"
PART 3: REACHING ESCAPE VELOCITY
The keys to building momentum in your career, beyond the first year. Knowledge and experience matter, but your relationships and how you work with others are just as important.
8. The Career Rocket
9. Communicate Effectively
10. Influence Diplomatically
11. Self-Advocate Intentionally
PART 4: COMPLETING YOUR MISSION
A framework for building a sustainable life.
Goldilocks was on to something when she said, “Not too hot, not too cold, but just right.”
The same principle works for the 5 Fs.
12. Family
13. Finance
14. Fitness
15. Fun
16. Future
Reviews from Readers
Hi, I'm Paul.
Growing up in a working-class suburb in Australia in the 1970s meant no one talked about “career strategy,” but everyone understood hard work. And being the first in my family to go to college, then later earning an MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth, was a big leap from where I started. There were no family connections in finance or consulting, and none of us knew anyone on a board of directors, but from trainee accountant to Chief Operating Officer of a US public company...it’s been a rewarding career.
Across 35 years, I’ve worked at startups and global companies, in all sorts of functions, and in quite a few countries. Along the way came generous mentors, super-smart colleagues, and some valuable lessons from people who showed what not to do.
Career: ON grew out of all of it. It’s the real-world advice I certainly could have used when I was starting out, the stuff they don’t teach you in classrooms.
This started as notes for my sons. Maybe you’ll find it helpful, wherever you are on your professional journey.
