coll. - Career Development All-in-One For Dummies

Career Development All-in-One For Dummies

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2017934011

ISBN 978-1-119-36308-8 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-36309-5 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-36317-0 (ebk)

1. Table of Contents

When was the last time you received an email and cringed at the muddled organization and horrible grammar? Or you felt so overwhelmed that your productivity plummeted? Or how about the last time you or a colleague were so nervous during a presentation that you came across as unprepared or worse unprofessional?

Unfortunately, business professionals in all stages of their careers encounter these situations at one point or another. Although these instances may seem benign on the surface, they harm your professional reputation, which is hard to reverse. Would you want to do business with someone who is so unorganized that he constantly misses deadlines or turns in shoddy work because he's rushed? Of course not! Time management and having a solid organizational system are just a couple of the secrets to success that we discuss in this book.

This book provides you with detailed information on topics that will help you gain the confidence needed to grow and advance in your professional life. Youll read about how practicing mindfulness can make you a more effective manager, how to craft the perfect written document that gets results, how to present like a pro, and more.

Theres a time and a place for just about everything and assumptions are no different. First, we assume that you are a business professional and youre ready, willing, and able to devote some time and energy into your professional development.

We also assume that you have at least a general knowledge of the major software packages that businesses use and are interested in utilizing them to advance in your professional activities. If thats the case, this is the book for you!

Throughout this book, youll find special icons to call attention to important information. Heres what to expect.

If you see people falling asleep during your presentations, bang a book against the table to wake them up. Kidding!

This icon is used for helpful suggestions and things you may find useful at some point. No worries, though: No one will be falling asleep during your presentations if you take to heart the tip written here!

This icon is used when something is essential and bears repeating. Again, this icon is used when something is essential and bears repeating. (See what we did there?)

The little Dummies Man is information to share with the people who handle the technical aspect of things. You can skip technical-oriented information without derailing any of the hard work youre putting toward achieving your best professional self.

Pay attention to these warnings to avoid potential pitfalls. Nothing suggested will get you fired or arrested (unless you do something like practice mindfulness so well that you start to nod off while driving or during meetings with the CEO we cant help you there). If you see this icon, slow down and proceed with caution.

Although this book is a one-stop shop for your professional development, we can cover only so much in a set number of pages! If you find yourself at the end of this book thinking, This was an amazing book! Where can I learn more about how to advance my career by working on my professional development? head over to