It’s getting close to the end of the school year, and that means a lot of teens and soon-to-be-minted high school graduates are thinking about what comes next for them. Here are some books to help teens and grads narrow their focus and choose a path for the future.
What Color Is Your Parachute? For Teens, 2nd Edition: Discovering Yourself, Defining Your Future (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $9.78)
In today’s über-competitive climate, you can’t just wing it when you graduate and count on finding a great job (or a great job finding you). It pays to figure out your interests early, so you can decide what additional schooling—and tuition debt—makes sense for your chosen field. In What Color Is Your Parachute? For Teens, career authorities Carol Christen and Richard N. Bolles not only help you plan for these decisions, but also help you define the unique passions that will lead you to your dream job. With new chapters on social media and sustainable jobs—along with all-new profiles of twentysomethings who’ve found work in solar energy, magazine writing, and more—this new edition has all the nitty-gritty details you need to get started now. Most importantly, it’s packed with the big-picture advice that will set you up to land the job that’s perfect for who you are—and who you want to be.
Now What?: The Young Person’s Guide to Choosing the Perfect Career (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $11.02)
The impolite truth nobody mentions in college commencement speeches: “Many of you have just spent four years and a small fortune studying something you will never use, and, if you do, you won’t like all that much. Have a nice life.” Up until now, you’ve had to rely on hit-and-miss methods of picking your career that lead to only 30 percent of college graduates reporting satisfaction with their careers.
That’s because up until now there has never been a book that guides you through the difficult process of designing a career that gives you the best chance for both high-level success and satisfaction. But career guru Nicholas Lore has found a way to show you how to custom design a career where you will:
Look forward to going to work
Be extremely successful and productive
Use your natural talents fully in work that fits your personality
Be highly respected because you excel at your work
In Now What?, he helps you put all the pieces together to make wise decisions about what you will do with your life and how you can best go about setting and accomplishing your life and work goals. You’ll also learn the skills you need to live an extraordinary life.
Filled with charts, worksheets, and quizzes, Now What? is the cutting-edge guide for choosing a career that fits you perfectly — whether you’re a college student, a twentysomething already out in the working world, or a high school student just getting started.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens (4/5 stars, currently priced at $9.99)
Being a teenager is both wonderful and challenging. In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, author Sean Covey applies the timeless principles of the 7 Habits to teens and the tough issues and life-changing decisions they face. In an entertaining style, Covey provides a step-by-step guide to help teens improve self-image, build friendships, resist peer pressure, achieve their goals, get along with their parents, and much more. In addition, this book is stuffed with cartoons, clever ideas, great quotes, and incredible stories about real teens from all over the world. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens will engage teenagers unlike any other book.
An indispensable book for teens, as well as parents, grandparents, and any adult who influences young people, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens is destined to become the last word on surviving and thriving as a teen and beyond.
The Teen’s Guide to World Domination: Advice on Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Awesomeness (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $8.89)
Bestselling author and Teen Expert Josh Shipp offers a book that both teens AND parents will love.
Josh Shipp helps adults understand teens. And teens understand themselves. FOX calls him “The Teen Whisperer” He’s featured on the LIFETIME TV Series TEEN TROUBLE and has contributed to CNN, MTV, The New York Times, Oprah.com, Good Morning America, 20/20, and Anderson Cooper Live.
Josh has pulled together all of his kid tested/mother approved advice for teens into a must-have guide. Hilarious, inspirational, and authentic, Josh offers golden nuggets of wisdom for everything that has you freaking out (pretty much all the stuff you can’t fathom addressing with Mom and Dad). So, summon your inner hero and learn to dominate the seven “villains” that are keeping you from awesomeness.
GHOSTS: All your painful memories and bad mistakes, which are holding you back and causing self-doubt. Confront them once and for all
NINJAS: Back-stabbing “friends” who earn your trust to fulfill their own agendas. Call them out and they won’t stand a chance
PIRATES: Bullies and bad boyfriends who take advantage of you. Write them off and tune them out
ROBOTS: Well-intentioned but misguided grown-ups, who want to “program” you to be like them. Understand how parents, teachers, and counselors operate to improve your communication
VAMPIRES: Negative influences and addictions, which draw you in and steal your identity. Regain your self-esteem before you get bit
ZOMBIES: Chronic complainers who drag you down with their pessimism. The best zombie-repellant is gratitude! Learn that it’s not what happens to you, it’s how you respond
PUPPIES: They seem all fun and innocent on the surface, but often blindside you with hidden consequences. Learn how to think smart about money, your hot girlfriend, and other temptations