Recalculating: Navigate Your Career Through the Changing World of Work

by Lindsey Pollak

A leading workplace expert provides an inspirational, practical, and forward-looking career playbook for recent grads, career changers, and transitioning professionals looking to thrive in today’s rapidly evolving workplace.
Covid-19 has heightened career uncertainty in a work landscape dominated by turbulence and change, and it is directly impacting how people are entering—or re-entering—the workplace. But as Lindsey Pollak makes clear, the pandemic merely accelerated career and hiring trends that have been building. Changes that were once slowly spreading have been rapidly implemented across all industries.  This means that the old job hunting and career success rules no longer apply. Job seekers of all generations and skill sets must learn how to thrive in this “new normal,” which will include a hybrid of remote and in-person experiences, increased reliance on virtual communication and automation, constant disruption, and renewed employer emphasis on workers’ health and well-being. While this new world is complicated and constantly evolving, you won’t have to navigate it alone. For twenty years, Pollak has been following the trends and successfully advising young professionals and organizations on workplace success. Now, she guides you through the changes currently happening—and those to come. Combining insights from both experts and professionals across generations, she provides encouraging, strategic, and actionable advice on making lifelong decisions about education; building a resilient personal brand; using virtual communication to remotely interview, network, and work; skilling and reskilling for the future; and maintaining self-care and mental health. Like your personal GPS, Pollak equips you to handle workplace obstacles, helping you see them as challenges to navigate rather than impossible roadblocks. There is no perfect path to a dream career, but with Recalculating you’ll be prepared with the necessary skills and tools to succeed.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Self Help, Leadership

8 pages, MP3 CD

First published March 23, 2021

About 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: 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.

Reviews

[Chanele McFarlane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recalculating is an incredibly insightful read for anyone feeling lost in their career, amidst the pandemic, which I’m willing to bet is pretty much everyone right now!

I really enjoyed this book because it’s not preachy. Lindsey is a very down-to-earth writer which makes it feel like you’re talking to a friend, who just so happens to have some very great career advice. I really appreciated the short yet punchy chapters that incorporated advice and stories from a variety of people. Also, the exercises at the end of each chapter are very helpful too. It’s not one of those books you read and then have to figure out your action plan on your own. Recalculating is the perfect blend of advice and action and as a career strategist, I will be recommending it to my clients and online audience.

(Thank you so much to the author, Lindsey, for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.)

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that you can skip around in, return to for insight, and help you feel better about making changes to your career path. It is a book that resonated with me in many ways, and I will pick it up periodically throughout my career for reminders and ideas to better brand, network, and focus on my own career path. The best message came simply: only you can make your career successful, no one else is doing that work for you. Always be recalculating! Thanks to the author for this book, being there during my recalculation of 2021. ☺️

[Chaim Shapiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you had a GenXer writing the definitive career advice book for the 21st Century on your bingo card, YOU WIN!.

For those of us who never figured out the color of their parachute-or why they even need a parachute, Pollak's latest will give you all of the answers you need about the modern job search.

"Recalculating: Navigate Your Career Through the Changing World of Work" is well written and engaging with practical advice and relatable exercises (assignments?) to ensure job seekers are able to implement her advice in their job search

Written for "recaluclators" with the pandemic as the backdrop, Pollak's book is equally valuable for "precedented times" and job seekers at all levels.

As my 2-page Resume will attest, I don't agree with Pollak on everything, or as I will now phrase it after reading her book, Pollak doesn't agree with me on all the issues...yet (95% isn’t bad). It is clear, however that all of her assertions are well developed and cogently argued.

This book is a must read for job seekers at any career stage as well as for my Career Services colleagues who want to stay on top of the latest career trends and advice.

After reading her book, I personally plan to pursue a career opportunity I have been avoiding.

Your first career assignment-buy this book!

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

4/10

Essentially a career self-help book, it's chock-full of common knowledge advice on job searches, pivots and networking. “Update your LinkedIn” and “keep your webcam on”, are just two of the pieces of advice that you might not have known without this book. That said, this is primarily useful as an encouragement for those feeling overwhelmed by “putting themselves out there” or whatever. Read it if you want some motivation to begin a job search, but don’t expect some novel advice to knock you flat with its genius clarity. Mostly it’s the practical advice of “apply for jobs” “say yes to things” “ask around and let people know you’re looking” “leverage your skills” (whatever that means). Given its reasonably high reviews, I may have missed something with this book, but honestly I found it underwhelming. If this is your first job search, there are worse places to start, but if you already have some experience with rejection and job searching, then I doubt this will be of much help. Decide for yourself I suppose, those are just my two cents

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

   My husband picked this out for us to listen to while driving for a weekend away together, it was one he had gotten free with his WSJ subscription a while ago. Pollak goes through the stages of “recalculating” – which I would also call “pivoting” – in a methodical way, and by offering an abundance of resources along the way. She approaches recalculating from after the COVID-19 pandemic, so much of her information leverages the much more virtual world we have come to live in since the lockdowns. Her chapter titles are exceptionally long, but encompass what she addresses in each chapter quite nicely:

1) Adjust Your Mindset: Approach Recalculation with a Positive Attitude—and a Little Less Instagram
2) Forge Your New Path: Prepare for Recalculation by Clarifying Your Goals, Assessing Your Strengths and Educational Credentials, and Better Managing Your Time and Energy
3) Your Career Story: Clarify Your Personal Brand and “Soft” and “Hard” Skills, and Communicate Your Story Through Your Résumé, Cover Letters, LinkedIn, and Other Social Media
4) Networking in the “New Normal”: Tap the Power of Relationships by Building, Maintaining, and Leveraging Your Contacts Both in Person and Virtually
5) Ace the Job Search: Build Your Expertise in Twenty-First-Century Job Hunting, from Job Boards to Employer Research to Virtual Interviewing to Embracing Imperfect Pancakes
6) Turn Any Job into a Great Job: Transform Every Position into an Opportunity to Build Your Skills, Network, Self-Awareness, and Future Opportunities
7) Move On and Move Up: Meet Real-Life Recalculators Who Have Put the Lessons of This Book into Action

   So, she offers lots of useful information, and it is always nice to hear real-life examples of how people successfully recalculated by the end of it. I was also pleased whenever a tip she gave was something I had already told my husband in his recalculating journey. This does mean that the book came at the right time for him, but it wasn’t the right time for me. I am looking forward to using the resources she offers for discerning what new path to embark on, as she did include some helpful links for that, if (when) I decide to do some additional discerning on the path I want to take forward – maybe I’ll even go into library science to become a librarian!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been on my TBR ever since it came out in Spring 2021 - whoops! - but I’m glad I finally got to it. I read this for work purposes and found it to be spot on with what I advise students and alumni to do, which was encouraging. I found lots of helpful nuggets and would strongly recommend this to anyone who is doing some recalculating in their professional life.

[Evie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book entered my life exactly at the right time and give me nuggets of wisdom that I needed.

[Kat P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a graduating college student, I've been discouraged because I haven't found a job yet. This book's advice inspired me. There are, in particular, two key components that I love about Recalculating. A) it reminded me that success/finding your niche takes time; B) it gave me ideas on how to put myself out there and improve my chances at landing a job. There are so many exercises, scenario planning examples, and quick tips throughout the chapters.

I'm also really big on quotes! Here's one that really stuck out to me (p. 56): "When you identify your self-worth by your job, you are setting yourself up for disappointment anytime you see someone surpassing you. But by defining your career as a diverse portfolio of time and talent investments you make to bring value to the world, you can hedge against the painful moments of feeling behind in some areas" - Nihar Chhaya

All in all: 10/10.

[Laurie Ruettimann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you having a WTH moment thanks to COVID? Or are you facing a quarter-life or midlife crisis? Do you wonder how you'll make it through another day at work and find yourself dreaming about what's next?

Lindsey Pollak offers a new playbook for your career. You don't need to start over and give up everything you've worked hard to attain. You need to recalculate and bring all the good stuff about your current job into your next career.

This book gives you specific strategies and ideas on how to recalculate, complete with examples of men and women from all backgrounds/walks of life who picked a new path and didn't go homeless or bankrupt. Along the way, Lindsey also shares her personal story and reminds us that mindset isn't just for self-help gurus — it's for anyone who wants a new path forward.

Really loved this book. It's so helpful. I think you'll like it, too.

[Winyen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Underwhelming, not as much practical advice as I'd hoped. Network. Do some journalling to assess where you want to go and what matters to you. Use your spare time to do some courses or volunteer. Water is wet, the sky is blue.

[Ilana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great gift for grads, those looking to change careers or anyone in transition. I found it relatable, inspiring and practical. Such a good read!

[Binta Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another stellar and timely piece of writing from Lindsey! Whether you are early, mid or late(er) in your career, change is the only certainty. Recalculating: Navigate Your Career Through the Changing World of Work is a career coach wrapped up in a book. Lindsay serves up unspoken truths about the job market, numerous examples of “recalculators,” and offers practical and actionable advice to traverse the inevitable detours that will occur in one’s career.

[Brittany Morrone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly couldn’t put this book down. It is the perfect combination of guidance, practical application steps, and research. I highly recommend to anyone who is looking to make a career move.

[Rhodes Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two audiences will greatly benefit from this book but for similar reasons: young people starting their careers and older employees switching careers. I wouldn't recommend the book for career changers to explore how they have evolved and what careers they might pursue though there is some information that would be helpful; there are better books for that exploration. However, older employees may have used now outdated practices to find and apply for jobs. I think the value of the book is the advice on dealing with remote interviews and work situations, building a personal brand to stand out from other job seekers, and other virtual/technological tools for job seekers. A lot of the other work and resiliency advice is probably familiar to older workers but may provide a good framework for those entering the workforce. For those exploring what they want to do or changing careers, I'd still consider What Color Is Your Parachute the first step.

I haven't read her other books but this seems to be a theme of her recent books so I don't know how much is repetitive from those works. The Enhanced Material supplement is helpful for going through some of the exercises in the book.

[Andrew M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read Lindsey’s previous book, The Remix (2019), and having connected on LinkedIn with her since December 17, 2012, I was already familiar with Lindsey’s cross-generational and LinkedIn prowess. Living what she preaches, however, Lindsey was not one who was ever going to sit still while the pandemic sidelined or waylaid so many of our plans. Instead, she used this time to gather her collective guidance over the years and recalculate – and recalibrate – that wisdom within a virtual or remote paradigm.

The very word “recalculate” means to recount in light of different data. Although many liberal arts majors recoil at the mention of calculus, what it really does is to help us understand changes between values over time; differential calculus divides things into different pieces, and tells us how they change from one moment to the next, while integral calculus joins these pieces together, and tells us how much of something is made, overall, by a series of changes over time, and how they will change in the future.

And so it is with this book. Maybe the most telling line is in the very beginning: “Living and working in these times is not for the faint of heart. Recalculating is here to help.” This is a guide, littered with personal examples of how workers from every generation not only coped with pandemic-accelerating change, but actually mastered and leveraged that change into something better than would have been the case otherwise.

Many of you may be familiar with Carol Dweck and the importance of maintaining a growth mindset (2007). As Lindsey notes, however, that is just “table stakes” to get you into the game. The way you stay there, as one of her exemplars, Lamarr Pottinger, explains, is to mind your “career athleticism,” as athletes are conditioned to consider failures as opportunities to improve.

Lindsey refers to a very specific type of professional networking that she calls SPEC: Specific, Proactive, Enthusiastic, and Consistent … and she also advocates Keeping PACE by Knowing your non-negotiables, Prioritizing action, Asking for help, Controlling what you can, and Embracing creativity.

She then further brings these guiding principles to life through examples of recalculators: pathfinders, career-story, job-search, and on-the-jobbers. And then Lindsey humanizes these approaches, noting that job seekers need not apologize or over-explain; just acknowledge the facts of your situation and move on.

So if you are feeling the modern-day version of VUCA—volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity—and the entropy and career paralysis that too often accompanies it … this book will give you the courage to raise anchor and ride the energy of the waves, rather than be sucked into rip currents or undertows.

[Steve Bullington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recent research has shown:

64% of employees are going to look for a new job post-pandemic
53% of COVID college graduates are under- or unemployed

So here's the question: Are you going to be looking for A job or THE job post-pandemic?

This is the question that Lindsey Pollak tackles in her new book Recalculating.

This is not your typical job search book. Yes, it has lots of recommendations on tactical actions to take. More importantly, it helps you think through what is important to you in the next opportunity and provides you with tools (literally fill in the blank pages) to help you work through your goals, evaluate your current state, and outline actions to take.

So if you are part of the 64 or 53%, use this great book to help you not just hop to the next job but to leap to the next phase of your professional journey.

[Mark Presnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been a fan of Lindsey Pollak's writing, and this book does not disappoint – in fact it may be her best yet. Her warm, engaging style with many different examples of career pathways is the perfect post-pandemic book for students, alumni, professionals, and really all of us as we all begin to define our next act. She balances the counseling guidance necessary for one’s success with specific, practical steps on resumes, cover letters, and interviewing skills. It is the perfect balance between self-reflection and action. As we all think about what returning to work means for our careers, Lindsey creates a pathway so that we can better understand what is truly important for our professional happiness.

[Ivy Digest · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book to help you find a job after COVID--whether you’re a graduate, career switcher, freelancer, part-timer, returning to work after a break, or remote worker. It has the latest data and specific and effective strategies to find a job you desire.

Beyond the usual career advice, Lindsey shares her expertise in using LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social media to find the position you want in the industry you desire. She tells you how to brand yourself, build a network, maintain contact, study an industry, find opportunities, and have a memorable interview—all online. Should be required reading for all workers at any point in their careers.
@IvyDigest

[Caitlin Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for everyone who works. It’s not just for those who are feeling lost, wanting to pivot, lacking experience in their dream field, considering their next career move. The advice here for many of us not necessarily looking to pivot is still very sound & practical—keep networking (“always take the meeting”), keep your Linked In profile up to date, keep developing and saying yes to things because you just never know. I found this book especially insightful as we approach performance reviews and celebrate our accomplishments. Really good tips for a post-pandemic world of work. Always recalculate and consider the opportunity. Love this author’s ideas.

[Michael Burress · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wanting a Dream job, Read Recalculating

Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2021

I recommend Lindsey's new book Recalculating to parents as a gift to graduates, career changers, and to anyone who is looking to improve their professional development. Lindsey writes in a way that gives you valuable insights and information while empowering the reader through action steps to create momentum in this difficult environment so many of us are facing. A bonus is her positive coaching style you can do this by small steps adding up to big improvements.

[Andrew Clinton · Rating 1 out of 5]

As someone who is about to go through a career change, I was interested in listening to Recalculating. It ended up being structured advice on how to get a job. It contains generic information that was not too exciting, although job hunting is not exciting, either. Ultimately, in my own recalculation, I need to think about what I want to do instead of just applying to roles. Listening to this as an audiobook was the main reason I was able to get through the entire thing.

[Patience · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. There's some really good advice in her along with practical action steps. It's a great resource for people who are in the middle of a career transition, contemplating a transition, or navigating unexpected changes. The persistent emphasis on privilege and intersectionality in several chapters is a bit tedious, frequently did not further her overall point, and often felt like it was included simply for the sake of virtue signaling.

[Haydyn Gee]

Lindsey's writing is so captivating and personal, it's hard to put this book down! As someone who has recently transitioned into my first job, this book was extremely helpful. Lindsey provides many tips and tricks that I will keep in mind. I would absolutely recommend this book to my fellow peers navigating their first career and work space!

[Mary P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recalculating turns a stressful life challenge into a life affirming process. Lindsey shows us how to find and maintain a positive attitude while clarifying goals, building on previous experiences, and mastering 21st Century job-hunting techniques. Like Lindsey’s other books, this is an excellent multigenerational resource.

[Xavier University Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been on my TBR ever since it came out in Spring 2021 - whoops! - but I'm glad I finally got to it. I read this for work purposes and found it to be spot on with what I advise students and alumni to do, which was encouraging. I found lots of helpful nuggets and would strongly recommend this to anyone who is doing some recalculating in their professional life.

[Shane Ambro · Rating 5 out of 5]

For an up to date job searching book with some tangible ideas other than “keep trying” and “follow your dreams” this is an easy read with some good nuggets.

I started as a stay at home dad in 2020– not bc of Covid but just happened that way. Now I’m in the hunt and this book was the most recent career search book from the library and had lots of good up to date information.

[Paul Menezes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable read from an author who is passionate about helping those succeed when job hunting. There was a lot of reference to LinkedIn, which I guess is expected in today's world. Will recommend to those looking to pivot to a new career, as this is motivational writing.

[Alex Rohrer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read for anyone who wants to learn about things that should have been taught to us in school, the job world and being prepared for it. I would recommend every high school student and college student read this.

[D.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best personal career GPS to navigate today's rapidly evolving work environment during COVID. I landed a job within 2 months of reading this book after being unemployed for a year and a half. Pollak has some key insights that are worth gold.

[Zhilin Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

It provides many helpful tips to anyone who cares about career development. Not all ideas are completely new, but still it's quite helpful.