Week 2 - What Color is your Parachute: Chapter 1 (Review)

Interesting beginning: The first pages of chapter one makes you feel like life isn’t over yet. An anti-depressive combination of phrases that gives hope to the hopeless and courage to the ones who are afraid. It explains the situation of being out of job from the point of view of the job-hunters, and it sums up every feeling and stress a person who has been in this situation feels. It is safe to say that the author knows his target very well.

I have divided chapter one in two: the bad news and the good news. It starts by telling you everything that you have been doing wrong: From the old fashion methods on approaching employers to an incorrect way of how to use your resume. Who would have thought that “when the economy turns tough (for us), employers are finding it easier to fill a vacancy…”? People may think that it works the other way but it doesn’t. The author explains very clearly the different points of view from the job-hunter to the employers that make you feel like you’ve been there before. Thoughts you have had before, sayings you’ve said, and things you’ve done, the author knows it and mentions it.

 

The second part of the chapter brings you the good news. Finally some good news! The proof that life isn’t over yet, but it has just began. What I liked the most are “The Key Ideas for Successful Job-Hunting in the 21^st Century” or “The Parachute Process” in which one of the ones that I enjoyed the most was principle #4: “Search for What You Love, Not Just for What You Can”. It states “passion plus competency, not just competency alone”. Is that true? The legend of make-work-a-fun-place-to-go? Well apparently is up to the job-hunter. Another idea that caught my attention was #9 “Avoid HR Department”, and it makes so much sense! The number of applicants that are looking for the same job you are is enormous and HRs job is to cut that number down as quickly as possible. Try not to fall in their trap! Be extremely cautions and “say nothing that can get you eliminate”. Almost like a life or death sick game.

The main thoughts that chapter one has left in my head are: “This book has given me a different way on how to see the job-hunting world”, and “I gotta keep reading this”.