Picador How to Find Fulfilling Work

An interesting book about job seeking containing propositions that might help you find the right path for your career. The Map of Choice being one of the propositions showing from where and to where your career has gone intended or unintended.Also the psychology behind the choices is discussed: A group of people were asked if they would prefer to earn 50,000 dollars while everybody else earned 25,000 dollars – or if they preferred earning 100,000 while everybody else earned 200,000 dollars. Most people preferred the first choice.Krznaric mentions the three elements that make the job worthwhile: Meaning, flow, freedom and there is a discussion about how to provide the courage to change your career midstream. By accompanying different people a woman tried job dating that is she tried 30 different jobs such as manager of a cat hotel, fashion photographer, a member of the European Parliament in order to find out, what she really wanted.A recommendation of the simple life as well as the mention of role models from Madame Curie to Zorba the Greek ends the lecture and even if you have heard the lecture before the book is still quite entertaining.

I enjoyed this little book. I read it over a couple of afternoons. It did help me to refine and crystallise a few ideas that were going around my head. You will probably only want to buy it if you are dissatisfied in your current role (or maybe looking to start out), so you will be bringing some ideas to it and it may help you knock them around. It's a very middle class book: there's not much about window cleaners, scaffolders or school canteen workers; most of the examples seem to be about charity executives, people in advertising and academics. No doubt some of the people highlighted had plenty of cash to be able to safely try something new. However, it's not a naive book and should hopefully give you real food for thought - maybe even action. Interesting, enjoyable and well written.

I'm in my mid/late twenties and had been feeling increasingly adrift with my career choices. This book helped clarify what was important to me, I thoroughly recommend it. I can tell I will return to it throughout my career.

Interesting but the premise of the book relies on there being lots of people willing to offer opportunities for a taster in different jobs. That's all well and good and fine for well connected people, or people who can afford to flit from job to job and be without an income. If that isn't you it's not clear that Mr Krznaric's book will be of much help to you in finding fulfilling work.

I would have probably given it five stars if not some of the examples of successful career shifters used in the book. One chapter describes a female who, in a strive for discovering her true vocation, effortlessly switches from one job to another, and these are often not related, odd and sometimes high status jobs and enterprises. My question is; how did she get all these jobs without previous experience, which is usually a main requirement for a given position. You cannot simply switch from digital marketing executive to business consultant without having some grasp on the practice of the subject?! This is where Krznaric's writing lacks credibility.Otherwise, pretty uplifting and inspirational little book.