The book contains exercises that ask a lot from readers that they assess what they love to do well, then research where they would like to apply those skills, going after interviews at companies they'd like to work for whether or not there are vacancies. Bolles says searching for a job also is a skill that can be learned. And though this skill requires plenty of work, Bolles has a legion of fans. One fan is Damian Birkel of Winston-Salem, N.C., who survived two job losses in 10 years. Realizing he had an ability to understand the complexities of job loss, Birkel started a nonprofit support group called Professionals in Transition nine years ago.
Employers are fans, too.
A job lost, a gift found It was more than 30 years ago that Bolles, a father of four, lost his job as canon at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco and learned how frightening it feels to be without work. He wound up paying for traditional career placement services but got little real assistance. A friend led him to another job with United Ministries, where he wound up helping other pastors contemplating a job change. In the process, Bolles researched the best way to go through transitions. He wrote a 168-page manual and, at first, distributed it for free.