10 Books to Jumpstart Your Job Journey

Written by Denise Miller, Adult Materials Selection Librarian, Main Library

Connecting community members with well-paying, steady jobs is one of the Library’s missions. Through services like our Work Force Development station, index. young professionals group, and partnerships with Cincinnati Works, opens a new window, we’re striving to provide the resources for success.

When folks aren’t coming into a Branch to use the internet for a job application or receiving help from a staff member on a resume, they can come to the Downtown Main Library each Monday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to meet with a career coach.

We recognize not everyone has the time, means, or mobility to make it downtown, which is why we also offer plenty of free online resources as well. Through Jobs Now, opens a new window, customers can access resume, interview, and career coaching via online chat, along with templates, resources, training materials and more.

We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite work-related titles from our collection to help inspire you to continue on your own unique path to success, something only you can define. Read on for our selection of just a few of our best job and career-related titles.

Bring Your Brain to Work: Using Cognitive Science to Get a Job, Do it Well, and Advance Your Career, opens a new window by Art Markman

Professor, author, and popular radio host Art Markman focuses on three essential elements of a successful career--getting a job, excelling at work, and finding your next position--and expertly illustrates how cognitive science, especially psychology, sheds fascinating and useful light on each of these elements.

The Memo: What Women of Color Need to Know to Secure a Seat at the Table, opens a new window by Minda Harts

Lean In for women of color: A no-BS look at the odds stacked against women of color in professional settings, from the wage gap to biases and micro-aggressions, with actionable takeaways. The Memo is the much-needed career advice guide for women of color specifically, finally ending the one-size-fits-all approach of business books that lump together women across races and overlook the unique barriers to success for women of color.

Earn It!: Know Your Value and Grow Your Career, in Your 20s and Beyond, opens a new window by Mika Brzezinski

The whirlwind of job applications, interviews, follow-up, resume building, and networking is just the beginning. What happens after you've landed the job? Earn It! is a practical career guidebook that not only helps you get your foot in the door; it also shows you how to negotiate a raise, advocate for more responsibility, and figure out whether you're in the career that's right for you.  

How Women Rise:  Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back from Your Next Raise, Promotion, or Job , opens a new windowby Sally Helgesen

Sally and Marshall identify the 12 habits that hold women back as they seek to advance, showing them why what worked for them in the past might actually be sabotaging their future success. Building on Marshall's classic bestseller What Got You Here Won't Get You There, opens a new window, their new book How Women Rise is essential reading for any woman who is ready to advance to the next level.

T, opens a new windowhe Introvert’s Complete Career Guide: From Landing a Job to Surviving, Thriving, and Moving on Up, opens a new window by Jane Finkle

In this supportive, all-inclusive handbook, Jane Finkle demonstrates how to use your introverted qualities to their best advantage, then add a sprinkling of extroverted skills to round out a forceful combination for ultimate career success. Finkle shares the keys to navigating each stage of professional development--from self-assessment and job searching to survival in a new position and career advancement.

Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement, opens a new window by Rich Karlgaard

Based on years of research, personal experience, interviews with neuroscientists, psychologists, and countless people at different stages of their careers, Late Bloomers reveals how and when we achieve our full potential—and why today’s focus on early success is so misguided and even harmful.

Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up, opens a new window by Jerry Colonna

One of the start-up world’s most in-demand executive coaches—hailed as the “CEO Whisperer” (Gimlet Media)—reveals why radical self-inquiry is critical to professional success and healthy relationships in all realms of life.

Rise and Grind: Outperform, Outwork, and Outhustle Your Way to a More Successful and Rewarding Life, opens a new window by Daymond John

New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Broke, opens a new window and "Shark" on ABC's hit show Shark Tank explores how grit, persistence, and good old-fashioned hard work are the backbone of every successful business and individual, and inspires readers to Rise & Grind their way the top.

Switchers: How Smart Professionals Change Careers—and Seize Success , opens a new windowby Dawn Graham 

Don’t settle . . . SUCCEED in the right career! Are you stuck in an unsatisfying job? In the wrong profession? An industry that just isn’t a fit? Get unstuck! Land a new career—one you’re genuinely passionate about. Switchers helps you realize that dream. Written by celebrated career coach and psychologist Dr. Dawn Graham, the book provides proven strategies that will get you where you want to go. 

What Color Is Your Parachute? 2020:  A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career Changers by Richard N. Bolles (On order)

With more than 10 million copies sold in 28 countries, the world's most popular job-search book is updated for 2020, tailoring Richard Bolles's long-trusted guidance with up-to-the-minute information and advice for today's job-hunters and career-changers. 

Check out all of our job and career new arrival titles here, opens a new window