Fearless Job Hunting: Powerful Psychological Strategies for Getting the Job You Want

by William J. Knaus, Sam Klarreich PhD, Russell Grieger

Successful job seekers have two major skills their competitors don' the psychological endurance to approach job opportunities fearlessly, and the ability to adapt to a variety of situations to position themselves as each interviewer's dream candidate. Fearless Job Hunting offers these powerful psychological techniques drawn from cognitive behavioral therapy and reveals the strategies decision makers in top corporations use to find and hire exceptional employees. This book shows you how This book has received the prestigious accolade of being included in The Albert Ellis Tribute Book Series —created to honor the life and work of Albert Ellis, the founder of rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT). REBT is one of the most widely-practiced therapies throughout the world and is the foundation for cognitive-behavioral therapy and other evidence-based approaches. These books provide proven-effective treatments and tools to improve psychological well-being, while also supporting advancements in psychotherapy for the betterment of humanity.

Genres: Nonfiction

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

William J. Knaus, EdD, is a licensed psychologist with more than forty-six years of clinical experience working with people suffering from anxiety, depression, and procrastination. He has appeared on numerous regional and national television shows, including The Today Show, and more than 100 radio shows. His ideas have appeared in national magazines such as U.S. News & World Report and Good Housekeeping, and major newspapers such as The Washington Post and the Chicago Tribune. He is one of the original directors of postdoctoral psychotherapy training in rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Knaus is the author or coauthor of over twenty books, including The Cognitive Behavioral Workbook for Anxiety, The Cognitive Behavioral Workbook for Depression, and The Procrastination Workbook.

Reviews

[Senthil Kumaran]

REBT applied to the field of interviewing. It is helpful if you suffer from the anxiety involved in the process.

[Barry Davis]

As the backgrounds of the authors suggest, this book purports to offer “powerful psychological strategies for getting the job you want.†Topics covered in the book are quite comprehensive, from preparation and targeting through job search, resumes (probably the weakest part of the book), networking, job search, interviewing and salary negotiation.

Based on the Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy of Albert Ellis, the authors provide some excellent constructs to work through the decision-making process in a manner to reduce procrastination and enhance progression towards meaningful work. Using the ABCDE approach (Adverse situation, Belief about it, emotional and behavioral Consequences of these beliefs, Disputing this belief and identifying the Effects of the new perspective) to evaluate perspectives, situations, decisions and action, they provide multiple real life examples of job hunters and career explorers working through this process. Chapters end with hints, short worksheets and questions to apply the key topics to the reader’s specific situation.

I found the first section titled “Gear Up to Manage Your Job-Loss and Job-Search Challenges†to be particularly useful, providing excellent guidance on reprogramming personal perspectives, managing the inevitable stress of the process and creating a positive, results-oriented job search environment.

[Josh]

this book highlights the importance of positive thought, advanced preparation and planning for all phases of a job search and making the search a job in and of itself. the authors address a number of methods for identifying weaknesses and correcting negative thoughts / actions.

many of the techniques discussed are things that i am already familiar with btwn an undergrad degree in psychology (REBT, CBT, etc.) and a grad degree in public administration (SWOT analysis) - they're just being applied in a manner i haven't seen frequently.

personally, from my experience w/ CBT and a lot of the similar emotive / behavioral techniques, i've always found them to be a little 'hokey' and am not a huge fan...

there were a few tidbits of useful information about networking and goal setting for each stage of the process, but i feel the networking topic is far better addressed in books such as Debora Fine's 'The Fine Art of Smalltalk' and other specialized texts on the subject.

i suppose this book can be helpful to those that are having issues w/ constant negative self image due to the job market / search and are looking for ways to change their self perceptions...