Down-to-earth, personal, and effective career counseling.
A leadership coach offers career guidance for teens in this debut manual.
Raymond’s book is precisely targeted to high school students who want assistance in career development. Defining careering as “taking progressive action in pursuit of a profession or venture,” the author sets forth an eight-step process. The steps themselves are nothing new: They encompass common areas, such as exploring career options, seeking out resources, networking, applying for jobs, and interviewing. The differentiator is Raymond’s gentle but persistent motivational text, coupled with questions and guided exercises that lead a young job seeker to take the appropriate actions. In discussing opportunities to examine different career options, the author covers extracurricular activities, independent study, college immersion programs and summer camps, seasonal and entry-level jobs, internships, and competitions and entrepreneurship. She describes each area briefly and then encourages self-reflection; for example, regarding independent study, Raymond inquires: “From your areas of interest, how can you create an independent study? Record your thoughts below and schedule time to discuss this with your teacher. Put a plan in place to make it happen.” Her counsel concerning interviews is helpful. In addition to basic guidance about advance preparation, the author lists some specific interview questions and provides tips for how to answer them. Particularly valuable are the words of wisdom Raymond imparts about handling a new position. She discusses understanding a manager’s expectations, the performance review process, and other corporate aspects of a job. She shrewdly includes a mention of working on projects that may not go well. “Consider what you could have done differently, rather than pointing fingers,” Raymond writes. “That is the whole concept of leadership, being accountable and responsible.” Later, she suggests: “If you notice a problem at work, try coming up with a possible solution and share it with your supervisor.” These are the kinds of experience-based, character-building statements that point first-time workers in the right direction. The author also encourages readers to revisit the eight-step process “every year—or even every few months.” Throughout the book, Raymond adopts the appropriate tone and uses uncomplicated language, writing authoritatively without talking down to readers.
Down-to-earth, personal, and effective career counseling.Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68-350402-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 22, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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