Books to Nourish and Inspire Your Career Change

I am often asked by people to recommend some resources for changing career. I admit that I love to read.  So here are some book suggestions for you to consider. There are so many books that I could choose and I'll be sharing more recommendations with you throughout the year.

"What Should I Do With My Life?"
by Po Bronson

 What I love about this book is that Po Bronson interviews people from a range of backgrounds. Each person is on their own personal journey to discover what they truly want to do with their life.  There are stories in here that will inspire you, people that you can identify with as they talk about their fears, concerns the obstacles and setbacks. Some stories have a happy ending others are not so happy. A must read if you are feeling stuck.

"New Job, New You" 
by Alexandra Levit

I've picked this book because Alexandra at the start of the book asks is it a career change that you want or is it that you are just fed up with your current job.  It starts off with a self-assessment "should you make a career change" She then outlines the seven motivations that lead people to seek a career change and how each requires a different career change strategy. She also shares stories of people who have successfully changed career , exercises and a resource list.

"Working Identity Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career"
by Herminia Ibarra

I love this book for Herminia outlines the research she conducted on successful career changers. She highlights what I had found in my own life and working with clients the importance of finding ways to test out different careers. This isn't about giving up your day job and going from thing to thing aimlessly. It is about finding a way to test out careers in a safe way before settling on a final destination.  She writes about not waiting for your dream career to come along. She outlines 9 unconventional strategies for changing your career and illustrates the benefits of the strategies by sharing stories of individuals who have successfully changed career.

"Screw Work, Lets Play"
by John Williams

This is a great resource offers a different perspective to the world of work- making it fun so that you are at play and not at work! He shares what to do if you are stuck with what to do with your life. Talks about en essential component of the career change process and that is to start to put some of your ideas into play by creating a "play project".  Again this was a central message from Herminina Ibarra book that I have described above. This is a great book for being inspired by how others have turned their passions into a living. If you've been saying that you can't make money doing X then I urge you to read this book.