Publisher's Weekly Review
First published in 1984, and now reprinted in an anniversary edition, this book contains concepts as pertinent today as they were 20 years ago. The first chapter opens with the question, "Are you as happy on Monday morning as you are on Friday morning?" Anderson, a career counselor, believes that people who love their work will be. She sets out to help readers identify their passions and determine how those interests can translate into a career that pays the bills. More emotionally charged than most career books, this volume also delves into the meaning of personal history and childhood events, and carefully considers feelings, self-perception and motivation. Points are illustrated with detailed real-life stories of Anderson's clients. It's not all smooth sailing for the case study subjects, who experience "the normal anxiety and fear that are part of risk-taking" and have been hit by "the need for security that can draw us back into the familiar." To facilitate a realistic transition, Anderson's thorough process goes beyond simply identifying what one wants to do and explains how to research, network and even strike out on one's own in order to achieve a passion-worthy career. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Review
Sloganeering gabble from a California career consultant--launched under false What Color Is Your Parachute? colors. (For readers chary of their time: there are also lots of blanks to fill in.) The idea, guessable from title and subtitle, is that everyone has a passion--maybe a secret passion--and some sort of ""genius""; but ""in order to discover your passion and release your power, you must accept yourself as you are,"" and so on. That takes about a third of the book, and it's where most of the self-tests appear. Next there are exercises to set goals that match your passions. (Apart from writing your epitaph and making lists, you have a collage assignment: ""Your passion will be on the collage, symbolized perhaps, but it will be there."") Then comes ""targeting the work you are really interested in""--with an explanation of the Standard Industrial Classification Manual and additional work-sheets. Shortly we get to researching ""the organizations and people you want to know more about""--and lots of varied low-down on establishing contacts: some of it good business sense (""focus on the section of the company. . .""), some of it common sense spun out (""If you want to talk to a television producer, watch the show. Study it, Make notes""). One of the better sections concerns advice calls or interviews--plus and minus personal, industry, and company questions (and when to ask those ""minus,"" problem-probing ones). Dismissively introduced, there are also examples of various kinds of rÉsumÉs. In any case, this is practical advice only incidentally--and in no way comparable to Richard Bolles' pithy and precise Parachute. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.