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This excellent book on career development is formatted into three sections: the twelve stages of one’s career journey, career archetypes, and career competencies, with the main focus on the first two sections. The introduction relates how people are responsible for managing their careers in a work world that is constantly changing. The author relates her personal story of her own work and then delves into the twelve stages. These stages focus on a variety of issues: developing one’s career identity, which is how a person perceives work; building one’s career capital, which is examining the background effects on one’s career, such as family, economic, and cultural background; and career anchors, including security, autonomy, service, or other types of foundations.
Other stages include utilizing one’s strengths through self-discovery, bringing one’s entire self to work (including one’s inner and external worlds), navigating career shocks or triggers, navigating career transitions and types of transitions, finding meaning in one’s career, one’s career legacy; the stage of self-actualization, and transcendence, which is the culmination of a person’s career. Section Two explores sixteen career archetypes so readers can evaluate their type.
This well-written book is a deep dive into the world of careers with a fascinating look at how one may go through stages along the way. It helpfully examines the pros and potential derailers while also giving success strategies, summaries, and coaching questions at the end of the chapter for further examination. The sixteen archetypes help one to understand what type of worker they are and the strengths and weaknesses of that employee type. There is significant use of research and an excellent ability to look at the positives and potential derailers. Professionally written, Khazi's book could work as a stand-alone guide or as a classroom text, for it is easy to understand while possessing significant insight.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review