Career BooksOne of the world's most popular career books was in a recent headline in the Seattle Times: "WHAT COLOR IS YOUR PARACHUTE? HOT AGAIN, 30 YEARS AFTER DEBUT." Actually, it has been "hot"—the best-selling job-hunting book in the world—year after year, for more than three decades now, so much so that it is referred to as "the job-hunters’ bible." Each year it is updated, and sometimes vastly rewritten, by the author, giving first-time and veteran readers alike something new to discover. For those who have not read an updated version in recent years, this is a reminder of why, in the words of Fortune magazine, "PARACHUTE remains the gold standard of career guides." The author RICHARD NELSON BOLLES has been a leader in the career books
field for more than 30 years. He is former director of the National Career Development
Project and an alumnus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he majored in
chemical engineering; Harvard University, where he graduated cum laude with a
bachelor’s degree in physics; and the General Theological (Episcopal) Seminary in New
York City, where he earned a master’s degree in New Testament studies. He lives in
the San Francisco Bay Area. Anyone who's interviewed for a job at Microsoft is intimately familiar
with questions like the one in the following career book's title. They've probably also
pondered such problems as why are manhole covers round? how do they make M&Ms? what
does all the ice in a hockey rink weigh? how many piano tuners are there in the world?
Questions like these, which test problem-solving abilities, not specific competencies, are
de rigueur at job interviews at Microsoft, other tech firms and on Wall Street. In this
hybrid career book-it's at once a study of corporate hiring, an assessment of IQ testing's
value, a history of interviewing and a puzzle book-science writer Poundstone (Carl Sagan:
A Life in the Cosmos) explains the thinking behind this kind of interviewing. In
straightforward prose, Poundstone describes the roots of logic questions in interviews
(the approach appears to have had its modern beginnings at Shockley Semiconductor
Laboratory in 1957), drawing on the history of IQ testing in hiring interviews,
psychological studies and interviews with Microsoft ex-interviewers and interviewees,
makes a strong case for eliminating standard questions like "What are your strengths
and weaknesses?" and replacing them with logic puzzles. Almost half of the book is
devoted to an "answer" section, where Poundstone gives possible solutions to the
brainteasers. Although it lacks a specific focus, this is a fun, revealing take on an
unusual subject. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. |