The first half of this book was amazing and so helpful! It guided me through a lot of self reflection that brought important insights to my mind. I appreciated the thorough exercises that really helped me see where I want to go in my career.

The second half was informative but felt outdated at times. I took my time with the first half but sped through the second half because I already knew a lot of the advice.

Still, a great read if you are figuring out what direction you want to go in your career!

Well done. I was introduced to this book back in 90’s and found it very helpful. I now teach and lecture on this subject of speeding up and landing employment that is self-directed and is meaningful. Last week I was wandering through Barnes & Noble, as I frequently do, and this book caught my attention. I was looking for some current literature that might confirm or expand my thinking on this subject and this book did just that. It has been thoroughly updated and is right on the mark it seems to me.

Richard Bolles, the author, did an amazing job capturing today’s job market, and he offers suggestions and strategies on how to deal with this stressful task of finding opportunities that suit you. I can’t say enough good things about this book and the author. I’m so glad I took the time to read it.

Solid book with a alot of practical advice for a job search. It does get a little weird at the end (the blue pages).

This was an interesting book, but A) I shouldn't have read it at the same time as another career book and B) I liked the format of the other career book better. This is more about sitting down and writing while the other (I don't know what I want to do, but I know it's not this) had more quizzes. They both had their positives and negatives, but I felt this one gave a lot of examples, which could have been pared down a bit (I get it - 3 illustrative stories aren't necessary) and went into more detail than was necessary. On the other hand, it did have a lot more links to helpful job search tools. It's a recommend, but perhaps don't inundate yourself with job search info and read one at a time. If I had, perhaps I would have liked this better. Also I read the 2012 copy but was unable to find it on goodreads, so I marked this ad 2013. Perhaps the newer version has updates that make it better.

Reread. Fantastic as ever.


“Always define WHAT you want to do with your life and WHAT you have to offer to the world, in terms of your favorite talents/gifts/skills-not in terms of a job-title.”

What Color Is Your Parachute? 2015
by Richard Nelson Bolles

Does anyone EVER know what they want to do with their life?

If not, this book is certainly worth reading.

Actually scratch that..read it even if you think you DO know. It's that good.

I have actually read many versions of this book. Bolles would update it regularly and I always read the updated versions. It is interesting to read the first version, written so long ago, and then read the current version which is packed full of information about the internet which did not exist when he originally wrote this book.

So I have had many different jobs in my life from Executive Recruiter, Outside Sales, inside sales, Political Poller, school admissions rep, market research.

I have very rarely felt I was doing what I was put on this plane to do. I think most people would say that. Who really LOVES their job? If you are one of the lucky ones, I envy you.

Sales was a skill that came easily to me but it is rather soulless and I never loved it even though I did it for so long.

In his book, Bolles talks about sooo much but really encourages the reader to take a look at themselves and who they are and what their passions are versus what their skills are. He wants everyone to do what they love. And though, that is impossible for many..there have been quite a few success stories that came from reading this book.

There are quizzes and exercises and so much info. I loved reading about the Holland Code which I still take semi regularly. That involves finding what TYPE of job is a fit for you. There are six categories.

Artistic..artist, graphic design etc

Realistic..plumber, forest ranger, truck driver etc

Social..social worker, career coach, teacher etc

Enterprise...sales, business owner etc

Conventional..administrative, payroll, accountant etc

Investigative..chemist, cyber security etc

I usually come out high on Enterprise and artistic and very very low on Realistic.

It is a great book, a classic. More than that, it is a FUN book. Do not get me wrong. You will not immediately read this and know your life's mission. But you will have a great time exploring possible career choices with Bolles guiding you and who knows? You will be one or two steps closer if nothing else.

In this age of Covid, it is even tougher. But I would highly recommend this book. It remains my all time favorite on the wonderful(not so) world of job hunting.

this book added "resilience" and "resistance" to my English vocabulary :)

I appreciated the conversational tone. A few interesting exercises and a good range of tips. I found the religious section a bit bizarre but I'm sure there are people who appreciate.

Cuốn sách này cung cấp cho mình hướng đi để vượt xa người khác trong việc xác định nghề nghiệp. Càng đầu tư thời gian suy nghĩ cho sự nghiệp, mình càng có thể chuẩn bị kỹ lưỡng hơn. Sách thích hợp cho cả học sinh THPT lẫn học sinh đại học. May mắn vì trước ngưỡng cửa đại học mình đã đọc được cuốn này

This book SEEMS like it would be really useful in (1) determining what you really want to do with your life, and (2) finding a job in that area. However, since I haven't tried any of it out (YET), I can't go all the way and give it five stars yet. Still highly recommended for job seekers and job changers.

An aptly updated version of this book which has been used by job seekers for so many years now.

This was on everyone's shelf when I graduated from school and despite the amount of information available now on the internet, it is still a very useful reference book and makes a nice present for new graduates.

Richard N Bolles is like a god in the career counseling world, but I have to admit that I have never been much of a What Color is Your Parachute? person. Knowing that makes me a pariah in career counseling circles even if my colleagues don't know they should treat me like one. However, I know that many job seekers every year turn to Bolles, and given The Great Recession, this minister's words of comfort have been greatly needed. Actually, when I found myself going through my own career crisis when it came time to read this galley, I also found comfort in Bolles' words. So, in this way, What Color Is Your Parachute? 2014: A Practical Manual for Job Hunters and Career Changers strikes a good balance between offering the hard-nosed advice most job seekers need and instilling hope.
Bolles still includes The Flower Exercise even though I've always felt like it is way too much work. Also, how many people out there who are out of work are going to get excited about sitting down and saying, "I am someone who is . . . like a flower"? I think I'm kind of frilly, but I don't see myself doing that. It's a bit much.
I did appreciate Bolles' tips on interviewing. He includes the normal checklist of grooming tips and pointers on wardrobe choices. He also mentions that the fact that candidates are judged on the cleanliness of their nails or the freshness of their breath is petty, but he points out, as do I, that it's much better to turn down an offer from a superficial jerk than to lose out on an offer because of silly details like that.
The new edition of What Color Is Your Parachute? relies a bit heavily on Google for my taste. For some job seekers, that could seem a bit overwhelming and general. In a lot of the instances where Bolles refers job seekers to Google, he probably would have been better off referring them to their local librarian so they can learn how to use Google effectively to search for work. That said, this is a classic for job seekers, and I definitely feel comfortable directing job seekers to this new edition as a resource.

To be so real I did not finish this BUT! I did get so much out of this book that I figured out what I want to do with my life without even finishing it! Major slay!!!