How To Get Any Job With Any Major

How To Get Any Job With Any Major (or how to avoid living in your parent’s basement) by Don Asher

As I write this, we looking to bring Don Asher to Colby College this spring and I wanted to read this book in preparation for his visit.  I have seen Don present at the Middle Atlantic Career Counseling Association and was very impressed.

This book was no disappointment.   Like Don, this is a very practical honest view of what college age people should be doing (and not doing) if they want to find work.  He says, “the purpose of college is to find what makes you happy.” and that colleges “should also give you the skills to do that.”  There are still lots of people that look to colleges for specific work skills and the reality is that colleges help expand thinking, culture, and discovery by introducing people to a variety of subject areas and activities on campus.

He breaks the book into 3 parts.
Part 1 focusing on self discovery
Part 2 “road testing” a few viable options
Part 3 on the job seeking techniques

Each section is filled with great  simple & practical advice that people can do to learn the processes required for career development.  In Part 1 (self discovery) there are a number of activities like listing 25 things you are most proud of as a way to learn what YOU bring to a company for skills, passions, and values.  I love this activity and use it often in my practice as well.

Part 2 really helps a person map out their own career exploration by taking advantage of company visits to campus and using your network to learn about an occupation / industry through informational interviews.

Finally in Part 3 he provides advice about making personal contacts to find work and not relying upon the internet and emails to find those interviews.  I found good examples of emails to send to alumni to set up info interviews, sample elevator speeches, and how to deal with illegal questions if they come up (ex: answer the concern behind the question).

I highly recommend this book for college students who “don’t want to live in their parents basement after graduation”.