What color is your parachute?
by Richard Nelson Bolles · first published 1979
61% recommend32% neutral7% critical
Why HN recommends it
Career-change and job-search guide built on self-assessment exercises to work out which skills you enjoy using, then networking and informational interviews to reach a specific job instead of mass-applying.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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One book I like is Bolles' "What color is your parachute?" It is about job-searching, but the message of the book is: find things you like; be cheerful, polite, grateful always; remember that most people are usually happy to help; nobody owes you anything,…
on “Ask HN: Books on overcoming shyness” ↗I recommend "What Color Is Your Parachute" -- it's updated every year and contains profound and practical advice -- such as identifying exactly what you are looking for first and then finding it. http://www.amazon.com/What-Color-Your-Parachute-2015/dp/1607...…
on “Ask HN: Where and how do you look for jobs?” ↗I'd highly recommend reading "What Color Is Your Parachute" by Richard Nelson Bolles. He's covered this there quite well.
on “Ask HN: What can I do differently in my job search?” ↗…trying to figure out what direction to go next, rather than specifically asking about a CS degree. I have been in a similar position several times in my life, and found the following two books helpful: "What color is your parachute?" by Richard Bolles and "What should I do with my life?" by Po Bronson. The first is more of a manual to work through to help you figure what you want, and where you might find it. The second is basically…
on “Ask HN: Starting a CS degree at 28?” ↗I took a long time figuring out what I wanted to do, and I found the following books useful: “What color is your parachute?” by richard bolles “What should I do with my life?” by Po Bronson (who also had trouble deciding what he wanted to do…) “The seven habits of highly effective people” by Steven Covey - the title made…
on “Ask HN: 30 years old with no career” ↗…waiting. Some employers probably have dysfunctional hiring processes, but you can find alternative routes that have better chances of success. The alternatives have been understood for a long time. Look at What Color Is Your Parachute? by Bolles and Who’s Hiring Who? by Lathrop, for example. I haven’t applied for a job in decades but I have found continuous employment. I know plenty of other people in this business who do the same.…
on “Ask HN: Why do companies take 2 months to send job rejection letter?” ↗…Compilers (the Dragon Book) by Aho, Sethi, and Ullman * Smalltalk-80 (the Blue Book) by Goldberg and Robson But on the non-technical side, the book that probably had the biggest impact on my career was "What Color Is Your Parachute" by Richard Bolles. It is what convinced me I could transfer my skills from video game dev into another field and how to come up with a plan to do so.
on “Ask HN: Books That Dramatically Transformed Your Programming Skills” ↗…personally important in work. As many will know, this kind of reflection is close to one of the pivotal exercises recommended in Richard Bolles valuable book on choosing a career or next career step “What Color is your Parachute“.
on “I Caught the Car” ↗I very much liked Bolles' "What color is your parachute"
on “What I say to people who are looking for a job” ↗…with them, and learned from past mistakes, but the designers got younger (from my perspective) and wanted to continually make all the same mistakes over again. After a while, I came across - and read - "What Color Is Your Parachute" (https://www.amazon.com/What-Color-Your-Parachute-2018/dp/039...), which was fantastic! At the time I was working for Disney and used the strategies I learned to come up with a plan to make connections…
on “Ask HN: How did you escape your safe 9-5 job?” ↗…effective process, for both parties. No one likes it. Two really old books describe some alternative job hunting strategies that have worked for a lot of people. Who's Hiring Who by Richard Lathrop, and What Color Is Your Parachute by Richard Nelson Bolles. Both of those pre-date algorithms and AI scanning your resume, but they do give good advice on how not to get stuck in that process in the first place. I suggest ignoring the…
on “Ask HN: In this tougher job market, what specialties are in more demand?” ↗…letter and email in the resume") or semi-recent practices ("Cast a wide net on Monster, Indeed, LinkedIn...) perhaps no longer have the rate of return that you're expecting. I read through the book, "What Color is your Parachute: 2018 Edition" to better help my friend, and the book offers full sections on how to do better than just "putting your resume out there." Working personal connections, announcing employment intentions…
on “Ask HN: Over 60 = no engineering jobs?” ↗Pick up a copy of "What color is your parachute?" Read up on the advice on informational interviews. Do your best to find some contacts in this field and see if they will agree to an informational interview. (Rule #1: You are NOT networking at…
on “Ask HN: How can a Web Developer get into Bioinformatics?” ↗Fully agree. I have recommended "What Color Is Your Parachute" to job seekers several times, but they were so exhausted from sending out dozens of applications every day that they didn't even have time or interest to read it. Not that I have personally tried the…
on “What You Don't Get About the Job Search: Voices of the Jobless” ↗…do you desire to produce? What makes you happy? That is the first question. What ties closer into your passion? I'd like to recommend two titles to you: "do what you love the money will follow" and "what color is your parachute". Good luck and enjoy your career. Well done on having multiple offers. Keep up the good work.
on “Ask HN: Should I work in DevOps or as a BA/PM?” ↗