Take advice from someone in the workforce development field: this book and some degree of common sense will take you pretty far. No, this man did not teach me how to write a resume or interview. No, he didn't show me a shining new path in life. What he does do though is illuminate those all-too-easy to overlook things known as "the employer's thoughts and needs."

Job seekers rarely have the opportunity or background knowledge to appreciate the employer as not only a representative of their company but also as an individual with wants, desires and needs. Nine times out of ten, they share many of your same concerns and the key is to address and neutralize those concerns within the employer with a confident, informed presentation. A little goes a long way, and speaking from both personal and professional experience, common sense can carry you even further. If you know the employer desperately needs to expand in an area of your expertise, speak to that need, etc.

Good luck y'all. It's tough right now, but keep the faith - things always work out.

One of my favorites quotes related to the topic of this book is, paraphrasing here, “Pay attention to the things in life you like getting good at.” Once you notice that thing you like getting good at, see if that’s a thing you could do as a job, cause that thing could be the color of your parachute.

Many of the tactical stuff in the book like resume writing, interviewing, applying strategies, etc, are things you’re probably already aware of, but the core of the book, which is doing an in depth self-assessment by going through the “Flower Exercise” would benefit anyone that’s trying to figure out what they want to do when they grow up.

I think this is a great book for someone who isn't happy with their current job and wants to figure out exactly what they want to do that will be fulfilling, not just pay the bills.

I graduated from college a few years ago and back then I was just sending out resumes and I accepted the first offer I got. I didn't worry to much if I was going to like the job, just that I needed to find one. Now I have a few years of experience under my belt and I think I can afford to be a little choosier.

I liked the flower exercise a lot. I think it helped me really analyze how I liked to work and what I wanted to do. I do think the parts on how to actual find a company that fits your flower is a little unrealistic. If you are a very social and outgoing person it will work, but for me I am pretty shy. I'm not sure I could just approach random strangers and ask them about their job. At least not face to face, maybe on LinkedIn.

Some of the advice is a little obvious, but I did get a lot of value out of this book and will be applying a lot of what I've learned to the job hunt.

I don't know if this book just makes me feel lame, or if it makes everyone who reads it feel that way. I'm a third of the way through it, there has been no mention of parachutes (not to mention their potential color), and every time it tries to empower me, I feel myself slipping into apathy. Maybe it is a kind of reverse-psychology effect, i.e. I decide to go out and get a job just to prove this silly book wrong? We shall see.

Ok, ok, for those of you who already believe in yourselves and your cubicle has not already trodden on your sense of self--skim the first 2 sections and PLEASE SKIP TO "WHAT WHERE and HOW". This section starts the real meat of the book and actually has some great strategies for building the kind of resume / cover letter / talking points that will make you sound intelligent and eminently hirable. I am even getting an idea of what the parachute concept is all about!

This book is so much better than all those stupid resume books that just give you 100 examples of people looking for marketing jobs.

Hmmm...well, now taht I am done I must say I feel much more in-control of my job search. Now for the job.

Anyone with a Job (or not) can learn Something In These Pages

Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, the world of work and career is filled with uncertainty. If you have a job, maybe you are thinking about a change. If you don’t have a job, and are looking for one, WHAT COLOR IS YOUR PARACHUTE? 2017 has been a keystone of for 45 years. Each year the information in this book is revised and updated.

Although I’m not currently looking for a new position, I read the new edition cover to cover and appreciated the insights and guidance for every reader. Whether you need the six secrets for salary negotiation or five ways to choose / change careers, everyone will profit from the information in these pages. Inspirational quotes and valuable website resources are throughout the book. For example, “Being out of work or thinking about a new career, should speak to your heart. It should say something like this: “Use this opportunity. Make this not only a hunt for a job, but a hunt for a life. A deeper life, a victorious life, a life you’re prouder of.” (Page 114)

Dick Bolles has done it again with WHAT COLOR IS YOUR PARACHUTE? 2017. I highly recommend this resource.

This has been an invaluable resource for me and for my husband during his job search. I can't believe how difficult the process has been this time around, and I was feeling incredibly discouraged. (Of course, he was, too.)

This book really helped us both start to feel hope again, and it also offered extremely practical and useful advice for getting through periods of unemployment, finding a career counselor, discovering personal skills and preferences, networking, interviewing, negotiating a salary and better benefits, among so many other things.

The book also has a pretty extensive Myers Briggs-type personality exercise (the Flower Petal exercise) that helps you figure out what jobs you like doing, who you like to work with, where you like to work, the salary you want, and what your overall mission or goal in life is.

Some examples of good bits of advice and insight:

***There is no such thing as one big category of "employers." They are all unique. And the process of finding a job--and especially the process of interviewing--is such a subjective experience. Sometimes it just won't make sense. Sometimes you will do everything right, but the interviewer may not like you. You just have to find that employer that you "click" with--and don't feel bad when you don't click with someone you interviewed with; it happens.

***Always, always write a thank-you note. This is advice we've all heard before, but I couldn't believe how much of a difference this one small act made.

***Employers are primarily concerned about risk. They worry that you don't really have the skills the job requires. Or they worry you will quit too soon, and they will lose money on you. Or they worry you will make them look stupid to THEIR supervisors. Or they worry you will cause office drama. And the list goes on. The point is, employers have anxieties, too--and you help yourself if you acknowledge these anxieties exist and then do what you can to reassure the interviewer that you will be the solid, dependable employee who makes your boss look good.

***It's important to notice the time frame of the questions you are asked in an interview. If the interviewer starts asking you questions about the present or immediate future (What kind of job are you looking for? Where do you see yourself five years from now? When can you start?), you can assume the interview is going well for you.

***Good questions to ask during your interview: What characterizes the most successful employees in this company? What significant changes has this company gone through in the past five years? Who do you see as your allies, colleagues, or competitors?

Overall, this is a magnificent book with so much good advice. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Gonna log this book to ensure I reach my reading goal of the year lol, but I was also waiting until I achieved my goal of getting a fulfilling job to see if the advice really delivers, and in my personal experience I was able to apply what I learned from this book to get my dream internship at one of the most renowned independent record labels in the country.

I’m very thankful my therapist put me on to this book because I do think that it changed my life and gave me a lot of hope and empowering tools to get myself out of a really tough dark place.

Is everything in this book going to be perfectly accurate and fit everyone’s situation, no, but I also don’t think it claims to be. You really need to devise your own strategy when job hunting and this book helped me to do that greatly.

Could I have done without the annoying christianity being pushed down my throat, yeah. At the end of the day though it was pretty easy to ignore, and at times translate into my own belief system.

In an optimistic attempt to consider thoughts such as "my mission and purpose in life" during a stint of 2-weeks off over Christmas break, I got this book as an e-book from the library (2011 edition), since it's been continually recommended to me. But timing means so much in a book, and this book and I are NOT presently on the same page.

I skip, skip, skipped page after page, finding the introduction excruciating. The author has updated the book yearly since 1970, and meanwhile the book has become a "classic" -- as a result, the book has gained a cumbersome weight, starting with a self-congratulatory swamp of introductions and nostalgia. Then an attempt to add "relevance" by discussing current events (read: current joblessness/employment statistics for the US). The book then delves deeply into chapter after chapter of tips about job-hunting, which made me feel like I might be better served visiting my local Sears store and reading the barcode labels on the bottoms of china cups for an afternoon.

Why I Read this Book: I wanted to get a firm understanding of the career direction in which I wanted to head and how to go about it after finishing my university work. This book provided a wonderful road map.

Review:

This book, or I should say a version of this book has been on the best seller list for many years now. Bolles spends the majority of each year putting together the updated version for the year to come. This is not the type of book you buy once for one search and that is it. Every time you are looking to change jobs and especially when you are looking to change careers, it is important to read through the most current version of this book. Given the leaps and bounds our world has gone in terms of change, it is no wonder why this book needs to be updated yearly.

This book is a must for career changers whether you are just getting out of college or you have been working for 30 years and you need a change. Dick Bolles is a brilliant man who I have had the pleasure of having dinner with on a number of occasions. He first started writing a version of Parachute in the 1970’s and has since changed countless lives. The success stories he discuss in the book are inspirational.

Bolles explains every job search method we have heard of out there today (and even some we have not). He gives very eye-opening statistics about which methods are most effective and which are not. Do you know what the single most ineffective strategy for job searching is according to Bolles’ research? It is posting your resume on a job board like Monster or Career Builder. That is only effective 4%-10% of the time. How many people use this as their only technique and expect good results? Too many. Just understanding that fact and what techniques produce the best results will make this read invaluable. Here’s a suggestion. Get started on building your network and never stop. More on the networking buzz word once you read through the book.

Parachute is also a great job search reference book. Every professional serious about their career should have a copy on their desk. It contains relevant websites, career tests, salary negotiation & interview tips, articles, techniques and processes that you can refer to at any time in your search. This is one reason why it is so necessary to update every year. Website links and data change in the blink of an eye. He has the most up to date links and resources online at his website mentioned at the bottom of this page.

The reason this book, and more importantly his system for finding your career calling, has been so greatly successful is that Bolles’ main focus is not on the job but instead on the job hunter. In order to truly find your career calling you must truly know yourself. Many of our inherent characteristics are things that we do not necessarily take as common knowledge. This is the key to his system, which he calls the Flower Petal Exercise. Be warned that this exercise will take some work, but it will pay huge dividends in your future. Going through this series of exercises is what is going to get you clear on what you should be doing professionally (and perhaps personally) with your life. I cannot stress enough the importance of completing the Flower Petal Exercise. The accompanying Parachute Workbook which I detail elsewhere in this site will step you through the exercises from start to finish. It is so easy to read a book and do nothing about it. The key is to take initiative and get proactive with this book and all books for that matter so that they will make a difference in your life and lead you to success. Enjoy the journey.

-Reading For Your Success

Valuable Insight -- Whether You are Searching for A Job or Not

No job lasts forever--whether we admit it to ourselves or not. This classic book (updated each year) is loaded with encouragement and insight for every reader. The step-by-step insights are valuable to any reader at any place in the job market.

I loved what Bolles said in the first chapter, "In today's world, he or she who gets hired is not necessarily the one who can do that job best; but, the one who knows the most about how to get hired. If you can learn new advanced job-hunting skills you can not only survive. You can thrive." (Page 14)

This book is packed with ideas and action steps for every reader. I highly recommend it.

DNF at 35%

I didn’t quit cause it was bad I just ended up getting a job and got too busy to put the time into this. I did take all the personality tests he mentions and the results were fairly accurate to what I already do and what I want to do

Actually the Revised and Enlarged 1983 book.