Use Your Head to Get Your Foot in the Door 1st (first) edition Text Only

by Harvey MacKay

New York Times, Wall Street Journal , and USA Today bestseller"You can have the finest moves in the talent contest, you can boast a trophy speed-dial list on your iPhone, you can possess the single-mindedness of Paul Revere and be as self-assured as Muhammad Ali . . . and you still won't nail the job unless you know how to mold and merchandise your personal pitch. If this is true when times are booming-and it is-you can only imagine how true it is in times like these."Harvey Mackay, Fortune magazine's "Mr. Make- Things-Happen," has written five New York Times bestsellers, including one of the most popular business books of all time- Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive . Now he returns with the ultimate book on how to get, and keep, a job you truly love whether you're twenty-one, fifty-one, or seventy-one.The average person will have at least three career changes and ten different jobs by age thirty-eight. In this era of downsizing and outsourcing, you can never be sure your job will still exist in five years- or five weeks. So you'd better think of your career as a perpetual job search. That demands a passion for lifetime learning and the skills for relentless and effective networking.Mackay shows you how to be at your best when things are at their worst. His hard-hitting topics - beating rejection before it beats you- warning signals that you might be losing your job- acing interviews- negotiating the job you want not the job they offer- taking advantage of the way bosses make hiring decisions- blending the latest contact tools with old-fashioned face-to-face networkingUplifting, amusing, and jam-packed with proven tips, Use Your Head to Get Your Foot in the Door will guide you through the toughest job market in decades. It's also the definitive A-to-Z career resource for the rest of your life.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Professional Development

Hardcover

First published February 18, 2010

Reviews

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was interesting, although I didn't love it. As someone who is interested in libraries, a lot of the corporate stuff just wouldn't work for me. And a lot of the "right" responses to interview questions just seemed so cheesy, fake, and obvious. Maybe this is super naive of me, but I believe in being honest in job interviews and not completely spinning the answer. I want to work in a place where I'm a good fit and where I'm happy. If I answer that I'm okay with any management style, and end up with a micro-managing boss, I wouldn't be a happy camper, and that would be no one's fault but my own. However, if you're mid-career and in the corporate world, this might be a helpful resource.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book reads like a vanity project -- disjointed, repetitive, and very, very, self-satisfied.

[Micah Neely]

Full of inane cliché just like every other book in this genre, but it also contains several gems of advice.

Goes on my get-it-at-the-library-and-speedread-it shelf.

[Ixby Wuff · Rating 4 out of 5]

New York Times, Wall Street Journal , and USA Today bestseller

"You can have the finest moves in the talent contest, you can boast a trophy speed-dial list on your iPhone, you can possess the single-mindedness of Paul Revere and be as self-assured as Muhammad Ali . . . and you still won't nail the job unless you know how to mold and merchandise your personal pitch. If this is true when times are booming-and it is-you can only imagine how true it is in times like these." **

Harvey Mackay, Fortune magazine's "Mr. Make- Things-Happen," has written five New York Times bestsellers, including one of the most popular business books of all time- Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive. Now he returns with the ultimate book on how to get, and keep, a job you truly love whether you're twenty-one, fifty-one, or seventy-one.

The average person will have at least three career changes and ten different jobs by age thirty-eight. In this era of downsizing and outsourcing, you can never be sure your job will still exist in five years- or five weeks. So you'd better think of your career as a perpetual job search. That demands a passion for lifetime learning and the skills for relentless and effective networking.

Mackay shows you how to be at your best when things are at their worst. His hard-hitting topics include:

- beating rejection before it beats you
- warning signals that you might be losing your job
- acing interviews
- negotiating the job you want not the job they offer
- taking advantage of the way bosses make hiring decisions
- blending the latest contact tools with old-fashioned face-to-face networking

Uplifting, amusing, and jam-packed with proven tips, Use Your Head to Get Your Foot in the Door will guide you through the toughest job market in decades. It's also the definitive A-to-Z career resource for the rest of your life. **

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was recommended by another book, but it didn't have anything original or unique to say versus other job books.

[Gene Babon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first story in Use Your Head highlights the value of preparation, perseverance and passion. These characteristics help define success in many aspects of life, especially the challenge of job search, the focus of this book.

The book provides a laundry list of strategies, as opposed to a cohesive, focused plan. None-the-less, the strategies, as a whole, are solid.

The anecdotes are encouraging: Chicken Soup for the Soul was rejected by 33 publishers before going on to sell 30 million copies.

Mackay's Morals are enlightening: Don't get dejected if you've been rejected -- just get your new you perfected!

Harvey Mackay's breakthrough book, Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive, remains a business classic. It is one of [The 100 Best Business Books of All Time:]. Use Your Head to Get Your Foot in the Door doesn't attain the same status, but swimming with sharks is a tough act to follow. Since Mackay has been a business owner his whole life, it is hard to imagine Harvey actually looking for a job. Also, Generation X and Y readers might not be able to relate to a silver-haired guy in a suit on the book cover.

For a more contemporary view on getting ahead in today's economy consider Seth Godin's Linchpin and Keith Ferrazzi's Never Eat Alone. Gary Vaynerchuk's Crush it has also been well-received and is on my to-read list.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I see this book received less than 3 stars on average, and now I am curious as to why. As someone who was recently looking for a job, I find a lot of helpful anecdotes in this book, even after going through my fair share of outplacement training. The only knock on it may be the way it's organized. It tends to jump around a lot and be repetitive, but yet it's also arranged in a highly entertaining way. Let's face it....job search books are usually dull and feel like there are bashing you over the head with stuff you don't want to do. But MacKay puts much of it in perspective and makes you realize whether you really want the job or not.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up a copy of this book at the local Dollar store, which is good because I am trying to be careful with my money since I am not working at the time I am writing this review. The author gives some really good tips for job hunting, networking and interviews. Some of it was just good review for me since I have taken local interview workshops in my area, sponsored by the State of Texas. But, it always good to keep fine-tuned to try to do one's best, particularly in our present horrible US economy. If you are looking for work, I recommend this book and if you cannot find an inexpensive copy, check out your local library.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's all about the research and preparation before the interview even takes place. Then in the later chapters MacKay gives advice on how to handle the interview questions.

Harvey MacKay uses a casual tone that is directed towards business and management occupations but can these ideas easily relate to other career fields.

Occasional cartoons from The New Yorker add to the humor.

It sounds like a note from a friend.

[Jack Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever wanted to get selected to join a winning organization, team, company? Just grab Harvey's eye-opening manual on how to get your foot in the door and put his sage advice to work. There are no secrets to getting hired/selected/chosen. With a strategy you can open doors and get invited to stay. The 63 specific lessons will give you the ammunition you need to get your foot in the door.

[Teddy Burriss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really a good read for anyone who is in the job hunt and/or in a face-face sales career.

Harvey did a good job of sharing very useful information regarding all the different stages of seeking that next job thru face-face interaction.

Lots of good examples and real life perspectives from others in the Job Search phase of career.

[Kathleen Rainwater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harvey Mackay explains how hiring decisions are made and draws on real-life stories to explain how to use the latest online tools with old-fashioned face-to-face networking. Mackay's useful advice is appropriate for job seekers of any age or experience level.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

probably better for those mid-caree than for those kicking it off. Good bits.

[CS · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author waffles too much, else this is a readable book.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Motivating and as alway Mr Mackay gives some good advise and the use to keep checklists and send handwritten thank you notes.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-read for everyone who works for someone else.

[Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mandatory reading for all of those struggling with a job hunting. A lot of useful examples to stay motivated and basically what you have to do to land that ideal job.

[Kevin Dumcum · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is nothing really wrong with his advice, and is at least post-Recession (ignore all job search books from prior to 2008), but some of the advice is already a bit aged.

[Ryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

yawn

[Aasim Waheed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good idea but a lot of reading (not the best written either) for very little meat. The author seems to keep forgetting what he was writing about, and digressing on various sometimes unrelated topics