Top 16 Best Career Books Updated 09 /2023

Your job isn't the only thing in your life. It's a lot more. Find a job that pays the bills is easy. Building your career, rather than finding a job, is a long-term goal. In order to make money, you have to be dedicated to yourself and the work that you do. As you move up the career ladder, it won't always be easy to find a job that makes you happy. These days, many career paths don't look like ladders at all, but rather long and winding roads.

To sum up, thinking smart about the kind of life you want to lead and your skills and passions is important when you start a new job. You also need to think about what kind of work will make you happy and fulfilled.

If you feel like your job is stuck in a rut, some of the best advice comes from books. We put together this list of the best books for career advice to read today so that you can start off on the right foot or get back on track if you've gone off track.

Designing Your Life – Bill Burnett & Dave Evans

There are many ways that design thinking can help you move forward from where you are, no matter what kind of life design problem you're having right now. All of the decisions that are made in the design field are made with thought, even the ones that you don't even know about. The same design thinking that makes amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, as well as your home.

Learn how to apply this same thinking to your own decisions and build a system that works for you. This is what you will learn in the book Designing Your Life. Find out how to use Mind Maps and you'll never fail again.

Take action, and if it doesn't work the first time, start over and try again. If you're having trouble in some part of your job, pick this up.

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It- Chris Ross & Tahl Raz

There is so much to be afraid of when you ask your boss for a raise or a promotion. You have to figure out how to make your request seem reasonable but not too low-balling. This book, written by the FBI's former top hostage negotiator, is meant to help you deal with that process as well as possible.

It's better to think of negotiation as a practice that you do all the time, not just in certain situations. When you do this, you'll see the benefits of fully engaging your potential and taking actionable steps to get there.

So Good They Can’t Ignore You – by Cal Newport

Most people say that to find a job that makes you happy, you need to follow your heart and your passions. But the author of "So Good They Can't Ignore You" says that most people are wrong. He says that matching your job to a passion you already have doesn't matter. The passion comes after you put in the work to become good at something important, not before.

Cal Newport says that instead of focusing on what you want in a job, you should work on improving your skills.

Cal Newport's manifesto is a must-read for anyone who isn't sure what to do with their life, or who is fed up with their job and wants to find a new way to make money. The title comes from the comedian Steve Martin, who once told aspiring entertainers to "be so good they can't ignore you." He gives you an evidence-based plan for making work you love.

It's so good that they can't not notice. You will change how you think about your job, happiness, and how to live a remarkable life.

The Pathfinder – Nicholas Lore

Whether you're just out of college or have been working for a long time, the Pathfinder can help you find your next job. Nicholas Lore, a career coach, talks about how to figure out what you want to do and how to set a course to get there in his book. There is a place for people who want to start or move on in their careers, called the Rockport Institute. Lore uses diagnostic tools and tests from the Rockport Institute to help people figure out what they should do next. This book was first published in 1998, but it still gets great reviews from people who used it to find a more interesting and fulfilling job. Pathfinder is a tool that has more than 100 tests and diagnostic tools to help you see your job in a whole new way. This is a great book whether you're just starting out or you want to change your job.

Moving the Needle: Get Clear, Get Free, and Get Going in Your Career, Business, and Life! – Joe Sweeney & Mike Yorke

The goal of Moving the Needle is to help you shake up the status quo and move forward in your career with a new sense of direction. To figure out what your new purpose might be, this book gives you the tools you need.

Is it possible for you to think that your job search will never end? Sweeney's book gives you a plan to help you figure out what you want and figure out how to get there. Risk and innovation are ideas that can help you move your career in a more fulfilling direction, so don't let yourself get stuck in the same old thing.

Invaluable: Master the 10 Skills You Need to Skyrocket Your Career – Maya Grossman

Maya Grossman, a marketing expert and career coach, reveals the 10 soft skills that every professional needs to learn in order to become a "invaluable" employee, the kind of person every company wants to hire and keep.

Do more than you thought possible and grow your career faster with this book. It will help you get the job, promotion, or raise you want and deserve. It will put you at the top, make your career secure for the future, and get the job, promotion, or raise you want and deserve.

This isn't your typical career advice. Instead, it's a practical step-by-step guide to help you grow your job and career. Plus, Maya has a great toolbox that comes with the book. The Career Development Toolkit will help you figure out where you want to go next in your job. You need to read this book to help you plan, do, and keep track of your career success.

The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success – Megan McArdle

This book is great if you think you failed at work. All of us have failed at some point in our lives, whether it's at work or in our personal lives. What is important is how we deal with it. It's not easy to become one of the people who turn their mistakes into opportunities to learn. Everyone doesn't like to fail, but it's a fact of life that everyone has to deal with at some point. The most important thing is to deal with those failures, embrace the challenges that come with taking risks, and learn from them for the rest of one's life. To show how to accept and move on from setbacks, this book tells real-life stories of people who have failed.

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