10 must-read books that promise to give your career a boost

If you’re struggling to find a career, get promoted, or get out of a job rut, a friend’s advice is probably the last thing you want to hear.

Advice from an expert, however, might be just the thing. Pick up one of these recently published career advice books—and get ready to dust off those job interview clothes or accept that promotion.

Build Your Dream Network, Kelly Hoey

Does the thought of networking make you cringe? Well, author and businesswoman Kelly Hoey wants you to think of networking simply as making yourself visible. “When you know people, and those people know what you do,” she writes, “success knows how to find you.” She also explains why she thinks introverts are actually better at networking than extroverts. Go figure.

Wait, What? And Life’s Other Essential Questions, James E. Ryan

Written by the dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, James E. Ryan, this book poses five key questions to ask yourself in order to achieve career success. According to Ryan, “It’s so easy to make assumptions that put you in a job that’s wrong for you, where you aren’t at your best, and that’s always a mistake.”

Extreme You: Step Up. Stand Out. Kick Ass. Repeat, Sarah Robb O’Hagan

Author and entrepreneur Sarah Robb O’Hogan states it very succinctly: “No one succeeds without failure. It’s a necessary step on the way to success.” In this book, she retells her own story of being fired and how that transformed into self-awareness—an important asset in today’s marketplace.

What to Do When Machines Do Everything, Ben Pring

Ben Pring, Director of the Center for the Future of Work, recognizes that robots will replace some jobs, but he also sees AI as a tool that we should all learn how to use, just as we learned Microsoft Word. There’s opportunity in new technologies to create a new workplace. We just need to harness them.

A Message to Millennials: What Your Parents Didn’t Tell You and Your Employer Needs You to Know, Tracey C. Jones

Tracey C. Jones is the career mentor you’ve been looking for. She dispenses smart, actionable career advice to help you navigate the work world, stressing that, “success takes time. You’re a work in progress.”

Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One, Jenny Blake

Jenny Blake devised a four-stage process she calls “the pivot method” to help get you unstuck from a career plateau and get better at adapting to change. Although change incites fear in many of us, Blake offers ways to gauge that fear on a “risk-o-meter,” and provides methods to harness its full potential and move you forward.

Tinker Dabble Doodle Try, Dr. Srini Pillay

Looking for an excuse to start daydreaming at work? Well, psychiatrist and brain-imaging researcher Dr. Srini Pillay offers one, plus other compelling techniques to help you increase productivity at work by allowing your brain to unfocus. He also makes a compelling case for getting nap pods in the office. 

7 Secrets of Persuasion, James Crimmins

You followed the best advice on writing your resume and cover letter. Now it’s time for the interview, and you need to persuade someone to hire you. In this book, James Crimmins, former chief strategic officer at ad agency DDB Chicago, melds neuroscience and technique to create his seven secrets to persuasion, outlining how you can use them to talk someone into offering you a job.

Modern Etiquette for a Better Life, Diane Gottsman

The definition of good manners is always changing. That goes for business etiquette, as well. Diane Gottsman offers what she calls, “CliffsNotes for living,” featuring practical advice on when to give out your business card and when not to go into the office.

Weird in a World That's Not: a Career Guide for Misfits, F*ckups and Failures, Jennifer Romolini

Do you ever feel stagnant in your career while your friends are moving up the ladder? Well, that’s exactly how Jennifer Romolini felt. After years of dead-end jobs, Romolini took charge and came out on top. Now she has some very straightforward advice for young workers today, which starts with learning how to communicate your ambition to avoid coming across as entitled.