An effective job search requires knowing what to do and staying positive through the inevitable ups and downs. For inspiration to find work, CareerFuel recommends a number of books to help keep you motivated and blogs and videos about real people like you who found jobs. Each story imparts strategies the person used to get to a paycheck and you can copy some of their ideas. In doing so, their success can be your inspiration to find work.
Keeping your spirits up is half the battle when job seeking. Besides finding a buddy whom you can turn to when you need to be reminded that you are special, there are many books, movies and blogs that can help inspire you. These are our personal favorites–the ones we return to when we need some inspiration to find work or just some pick me up juice.
Books — Thousands of books about searching for a job are available on Amazon and many are available for free at the local library. The “bible” of job searching is What Color Is Your Parachute? 2013: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers
by Richard Bolles. More recent titles by Bolles are Job-Hunting Online: A Guide to Job Listings, Message Boards, Research Sites, the UnderWeb, Counseling, Networking, Self-Assessment Tools, Niche Sites 
and The Job-Hunter’s Survival Guide
.
Other good choices include:
*How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else
by Michael Gill
*Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters: 400 Unconventional Tips, Tricks, and Tactics for Landing Your Dream Job
by Levinson and Perry
*Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time
by Keith Ferrazzi
*The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
by Malcolm Gladwell
*Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life
by Spencer Johnson
Movies — Take time out and lift your spirits up with a movie. Many are available for little or no charge at the local library. Some suggestions are listed below.
“The Blind Side“ ”Braveheart“ ”Chariots of Fire“ ”Dead Poets Society“ ”A Beautiful Mind“ ”Erin Brokovich”
“Forrest Gump“ ”Julie and Julia“ ”Goonies” “We Are Marshall“ ”Reporter“ ”Soul Surfer“ ”E.T.”
“Glory“ ”Good Will Hunting“ ”Marley and Me“ ”Mulan“ ”Rocky“ ”Secretariat“ ”Sea Biscuit”
“My Neighbor Totoro“ ”Stand and Deliver“ ”The Karate Kid“ ”Riding Giants“ ”Pay it Forward“ ”Baraka”
Blogs—A great way to stay current. Click here for CareerFuel’s blogs full of the latest information and inspiration from real people.
