Career Glow Up: How to Own Your Ambition and Create the Career of Your Dreams by Jennifer Brick

 

I definitely cringed a little when I saw the title of this self-help/guided journal, but I wanted a resource that would help me prepare for my annual performance review and the description of this journal seemed pretty helpful. To my surprise, it was! Even though the sparkly cover looks like something a teen girl might keep under her pillow, this is a valuable resource packed with some really great tips and suggestions for not just how to get a job, but also how to develop and grow in the one you have, which is solid proof (not that you needed any) that good things can come in sparkly packages.

For example, it lists some sites for you to look up salaries for a job you might want and then provides a space for you to average out the low, medium, and high salary ranges for the position (which is usually based on experience and tenure). Which seems like common sense, but I definitely know people who didn't get jobs because they went in with little to no experience expecting to be paid on the high end of the scale right out of the gate. It also underscores the importance of building your brand, which I think is even more important in this day and age, as social media becomes more prevalent and relied-upon. It seems common sense, but packaging yourself as someone who is authentic, interesting, professional, and not unkind is key to career growth (taller order, I know, yikes). The fact of the matter is, businesses want people who will put in the work and make them look good.

There are also spaces for planning out your career goals, outlining strengths and weaknesses, and suggestions on how to advocate for yourself without being too braggy. I liked the section about networking and planning out potential connections because, as an introvert, this is something I'm very bad at. It helps to go in with a plan (and I liked the reminder that people are more than just a means to an end and that you really ought to remember that success goes both ways, and that you should compliment other people and not infringe upon their accomplishments or spaces, which, again, seems common sense, until you take a look around you and realize that there are definitely people out there that don't do this). Probably the sweetest section is a little space for planning out a LinkedIn photo, what to wear, where to take it, etc. Yet another thing someone who is established might overlook but could be important for a new grad or someone who is just starting out on their first job.

The age group this is targeting is definitely millennials and zoomers, but I think that's okay. Job seeking can be so stressful and I appreciate the author's attempt to make it seem achievable and fun. This book will definitely be more helpful for college kids, new grads, and people who are just starting out in the workforce, but even someone like me, who has been in their industry for close to a decade, can get a lot of use out of this, because the graphs and guided sections allow you to structure your career goals in a way that makes them seem more tangible and less nebulous. Definitely using this for my annual performance review.

Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 out of 5 stars