Book Review of CareerAbility©
By Lisa Trudel,
Career Assessment Consultant,
Office Workers Career Centre.
Title: “CareerAbility©: Skills Office Professionals Need to Succeed
in the 21st Century”.
Author: Diane L. Moore.
This new book is more than just a collection of career success tips for
administrative assistants, secretaries and office support staff. All
professionals will find it useful for navigating their careers.
Designed in an easy-to-read style, this book clearly outlines the three
essential skills that all of us need in order to manage our careers
with success.
Part one is focussed on “relationship skills: getting along with
co-workers, managers and customers”. Since teamwork and communications
skills are paramount in today’s work world, this section is bursting
with excellent information. CareerAbility? is not an academic chapter
book; it is a practical workbook that includes a comprehensive set of
quizzes that are terrific benchmarks if you are creating an action plan
toward career and employment success. Especially useful is Chapter 7
on “Finding the Agreement Zone: How Well do You Manage Conflict?” It
provides 12 clear strategies for managing conflicts that can help not
just in your professional working life, but during your educational
studies when dealing with classmates and teachers, and during volunteer
work when dealing with co-committee or co-association members.
Part two looks at “productivity skills: getting the job done
efficiently and effectively.” From tips on how to thrive in a wired
world, such as develop an
online network and master techno short cuts, to tips on written
communication, this section has practical and useful advice
particularly if you find yourself overloaded when setting priorities.
Part three is on “self management skills: taking care of yourself in
turbulent times”. This section is one that you might return to again
and again. It helps you to be honest with your career pro-activity,
and provides selected points on how to
keep your career on track. The words that stayed with me were “make
continual deposits in your knowledge bank”. Lifelong learning, seeking
out a mentor, keeping a success diary, and practicing positive talk are
just some of the techniques that are highlighted in this final section.
If you have questions about what it takes to succeed as an office
professional, this new book by Diane Moore will give you the answers to
springboard you into a comfort zone of encouragement and action.
©2006 by Diane Moore. All rights reserved.