Whats Next? Follow Your Passion and Find Your Dream Job by Kerry Hannon

“What’s Next? Follow Your Passion and Find Your Dream Job” by “US News & World Report” Contributing Editor Kerry Hannon is an entertaining, engaging, and quick-to-read book that provides the reader with examples and motivation to follow your passion instead of holding an unsatisfying job and not providing the important things in life, like family time and well-being. The book is a collection of stories, interviews, and tips related to career change in your 40s, 50s, or older. The stories and interviews are from real people who did just that, and the jobs they left and the careers they entered are extremely varied, but all interesting with some common themes behind why they changed. From the opening story of a badass cop turned Nashville music agent to the final story about a lawyer, congressional aide, lobbyist turned pianist, singer, and performer of skits, skits, and songs, I found myself engaged and motivated as I pursued change. career. myself.

Each chapter has the same format and features a different person and his career change. First there is a brief history of the change the person made. Next, there is a question and answer section where the author asked the person the reasons behind the change, the difficulties and the resources. Questions like, “What did the transition mean for you personally?” or “What do you say to people who come to you for advice on how to start Act Two?” While the responses are brief, they provide a good perspective and made me stop more than once and reflect on my own situation. Following the interview questions and answers, there are short segments that provide tips and resources, and some insider tips. These sections are short too, but they contain some great information to think about as you think about your second or third act and your career change. There are sixteen chapters, that is, sixteen profiles and other information.

Additionally, the back of the book has a few additional book pages on the subject and helpful websites on topics like nonprofits, job hunting, continuing education, small businesses, and more.

Hannon writes in an engaging style and I found myself enjoying the book and really thinking about my own possibilities. And that is the benefit of this book. You are not going to draw a roadmap for your career path. It is highly unlikely that you would want to follow the same course as one of the sixteen profiled, and even if you did, your path would be different. This book is motivational. It allows you to see what others have done and why, and it can trigger a sense of excitement within you that leads to your own second or third act. (Or maybe even the fourth, who knows?) The purpose of the book is to show what has been done to open your eyes to your own possibilities. If that’s where you are in your life right now, this may be the book you’ve been needing.