Below are links to products that may be of use in your search that I have used (except for the last one). Also, many other candidates have recommended these to me.
Business Cards
I have used VistaPrint for both my search and my wife’s business – always a good product. Before you design your card – please take a look at the “Business Card Considerations” post in “Getting Started – Your Story”
Go to VistaPrint.com to get your cards.
Here’s my philosophy with business books, etc.: It is difficult to apply everything you read so pick a few items and use what works for you.
Job Search
In Transition: From the Harvard Business School Club of New York’s Career Management Seminar – Mary Lindley Burton and Richard A. Wedemeyer
In Transition – View book
How to Land Your Dream Job: No Resume! And Other Secrets to Get You in the Door – Jeffrey Fox
How to Land Your Dream Job – View the Book
Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters – Jay Conrad Levinson & David Perry
Guerrilla Marketing – View Book
Interviewing Tools
101 Great Answers to the Toughest Interview Questions – Ron Fry 101 Great Answers – View the Book
201 Best Questions To Ask On Your Interview – John Kador 201 Best Questions – View the Book
I own both of these books and put them to great use! For the questions I would be asked, I wrote down a few points and then practiced my answers aloud to make sure it sounded okay. The Questions to Ask book was very useful as it helped me put my thoughts into questions and raised issues I had not thought about.
Rainmaker Books (To help sell your greatest product – You!)
How to Become a Rainmaker – Jeffrey Fox How to Become a Rainmaker – View the Book
Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness – Jeffrey Gitomer Little Red Book of Selling – View the Book
I own both of these books, I really like the ‘to the point’ styles that help you focus on the key behaviors of a rainmaker. On a personal note, for a finance guy making the switch to do business development, it was very useful and helped me take out the mystery of sales – which will also be helpful in pitching yourself!
Networking
Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
Read this book and you’ll think very differently about networking and the types of people that you need to include in your networking.
Startup
The Art of the Start – by Guy Kawasaki The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything
I’ve read this book through twice and looked at individual pages a number of times.
Reality Check – by Guy Kawasaki Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition
While not specifically on start-ups, the biggest challenge in your business plan is getting people to take money out of their wallet. So this is a useful book.
Presentation
Presentation Zen – by Garr Reynolds Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter)
Networking and Interviews are all presentations. This is a cool book that might spark some ideas for how you present yourself. Two points to remember: , First, you do not need to be better than other candidates - just different. Second, often its the candidate with the best brand that wins. So presenting that brand is critical.
slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations – Nancy Duarte slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations
This is another really cool book on presentations. If you need to make a presentation as part of your interview process – this one will help you keep the audience interested!
Budget Tool (sort of — how to have fun without spending a bundle)
The Family Book – Amazing Things to do Together Amazing Things To Do Together (The Family Book)
This is a really fun book – may seem kind of hokey, but it’s given me some great ideas on things to do with my family that I would have never thought of myself.
Managing All of Those Business Cards You Receive!
CardScan – Personal Card Scanner CardScan Personal v8 Card Scanner
These are over $100 – but if you are networking like mad it will help you stay organized and add people’s contact information into Contacts in Outlook, etc. and then to your PDA/Blackberry. So this is a time saver. I have loads of colleagues who swear by these things!
