By Linda Cicuta

Good Work!
Get a GREAT JOB or be your OWN BOSS: a young person’s guide
Nancy Schaefer
The Canadian Education and Research Institute for Counselling, 2005
ISBN: 0-9687840-3-8

This book is an excellent concise guide to any young person’s quest for work. From the simplistic Q&A style table of contents, to pages filled with quick tips and checklists, it provides youth with the essential tools in understanding what it takes to find a job or to be an entrepreneur.

The first half of the book, geared towards the job search process, covers the basic foundation of looking for work. It clearly describes the tools required such as cover letters and resumes, appropriate references, how to uncover the hidden job market, and what you should and should not do during an interview. Highlighted features of this section of the book are the phone script illustrations. These examples give the reader a clear understanding of what to say during each job search step including networking, cold-calling and application follow-ups.

The second part of the book addresses questions youth may have in regards to whether or not they should become an entrepreneur. Although the topic of entrepreneurship is extremely complex, the author has maintained the Q&A style of the book and delivers a thorough understanding of the intricacies involved in becoming your own boss. Any youth or counsellor starting their research in this area, or reading this for the first time, will truly have the fundamentals and initial resources required to start the process of becoming an entrepreneur.

Overall, the author successfully summarizes each section with useful tips, checklists and do’s & don’ts; a great resource for those skimming through the book. Although the terms and formatting used throughout the book would be very useful for high school youth and counsellors within that milieu, the content may be a little too simplistic for the more advanced job seeker from university.

This book is a great update of the author’s initial publication of Good Job! A Young Person’s Guide to Finding, Landing and Loving a Job and should be included on all library shelves for first time job seekers.

Linda Cicuta is currently a Career Advisor at McGill’s Career and Placement Service, and has spent over 10 years in the career education and recruiting field. Her diverse background, including an undergraduate degree in Criminology, early employment as a Science Instructor and a Youth Worker, has given her a thorough understanding of how career paths are often experienced rather than planned. Although her career history has led her in different directions, Linda continuously finds herself in a training type position, allowing her to share her experiences and expertise.