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The Career Cowards Guide to Interviewing Sensible Strategies for Overcoming Job Search Fears Career Cowards Guides

According to Myers-Briggs test results, 25 percent of the population is introverted. Career experts believe that many introverts know what to do to find a new job, but won’t – or can’t – do what it takes because they fear talking to strangers, looking foolish, or being rejected.

The Career Coward’s Guide to Interviewing helps insecure job seekers combat these fears when facing a job interview. This book analyzes each aspect of a successful interview and provides easy steps for facing self doubts and challenges in a unique and easy-to-tackle format. Readers will learn to think about risk, payoff potential, time to complete, and a bailout strategy for all the obstacles one may face.

Career coach Katy Piotrowski brings her expertise to JIST’s brand-new Career Cowards series to help readers sell their qualifications without “bragging”, develop courageous responses to tough questions, and have the courage to ask for a better salary offer. While other books certainly give strategies for a successful interview, this is one of the few guides that actually addresses the level of discomfort and awkwardness many people feel when trying to present themselves as an outstanding job candidate.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Prepared for Anything
Easy to read with great advice whether you’re interviewing for the first time or the 50th. The specific examples cited in the ‘Career Champ Profiles’ are especially helpful and interesting. Guaranteed to make you feel like you did your homework and you’re prepared for anything!

5 Stars Coward no longer…
Katy’s book, The Career Coward’s Guide to Interviewing, played a strategic

role in helping me land the job of my dreams!

It helped empower me and give me a confidence (that, in the past was

lacking) when I faced the daunting task of sitting before a panel of

interviewers.

5 Stars Wish I Read It Sooner!
This book has been tremendously helpful! I’m a freelance graphic designer and lately many hiring managers have taken to interviewing instead of just meeting for a portfolio review. So I had to learn how to interview ASAP. And I am so incredibly grateful this book existed.

The step by step tips really did help me overcome my fears about interviewing and the tips about following up worked! The hardest and most rewarding section was the “What, How, Proof” stories; being prepared made a world of difference mentally and emotionally. Walking into an interview feeling confident is truly priceless.

If you’re interviewing, please do yourself a huge favor and read this excellent, superlative, useful, informative, approachable, and well-written book!!!

5 Stars Got a new career on first interview after reading this book!!
This was the perfect book for me. I was the ultimate “career coward” so it really made sense to me as I read the book and started preparing for my interview. This book could not have been more helpful and I felt incredibly prepared and confident going into my interview knowing that I had put the work in and practiced my responses. I got an offer 2 weeks after my first interview and I’m so grateful that I had this book as a research tool! I have recommended this book to everyone I know!

5 Stars You don’t have to be a coward to like this book
As a career consultant, I work mostly with mid-life, mid-career professionals who are most definitely not cowards. But I would still recommend this book.

First, I like the way Piotrowski suggests solid answers to tough questions. Most interview questions are pretty dumb but you have to keep a straight face and answer them anyway. (Like the time someone half your age asks, “What are your strengths?” Gimme a break. I want to say, “I survived.”)

Second, Chapter 5 (”Put muscle into your interviewing”) will help you create your resume as well as prepare for your interview. In fact, I would read this chapter before writing your resume (and I would ignore the author’s suggestion about functional resumes — even if you are changing careers 180 degrees, don’t do it).

Third, the book gives you exercises in every chapter. So if you’re between jobs and you’re waiting for the phone to ring, no more excuses! Start working your way through these exercises. You’ll be better prepared for your next phone call. Some of the examples seem targeted to junior or even entry level employees, but the ideas seem to work for senior executives and professionals too. Just get creative.

I think this book works on several levels. Even if you’re self-employed, you may have to endure an interview before tackling a big project. If you’re working with a career coach, read the book and save yourself a bundle of (and on) consultations. I’ll be recommending this Coward’s Guide to my clients and ezine readers.

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Career Cowards Guide to Changing Careers Sensible Strategies for Overcoming Job Search Fears Career Cowards Guides

The Career Coward’s Guide to Changing Careers, the second book in the revolutionary Career Cowards series, helps adult job seekers tackle this intimidating job search situation. In her friendly and comforting style, career coach Katy Piotrowski walks career changers through all the basic steps of transitioning from their current career to the new one that they will love.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Be ready to work!
Really enjoyed the author’s enthusiasm and insight. She knows her stuff! Activities are very helpful. Worth the money! Highly recommended.

1 Star A Book I would NOT recommend to a Career Changer
I recently bought this book, “Career Coward’s Guide to Changing Careers” (CCGCC), along with “What Color is Your Parachute” and “Do What You Are.” The latter two were quite helpful; unfortunately, CCGCC was not. (And I have read numerous career-related books in the past several years.) I will discuss CCGCC and then the other two books.

I guess the title of CCGCC should have warned me, as books such as “The Idiot’s Guide to [Whatever]” and “[Whatever] for Dummies” were never my cup of tea. I tried, however, several times, to give CCGCC a chance, to see if maybe there was something worthwhile in this book to merit suffering through to the end. There was not. Some of the problems: (1) the author’s juvenile, cheerleaderish attitude–I really couldn’t stand it, page after page (her writing style seems geared more towards teenage girls than adult career changers); (2) her giddy overuse of exclamation points (if the writing is effective, exclamation points aren’t necessary–this seems to be a cheap trick that lazy writers use to try to be more “expressive,” or in this case, “motivational”); and (3) her condescending tone ( she never seemed to tire of using “coward,” again and again). I kept thinking, “Can you give it a rest?” In short, this book just didn’t work for me–a guy who is looking for a well-written, well-researched, and useful book to help me change careers. Simple. There are much better career change books out there. I will now turn to two of these.

I have read several past editions of “What Color is Your Parachute,” and as always, I found the 2008 edition quite helpful. Briefly, “Parachute” helps the reader determine: (1) what their favorite transferable skills are, (2) where they might best use these skills, and (3) how to go about finding their dream job. I had to spend a good bit of time reflecting and writing about myself in order to complete the exercises in the book, but it was time well spent. (There really are no short-cuts when planning a career change.) Doing these exercises gave me a clearer idea of the types of job I should pursue, by (a) confirming what I had suspected about my favorite skills, interests, etc.–this was reassuring, as it made me more confident that I was on the right path, and (2) making me consider other career options that I had not previously thought of. I could have done without the author’s occasional use of “God,” “His Plan,” etc., but since he doesn’t overdo it, it wasn’t a big deal.

“Do What You Are,” is a book to help one discover their “type.” There are free online sites that can help one do this (and my results were the same for both–the book and the online site); but as the book required me to think more (instead of just choosing between two choices, as many online inventories do), I felt more confident with my results. These writers also seem to be exclamation point-happy, but overall, the book is well-written and I fould it quite useful.

But if I had to recommend only one career change book to buy, it would be “What Color is Your Parachute.” This could be supplemented by doing the inventories on free online sites to discover one’s Type, as well as Interests, Values, Skills, etc.

Hope this helps.

5 Stars A Must-Read Blueprint for Changing Careers
Making a career change can feel traumatic. So many fears and doubts can get in the way. How do you start? How do you decide what career to pursue? Is it really possible? The Career Coward’s Guide to Changing Careers answers all of these questions and more.

There are 3 reasons I recommend purchasing this book if you are even contemplating a career change:

(1) This book gets to the heart of what stops you from making a career change–your fear. Each chapter contains a golden nugget called “The Panic Point!” that identifies the specific fears career changers have and more importantly, shows you how to overcome them.

(2) This book isn’t theory; it’s fact. Katy has worked with hundreds of career changers. In fact, as I was reading this book, I was thinking, “Boy, a lot of what she describes mirrors how I made my own career change.” (I’m a former practicing lawyer-turned-career coach for lawyers.) From brainstorming exciting career possibilities to deciding which career is for you to re-crafting your resume, this book covers it all from A-Z.

(3) It’s easy to get bogged down in career books. Not this one. It’s clear, concise, and fun to read. It is indeed a step-by-step guide.

Beware: If you’re just interested in complaining about how your career makes you miserable, don’t read this book. Because if you do and you do the exercises, you may find yourself transitioning to a career you love!

5 Stars This book got me unstuck!

“Career changing has seemed like such a scary step for me. I love that this

author tackles it head on…’You’re going to be afraid, and that’s

normal!’ Her upbeat, encouraging writing style makes the process seem much

more doable to me. After YEARS of thinking about a career change, I’ve

finally started taking action on a few of the career experiment exercises

she recommends…and they’re fun. I truly believe I can make a career

change this time. I love this book!”

5 Stars Practical Advice
Finally! Words of wisdom I can actually use! After being stuck for over a year, I read this book from cover to cover. The advice is sound, practical, and do-able. I appreciated the simple yet actionable steps, as well as the lists of words and exercises to get me unstuck. Best of all, Katy’a voice is encouraging throughout. I now have lists of contacts for informational interviews, specific industries and job titles to consider, and am well on my way to a new career. Thank you Katy Piotrowski!

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The latest info… Unemployment will peak at 2.8 million people in 2010 as the recession forces more companies to slash jobs and cut costs, according to a study published on Tuesday. What are your thoughts?