Promote Yourself: The New Rules for Career Success Paperback – September 2, 2014

Dan Schawbel has made a name for himself as the go-to guy when it comes to helping young people find career success. Although the principles in Promote Yourself are applicable to anyone of any age looking to build a successful career, this book will be important to anyone who works with college students or young people looking to achieve career success in today's competitive job market.Numbers never lie and Schawbel did a great job of collecting data to make his case: in these economic times job seekers need some differentiators. It isn't just about having the hard skills anymore or the best resumé. It's about promoting yourself strategically, and not in a horn-tooting fashion.The bottom line is that many college graduates today are not qualified for the jobs they are seeking. Just an example from the book: Intel, which has a tuition reimbursement program, recently cut 100 colleges from their list of schools because their audits showed that graduates of those programs didn't perform at the level expected from their degrees. Employers are getting picky. And many colleges are dropping the ball.In the introduction of the book, Schawbel introduces the philosophy of "thinking inside the box," which shows young wannabes how to build their potential in their present positions rather than always looking to go elsewhere to be promoted.The book addresses the hard skills that are really important for job success and suggests that young people take a hard look at their college preparation. He encourages readers to "make yourself indispensable" by finding out what managers really want and continually working to get better at those skills.The area that is the most impacting, I believe, is the chapter on soft skills--something few colleges even pay vague attention to. But 71 percent of employers say they value emotional intelligence over IQ. The top traits companies are looking for today are in the soft skill area: ability to be a team player, strong work ethic, positive attitude, good conversation skills, time management abilities, the ability to listen well, and more.Schawbel encourages readers to use social media to their advantage, something I stress in Practice Safe Social(tm) workshops. He talks about social media profiles as assets. "Employers see your online reputation as a direct reflection on their brand," the author writes. A well-built personal brand increases your value to the company. The chapter on social media includes detailed instructions on how to build that strong personal brand on social channels.He also gives sage advice on how to balance self-promotion without coming across as a jerk. The Six Rules of Self-Promotion will help readers find that balance. There is also a helpful chapter on what managers look for when they are looking to promote employees.Anyone who works with or mentors young people should pick up a copy of this book. It's not just for young people looking to build a career. I especially recommend it for teachers, professors, admissions counselors, career and alumni offices, coaches, and athletic department staff.

Contains a lot of direct, actionable advice in managing and promoting your career. I do think it favors the upper echelon of professionals, but everyone can learn something from this book.

Promote Yourself is an essential read for anyone trying to get ahead in their career, and is especially valuable for millennials in the workplace who want to make a strong impact. As millennial myself who cares deeply about my career, I found useful information in this book about how to improve my online ventures, make the most of working for a corporation and maybe even tie them together. It offers practical solutions whether you want to move sideways, move up or move on. I highly recommend this book.

This is a very good read for its target audience which is generation Y in the workforce. Many of Dan's insights are spot on. The big one is to learn, learn and learn some more, especially when the work day is over! He shows that it is the combination of hard skills and soft skills (people skills) that put you in a good light for promotion.Unfortunately Dan misses the point with other generations such as generation X (my self). He attributes generation Y as being more idealistic in that they will work for a cool or more socially aware company rather then one that pays well. This is not the entire truth here because these are traits more so of simply being young then of a particular generation. When generation X was young many of us were interested in working for "cool" companies and banks were boring. But then a lot of us got married, had kids, and a house. Once we started seeing how much things cost many of us opted for the higher paying job at a not so cool company.He also describes them as being more rebellious yet lets not forget that the baby boomers were the anti establishment 60s generation. Peace, Love and Rock'n'Roll. Being young we are all more rebellious and as time goes on, that changes.So I give Dan only 3 stars because he should have put on the cover somewhere this is a Gen Y targeted book.

There is a great deal of practical and actionable advice in Dan Schawbel's Promote Yourself. While it is primarily directed at Millennials, I recommend this book for everyone. In the chapter called "Develop Cross Generational Relationships" he gives a comprehensive overview of all the generations at work now; and ideas on how we can all work together better. I like his advice on relationship building and networking. Dan explains "the new rules for Career Success" using compelling examples and extensive research.Dan does a great job of describing the hard and soft skills that employers are seeking. He explains how to develop those skills and become a more valuable employee. This book will help you put yourself in a better position to be promoted or hired. He also discusses how an employee can gain visibility from great work; but he is also savvy enough to caution readers about the jerk factor that might result from too much "over promotion".Great advice on social media, becoming an entrepreneur or intrapeneur, and when to start thinking about making a career move. The author describes the conversations that you should have with your manager as you are navigating your next career moves.I bought five copies so I can give gifts to a few of my favorite Millennials and new Grads.