Source: The Toronto Star, Janis Foord Kirk

Published: Saturday, December 1, 2007

If you have an aspiring young wannabe on your gift list this holiday season, a thoughtfully chosen book focusing on specific career needs can be a gift that keeps on giving long into the new year.

Jeffrey Giles' latest book, Anything but Ordinary, is brimming with career wisdom for those who feel stymied at work. He wrote it, he says, for "the group of people known as Generation Y. They're in the process of radically changing the face of business as we know it, and few understand the unique challenges they face."

This is not a how-to book in the traditional sense, but instead a fictional account of three working, 30-something professionals, each facing a career crisis.

As the story unfolds one of the three finds a mentor, Jack, and encourages the others to also take advantage of his help. Jack, a successful businessman, asks each to describe their work-related problems. He gives them assignments to help them understand how to professionally advance their own careers.

Success in a complex workplace demands leadership skills, he tells them. And the skills they need to lead themselves to new career heights are the same skills needed to lead others.

"There's a leader in each of us," Jack believes. "We just have to let it out."

His prescription: Learn continuously. Build solid relationships by reaching out to others, caring about them and attentively listening to them. Find the things you feel passionate about. Define your inner purpose. Articulate specific goals.

An interesting read and better crafted than most publications of its kind, this book can provide valuable insight for anyone struggling now to get career traction.

Young women working in a scientific career or considering one will find Success Strategies for Women in Science a perceptive career guide and an inspired gift.

Peggy Pritchard the driving force behind the book, interviewed 350 woman scientists, from undergraduate students to senior research scientists. She has woven together their stories and contributions to create a "portable mentor" for women in all science disciplines.

Pritchard is an information and communications specialist, based in Guelph, who develops and delivers training to university and college students. Two chapters, one on Career Management and another on Time Stress, she has written herself. The remaining 10 were written by women scientists from Canada, the United States and Europe, covering topics such as: Training and Working Abroad, Climbing the Ladder, Mentoring and Networking.

The advice offered by these professional scientists is thoughtful, realistic and specifically targeted to women considering a career of this kind.

Pritchard writes: "Successful women in science share many qualities, attitudes and goals that can be instructive to aspiring scientists.... They have discovered that achieving in science... requires vision, focus, dedication, determination, a commitment to lifelong learning and a persistent striving for excellence. It involves courage and a willingness to make difficult choices and compromise."

Barbara Jaworski's book, Kaa Boom, deals with people at the other end of the age spectrum, so-called "mature workers."

"Our workforce is aging and our talent pool is shrinking rapidly," she writes. "Without careful, strategic planning, organizations may find themselves embroiled in a savage war for talent, unable to fill key positions or stem the flow of lost knowledge."

A human resources consultant and the founder of the Toronto-based Workplace Institute, Jaworski has peppered her book with stories of Canadian organizations that have created a "50-plus advantage." She also offers valuable advice about the kind of comprehensive workforce planning needed to attract and retain and develop older workers.

Experienced, mature workers have much to offer in our multi-generational workplace, Jaworski believes. ``The future belongs to the young, but it is the aging boomer who will take them there."