There are a myriad of career books out there just waiting to lead you in the next direction, help you find a new job and transform your inner soul at the same time. How do you navigate those helpful waters? Get a recommendation from a trusted source, of course. We asked several career experts what resources and books they find helpful and why.

Sharon Good of Good Life Coaching

• Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career by Herminia Ibarra

I love this book because the author makes a great case for getting out and experimenting, rather than expecting to find a new career by sitting in your home or office and doing tests or researching online. It's perfect for this time, when many people are making radical career shifts.

• Career Solutions for Creative People: How to Balance Artistic Goals with Career Security by Dr. Ronda Ormont

I work a lot with creative people, and this book lays out practical ways for artists to be true to their art, while making a living.

• Finding Your Perfect Work: The New Career Guide to Making a Living, Creating a Life by Paul & Sarah Edwards

This is just one of several career and business books by these authors. Their books are packed with valuable information and tips for finding your perfect career or business and making it work.

• You Can Have What You Want: Proven Strategies for Inner and Outer Success by Michael Neill

While not a career book per se, this book offers valuable strategies for being successful at getting what you want.

Karen Burns, author of The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl: Real-Life Career Advice You Can Actually Use

• Women for Hire's Get-Ahead Guide to Career Success by Tory Johnson & Robyn Freedman Spizman

A thorough, straightforward career book for women – lots of lists and bullet points that make it easy to read and absorb. Plus it has a very useful index.

• Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success by Penelope Trunk

Penelope’s book is organized into 45 brief, opinionated, original, bold riffs on how to succeed at work now and in the future. You might not always agree with her but you will never be bored.

• The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need by Daniel H. Pink

It’s a comic book! But a comic book with a lot of smart career advice. And it won’t take you all day to read.

• The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl: Real-Life Career Advice You Can Actually Use by...er...me (Karen Burns)

Heck, if I wouldn’t recommend my own book, who would? Working Girl is a little bit of all of the above – it’s got tons of straightforward advice, it’s idiosyncratic, and it’s illustrated. It even has an index.
 
Julie Jansen, author of I Don't Know What I Want, But I Know It's Not This: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Gratifying Work

• You Majored in What?: Mapping Your Path From Chaos to Career by Katharine Brooks

While Brooks wrote this book for college students and people in their first few jobs, this book is fresh and filled with creative and useful assessments and exercises to help someone figure out the right career for them.

• What's That Job and How the Hell Do I Get It?: The Inside Scoop on More Than 50 Cool Jobs from People Who Actually Have Them by David Rosen

This book focuses on 50 jobs ranging from A&R executives and Architects to Doulas and Entrepreneur. There are really cool features such as a Stress O’Meter – the level of stress that exists in the job and an actual day’s schedule of what the job would entail from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.

• How'd You Score That Gig?: A Guide to the Coolest Jobs-and How to Get Them by Alexandra Levit

Alexandra Levit, author of the best selling They Don’t Teach Corporate in College wrote a similar book called How’d You Score That Gig? in which she describes eight types of people including the Creator, the Data Head, the Networker and the Nurturer. She then identifies eight jobs within each category.

• Career Renegade: How to Make a Great Living Doing What You Love by Jonathan Fields

A rich guide filled with resources and tips for finding work or changing careers.
 
Laura Lane, Assistant Director of University Career Services at UNC-Chapel Hill

CareerSearch

This is a database that a college or university has to pay for to use, but I would say it is worth it in every way. It is essentially a directory of employers that students can search for a list of employers by industry and location. The options allow the searcher to be broad or incredibly specific with both industry and geographic location, even drilling down to a section of some metropolitan cities. For the student moving to a certain location, looking in a particular industry, CareerSearch provides a list of employers with all the necessary contact information.

Beyond looking at job postings and networking with alumni, this resource allows the job seeker to target organizations that interest them and to develop lists of employers to focus on.

WritingCareer.com 

As I work with communication studies, English, linguistics, journalism and mass communication majors, I encounter students who are interested in freelance writing. This website has freelance opportunities, including online opportunities for blogging. It also provides career articles and advice on how to succeed as a freelance writer. It's a fun, easy site to naviagate, full of helpful information.

Great Jobs for English Majors, 3rd ed. (Great Jobs For Series) by Julie Degalan (and all the 'Great Jobs for' series from McGraw Hill)

English and communication studies majors often have no idea what they will do with their major. I encourage students to research and explore their career options, and these books help them do just that. The books break down their options by industry, and then within each industry they provide an overview and description, occupational titles, possible job postings, potential employers, salary range and more. These books help students explore and brainstorm their career options related to their major – they're a staple.