Looking for Inspiration?

If you're intimidated by the prospect of applying for jobs, whether they're academic or non-academic positions, you may want to peruse this suggestive (if brief) list I compiled for an earlier Inside Higher Ed column: "Summer Schemes."

Books for Career Transition Periods
•Susan Basalla and Maggie Debelius, “So what are you going to Do with That?”: Finding Careers Outside Academia (2007)

•Herminia Ibarra, Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career (2004)

•Carol Eikleberry, The Career Guide for Creative and Unconventional People (2007)

•Jerald M. Jellison, Life After Grad School: Getting From A to B (2010)

Preparing for the Job Search
•Julia Miller Vick and Jennifer S. Furlong, The Academic Job Search Handbook (2008)

•Susan Britton Whitcomb, Job Search Magic: Insider Secrets from America's Career and Life Coach (2006)

•Cynthia Shapiro, What Does Somebody Have to Do to Get a Job Around Here! 44 Insider Secrets and Tips that Will Get You Hired (2008)

Finding Your Passion
•Barbara Sher and Barbara Smith, I Could Do Anything if Only I Knew What It Was: How to Discover What You Really Want and How to Get It (1995)

•Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (2008)

•Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander, The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life (2002)

•Gina Lake, Radical Happiness: A Guide to Awakening (2007)

Web Sites for Academic Job Seekers Considering Plan Bs
•The Versatile PhD, http://versatilephd.com/
•Leaving Academia, http://www.leavingacademia.com/
•Beyond Academe, http://www.beyondacademe.com/
•Typical Interview Questions, http://www.jobinterviewquestions.org/questions/general-questions.asp
 
To read the rest of the column, go to: http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/on_the_fence/woolf4