“What Color Is Your Parachute?” Review
Book Review
“What Color Is Your Parachute? A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career Changers”
By Richard N. Bolles
Probably the most popular job searching book ever written, What Color is Your Parachute? provides thoughtful and practical career advice for all steps of the job search process. The book is updated each year and offers current information about using the Internet and social media in your job search, while maintaining the chapters on career self-exploration and skill identification.
Using conversational, folksy language, Bolles offers timely advice on how to “Think like an employer” and how to expand your job searching strategy beyond looking for job ads. He encourages readers to use a “Parachute Approach” to job searching that begins with clarifying who you are and what kind of work you want to do, and then using networking methods to build connections with people and organizations.
This book is especially useful for workers who have already started their career paths and want or need to find a new job. Workers who have been laid off due to COVID-19 and will need to conduct a potentially long-term job search will benefit from the Parachute Approach. Readers who are willing to invest the time to complete the writing-intensive exercises in the book will benefit the most. (If you do not enjoy writing or find it hard to take the time by yourself to explore your career identity, consider working with a career counselor to guide and motivate you through the job searching process.)
Those looking for quick, clear steps for creating resumes, networking, interviewing, and negotiating salary, such as Generation Z college and high school graduates looking for their first professional jobs, may might find the library of career advice articles on Indeed.com and CareerOneStop more helpful. Workers looking to make a big change in their career paths can benefit from the self-exploration exercises in Parachute but should check out Switchers by Dr. Dawn Graham for specific steps to navigating major career shifts.
Dick Bolles died in 2017, yet his legacy lives on in the Parachute book, workbook, and website. Bolles was an ordained minister and the book, particularly Appendix A, reflects his Christian faith and approach to life and work.