Getting From College to Career by Lindsey Pollak

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 · 729 ratings  · 94 reviews

Start your review of Getting from College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World, Revised Edition

Very practical and useful book for new graduates trying to build a career.

This is truly a helpful and eye-opening book, and came at a perfect timing to me. It provides great insight on career prep with tips and recommendations from employers and headhunters themselves. If you're not completely clueless about the real world then you may find some tips common sense, but still they are important nonetheless. The rest are new, and overwhelming, as I hastily took notes of them and felt extra-stressed and under-prepared. It's good to have a guidance like this to know what y This is truly a helpful and eye-opening book, and came at a perfect timing to me. It provides great insight on career prep with tips and recommendations from employers and headhunters themselves. If you're not completely clueless about the real world then you may find some tips common sense, but still they are important nonetheless. The rest are new, and overwhelming, as I hastily took notes of them and felt extra-stressed and under-prepared. It's good to have a guidance like this to know what you've done correctly and what can be improved, also to clarify some of the recruitment's "myths" so as to be more confident going into the real world. The tips and recommendations are surprisingly doable - you don't have to go out of your way to accomplish them.

I would recommend the best way to make use of this book: first, read the table of contents, and mark what you think you should improve. Then, read through the whole book quickly, and mark anything you find that you didn't know, or you should read more carefully. Finally, go back, find what you've marked, then read with your heart and take extensive notes on it. Personally, the most informative chapter for me was chapter 4, on networking, because I believe it is one of my weakest points.

If there's any downside to this book, it's very American based. Many tips can't be used unless you're in America, or in a developed country with a similar recruitment system as the U.S. It's hard out here for a girl in a developing world, but I guess I have to fight my way through 😂

Recommend for all university students - it's never too late to start, and never too early to begin.

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I only read this for my dad's benefit. He has given me dozens of self-help/advice/life-planning books over the years, and I figured I could indulge him at least once.

Echoing a previous reviewer, I am not the target audience for this book. It was written for people who are really into themselves and the idea of (mostly corporate) ~success.~ At one point the writer refers to a career as "doing what you were put on this earth to do," which sounds pretty fucking grandiose to me.

But I guess that's h

I only read this for my dad's benefit. He has given me dozens of self-help/advice/life-planning books over the years, and I figured I could indulge him at least once.

Echoing a previous reviewer, I am not the target audience for this book. It was written for people who are really into themselves and the idea of (mostly corporate) ~success.~ At one point the writer refers to a career as "doing what you were put on this earth to do," which sounds pretty fucking grandiose to me.

But I guess that's how my generation thinks? I met a lot of serial interns, neurotic thesis candidates, and multiple-club presidents while in college. I'm glad they're all excited about the future. They would probably like this book / have read it already.

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2.5/5
I found this book to be full of common sense points. These said points may not be very "duh, of course" like for everyone so in the right hands it could be very eye opening. For someone on my career path (high school English) it feels a bit useless. Lots of the points and suggestions don't feel aimed or applicable in my field. More open ended career paths where having a name and a foot in the door make a huge difference. Not saying that it doesn't make a difference for me it just doesn't fe 2.5/5
I found this book to be full of common sense points. These said points may not be very "duh, of course" like for everyone so in the right hands it could be very eye opening. For someone on my career path (high school English) it feels a bit useless. Lots of the points and suggestions don't feel aimed or applicable in my field. More open ended career paths where having a name and a foot in the door make a huge difference. Not saying that it doesn't make a difference for me it just doesn't feel like the most important thing in my line.

So I'm giving it a 2.5/5 for the relatable and (albeit commonly known) good points. Maybe helpful for some, just not me.

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For January (yep, I'm late) book club I read Getting from College to Career. It is meant for soon to be graduates/recent grads, so I figure I could still relate. The book provides tips about how to make yourself stand out in the masses of unemployed and (potentially) unqualified. My friend who let me borrow it said she is hesitant to share it with many people because she felt like it gave her a huge advantage in the job market.

The book goes through 90 steps of how to succeed in a post-grad worl

For January (yep, I'm late) book club I read Getting from College to Career. It is meant for soon to be graduates/recent grads, so I figure I could still relate. The book provides tips about how to make yourself stand out in the masses of unemployed and (potentially) unqualified. My friend who let me borrow it said she is hesitant to share it with many people because she felt like it gave her a huge advantage in the job market.

The book goes through 90 steps of how to succeed in a post-grad world, and I feel like I would have been at an even greater advantage had I read this during my senior year, but most of the tips still come in handy. They mostly relate to job hunting, which is even more relevant as I am currently teaching a Job Search class and I have used many of the tips in the classroom setting. My students are often blown away by my knowledge, little do they know how...little? I knew before this book. I have interviewed all over the place and written resumes with the help of experts, but I still felt this book was insightful.

The danger in this book is thinking it will solve all of your job search problems. It gives ideas and steps to be successful, but the idea is to follow all of the steps, not just a few of them. You also still have to be creative and keep your options open.

Ultimately, I definitely recommend this book, even if you can just read a bit before bed occasionally. It is good advice not only for yourself but those around you.

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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. "People offer advice based on their personal experiences—which may be good or bad, representative or out of the ordinary", written by Lindsey. She listed 90 idea tips for college / recently graduate students who are trying to getting a job both for 500 Fortune Companies or other creative industries. So you can approach one some of them which could fit you closing your first career. She was a believer that success comes from 70%-80% networking and leave graceful impression by writing thank-you no "People offer advice based on their personal experiences—which may be good or bad, representative or out of the ordinary", written by Lindsey. She listed 90 idea tips for college / recently graduate students who are trying to getting a job both for 500 Fortune Companies or other creative industries. So you can approach one some of them which could fit you closing your first career. She was a believer that success comes from 70%-80% networking and leave graceful impression by writing thank-you note, then don't waste any opportunities to get noticed. It will provide you wide career-related skill vocabularies, so you can have better acumen of long-term career planning and goals. Lastly, it left impression, "follow your rainbow, meaning approach your hard-work on job searching as the process exploring your true self, then relax after failures since eventually you are no longer the same person as yesterdays." Good luck. ...more

May 10, 2021 Sandy rated it it was amazing

Very simple and to the point! Usually when I read these types of books, the author's tone is annoying, the tips are basic, or the passages are too long. This was the opposite!

This book was enjoyable and I did pick up quite a few tips from it. Each segment expanded on the topic just enough not to be too lengthy, but still covered what was necessary to know. As a first-gen Asian-American student, I need another book to supplement this one because the author wrote from a white perspective (not a b

Very simple and to the point! Usually when I read these types of books, the author's tone is annoying, the tips are basic, or the passages are too long. This was the opposite!

This book was enjoyable and I did pick up quite a few tips from it. Each segment expanded on the topic just enough not to be too lengthy, but still covered what was necessary to know. As a first-gen Asian-American student, I need another book to supplement this one because the author wrote from a white perspective (not a bad thing; it's what she knows) and some of it wasn't applicable to my specific needs. But overall, it was a decent read and did what it set out to do. Of course, I skipped over the steps that didn't apply to me (like asking my parents for help), but that happens with all advice books. You take what you need and in this case, Lindsey Pollak gave us a lot to take. I'll be coming back to reference this book in the future. :)

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This book contains a lot of practical, sometimes obvious, information with the potential to prove valuable to anyone searching for a job or looking to improve their work position. Although it is geared towards college students (and recent graduates, although the younger the better), some of the tips could be helpful for people looking to network or get a promotion. However, this book is also motivational and provides helpful, actionable activities to promote self-worth and build confidence.

Sadly

This book contains a lot of practical, sometimes obvious, information with the potential to prove valuable to anyone searching for a job or looking to improve their work position. Although it is geared towards college students (and recent graduates, although the younger the better), some of the tips could be helpful for people looking to network or get a promotion. However, this book is also motivational and provides helpful, actionable activities to promote self-worth and build confidence.

Sadly, the copy I read was a first edition, and many tips were extremely outdated and tools like social media aren't even mentioned (a great deal has changed since 2007). I look forward to getting my hands on a revised edition to fill in the gaps.

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A good reference book to read before embarking on the corporate journey. Early years of college is the best time to read this book. It could be read by a working professional as well but a significant portion of the book becomes obvious or redundant in many cases.

A note to readers around the globe - this book is targeted towards American college student but there are a lot of generic advice which translates directly and will be useful in your country as well.

Overall the book could be classifie

A good reference book to read before embarking on the corporate journey. Early years of college is the best time to read this book. It could be read by a working professional as well but a significant portion of the book becomes obvious or redundant in many cases.

A note to readers around the globe - this book is targeted towards American college student but there are a lot of generic advice which translates directly and will be useful in your country as well.

Overall the book could be classified as a self-help reference manual because it touches a wide range of topics through examples right from networking to even table etiquettes.

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At some point in your life, if you have seriously prepared for an interview either for a pre-job opportunity or an actual job, you have probably learned almost everything in this book. Assuming that you have also created a LinkedIn account and attended at least one networking event, you probably learned a large portion of best-practices when it comes to meeting new people professionally. One very helpful aspect of this book is that it teaches you business etiquette that no one really talks about At some point in your life, if you have seriously prepared for an interview either for a pre-job opportunity or an actual job, you have probably learned almost everything in this book. Assuming that you have also created a LinkedIn account and attended at least one networking event, you probably learned a large portion of best-practices when it comes to meeting new people professionally. One very helpful aspect of this book is that it teaches you business etiquette that no one really talks about. The author gives very subtle but helpful tips on how to stand and act in any professional situation. ...more

Pollak has great tips for recent graduates.
The book was well organized and contains a number of sound advice for starting your career on the right foot. Some of the suggestions are fairly common, some good, but some are so simple and genius. Personally, Your Really Big List is an amazing tip. And so is a table with all your correspondence (including the dates) with all the companies you had.
It is definitely more aimed at corporate jobs, and people with that career at mind. But a fair amount Pollak has great tips for recent graduates.
The book was well organized and contains a number of sound advice for starting your career on the right foot. Some of the suggestions are fairly common, some good, but some are so simple and genius. Personally, Your Really Big List is an amazing tip. And so is a table with all your correspondence (including the dates) with all the companies you had.
It is definitely more aimed at corporate jobs, and people with that career at mind. But a fair amount of advice is universal. ...more

I think this is a solid book for a college student. Pollak's approach is to list a bunch of stuff it would be good to do in order to find a job by graduation but she also assures the reader that this isn't a "do-in-order" checklist. Dip in and dip out as needed.

However, as someone who thinks about job searching day in and day out it didn't offer too many new insights.

I wish that I had read the newest edition. The edition I read referenced some information and tools that are out of date.

I think this is a solid book for a college student. Pollak's approach is to list a bunch of stuff it would be good to do in order to find a job by graduation but she also assures the reader that this isn't a "do-in-order" checklist. Dip in and dip out as needed.

However, as someone who thinks about job searching day in and day out it didn't offer too many new insights.

I wish that I had read the newest edition. The edition I read referenced some information and tools that are out of date.

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Lindsey's book outlines an array of useful tips that I have applied into my life and has helped me get into a much better mind set about job hunting and thinking about my career. From when I started reading this I have managed to get a job I am happy with. Clear and wide ranging in its content I would recommend this book for university students, the only way it could be better if it was based on UK not USA, the tips nevertheless are applicable. Lindsey's book outlines an array of useful tips that I have applied into my life and has helped me get into a much better mind set about job hunting and thinking about my career. From when I started reading this I have managed to get a job I am happy with. Clear and wide ranging in its content I would recommend this book for university students, the only way it could be better if it was based on UK not USA, the tips nevertheless are applicable. ...more

This has good information for college students who are entering the work force for the first time. I would honestly suggest this book for high school students with no career experience. It is very descriptive for people who have no information about networking and working. I wish I had read this earlier in my college career. I read it after having some work experience, so it wasn't as helpful for me. This has good information for college students who are entering the work force for the first time. I would honestly suggest this book for high school students with no career experience. It is very descriptive for people who have no information about networking and working. I wish I had read this earlier in my college career. I read it after having some work experience, so it wasn't as helpful for me. ...more

This book teaches college students or very recent grads how to find their first real world job. I've had it on my reading list for about 7 years, making it about 7 years (or more) too late to be helpful to me. Also, it's pretty outdated at this point because of how much the internet and smart phones are changing the world. That being said, if you are the target audience, it may be helpful.

This book was required in sections for a class I am taking to prepare going into the Entertainment Industry. I ended up reading it cover to cover the day I got it! There were a lot of great insights that inspired me without feeling too overwhelmed. It's a great book for any time frame, but it certainly would have helped to have read it earlier in my college career! This book was required in sections for a class I am taking to prepare going into the Entertainment Industry. I ended up reading it cover to cover the day I got it! There were a lot of great insights that inspired me without feeling too overwhelmed. It's a great book for any time frame, but it certainly would have helped to have read it earlier in my college career! ...more

Good tips, some are a little dated because it was written in 2007, but overall it has some very applicable tips. Be sure to read it before you graduate, and not after; it is still valuable knowledge but I wish I'd have known about it before graduating. Good tips, some are a little dated because it was written in 2007, but overall it has some very applicable tips. Be sure to read it before you graduate, and not after; it is still valuable knowledge but I wish I'd have known about it before graduating. ...more

The peculiar thing that I had not given any emphasis has been viewed in such a way, that could give 100% benefit. Getting from college to career is must read for graduates or post graduates student who want to be indulged into professional career.

Jan 06, 2021 Lauren rated it really liked it

I probably should have read this book before I was already offered a job. However, this book still had some valuable information in it and I would definitely recommend it to college students, particularly sophomores and juniors.

Feb 03, 2021 Thilina Yapa rated it it was amazing

Very easy to read and digest. Of course it's giving lot's of perspective to a student who is in the verge of moving to the real world. More than what to expect in the real world, the book prepares the student to face the realities. Highly recommend for any college student, high school student Very easy to read and digest. Of course it's giving lot's of perspective to a student who is in the verge of moving to the real world. More than what to expect in the real world, the book prepares the student to face the realities. Highly recommend for any college student, high school student ...more

Amazing book. Some tips where highly focused for students in the US, but still very useful. I enjoyed that every tip was concrete and attainable. The author expresses clear ideas why and how every suggestion helps the reader to get its job, while having a nice sense of humor.

This book has good points and worthwhile activities for those looking to get from no experience to experienced.

Should be read by students in their pre-final/final years of the educational program. Pretty exhaustive. Not everything might apply to everyone though.

Lots of basic, self-explanatory stuff, with some interesting points here and there.

Very practical and enjoyed the book

Good intro book with a lot of resources (take minimal notes especially of the websites!)

Nov 03, 2017 Allison rated it liked it

Practical information for college students. Easy to digest format.

some of the advice was presumably known but I did get some proper and deeper knowledge on why one must do what one must for a job :) an easy and steady read

It was amazing really. Took so many things from it. Now im looking from other books from the author.

Lindsey Pollak is a New York Times bestselling author and one of the world's leading career and workplace experts, with a special focus on early career success.

She was named to the 2020 Thinkers50 Radar List, which honors 30 global management thinkers whose work is shaping the future of how organizations are managed and led.

Lindsey's next book, a response to the Covid crisis, "Recalculating: Navi

Lindsey Pollak is a New York Times bestselling author and one of the world's leading career and workplace experts, with a special focus on early career success.

She was named to the 2020 Thinkers50 Radar List, which honors 30 global management thinkers whose work is shaping the future of how organizations are managed and led.

Lindsey's next book, a response to the Covid crisis, "Recalculating: Navigate Your Career Through the Changing World of Work," will be published in March 2021.

Her other books include "The Remix: How to Lead and Succeed in the Multigenerational Workplace," "Becoming the Boss" and "Getting from College to Career."

Lindsey's speaking audiences and consulting clients have included more than 250 corporations, law firms, conferences and universities.

She has been featured in such media outlets as The TODAY Show, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN and NPR.

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Getting From College to Career by Lindsey Pollak

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