Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #502829 in Books
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Customer Reviews

Less than I hoped for, but still lots of good stuff
As more people assume control and responsibility for their careers, they'll be looking for books like this one. I approached this book with eager anticipation when I learned that Barbara Moses is the work issues columnist for Canada's national newspaper, the "Globe and Mail." An earlier work, "Career Intelligence," was a best-seller according to the author's bio at the back of this book.

While I found a lot of meat in the 226 page hardcover I read, I was disappointed in the lack of flow I expected. I suspect that the book was assembled as a collection of some of the author's columns or that chapters were written separately and perhaps intended to stand alone. For this reason, I recommend readers move through the book from cover to cover, but also expect to use the book as a reference as they return to individual chapters for guidance.

"Good News" is organized into four parts. The first section deals with The New Workplace, emphasizing Living and Working in TempWorld. Interesting theme with a lot of validity, but I didn't find "Temp World" mentioned again until almost the end of the book. Her tips for living and thriving in TempWorld make a lot of sense, including "try to define yourself in terms that are independent of your job title." Moses asserts that "effective career management means making informed choices." I would have liked to see her continue the TempWorld theme throughout the book-it would have fit nicely.

Part 2 explores The New Worker. Early in this section, Moses addresses the blurring of work and personal boundaries, illustrating this challenge with one of her many vignettes. Asking "What kind of worker are you?, she describes six different career approaches and what motivates them. I felt she could have expanded this portion more to help readers use this insight more effectively. Again, I was frustrated with the lack of depth; many topics were treated more shallowly than I hoped for.

The New Manager Section begins talking with managers and supervisors, offering them strategies to address some of the common concerns of the new worker. She talks about the old worker vs. the new worker, the manager as career coach, mentoring, and how to give people a belief in the future. In this section, Moses is clearly talking to managers, so her "voice" is much more focused than I felt in other sections. A question in my mind was about who the book was written for.

The fourth section is entitled "A New Set of Skills" and begins with encouragement to become a career activist. Other chapters on selling yourself, networking, and communicating take us back to talking with the workers directly. As she moves toward the close of her book, Moses predicts that "only when people are empowered by a belief in their own employability can they develop a more equal, rather than fear-driven, relationship to their organization." She encourages people to assume control of their careers because work plays such a crucial role in who we are.

At four different places in the book, the author used language that I feel is totally out-of-place in a business book. She may argue that such expressions are in more common usage today, but she'd be stretching the point.

An Enlightening Read
An insightful read to help us understand the complex work world we find ourselves operating within. Great conversational style to express the concerns, joys and fears of the demographic diversity represented in many organizations. Help yourself and others to explore The New Work World!

Taking Charge of Your Career
The Good News about Careers is insightful and illuminating. It delivers on the message "take responsibility for your career" by providing concrete strategies for surviving and thriving in the new world of work.

A great read for anyone who is wants to become "a career activist" or who has a role in supporting others' career development.