Do Over

February 23, 2015
In this lively business manual, Acuff (Start) sets readers on the path to “intentionally building a career” using a tool kit he calls the Career Savings Account (CSA). Aimed at helping readers navigate and capitalize on career changes (planned or unplanned), the CSA comprises four components: relationships, skills, character, and hustle. According to Acuff, many people already possess some of the components, but few have the entire package. Delving deeply into what he means by “relationships,” Acuff helps readers identify people both close and distant who can aid in attaining career goals. Perhaps most usefully, he groups the relationships formed over the course of a career into three basic categories: friend, advocate, and foe. Acuff also tackles the importance of mastering your skills, stressing the importance of skills that may be “invisible” to you. As for character and hustle, he connects these qualities to the respective virtues of being “present” and “flexible with your dream.” Brimming over with sound, practical advice, this book will benefit individuals looking to take charge of their careers at any stage. Agent: Curtis Yates, Yates & Yates.

March 15, 2015

Acuff (Start; Quitter), a former corporate marketing executive for Home Depot, Staples, and Bose, sums it all up in this book. In much the same style as his blog (acuff.me), the author offers insight, practical advice, and empowering stories about career transitions--those that you choose and those that you don't. He is concerned that most people spend more time preparing for college than they do managing their careers and think more about working a job instead of building a career. Escaping this mindset requires preparation; Acuff suggests a mental model called the Career Savings Account, a place to deposit and track skills, relationships, character, and hustle. Equally important to Acuff is understanding career trajectories and employing the Career Saving Account deposits in a career transition. VERDICT Informally written with inspiring true stories, and reflective without being maudlin, this book is highly recommended for the college graduate just beginning a career and in particular for those in the midst of a career transition.--Jane Scott, Clark Lib., Univ. of Portland, OR

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2015
Acuff has gained a following from his blogs and social media posts on the ups, downs, and sideways of modern careers. Following up on his best-sellers, Quitter (2011) and Start (2013), Acuff offers advice on how to navigate career jumps, bumps, ceilings, and opportunities by building what he calls a career savings account or CSA. He defines CSAs as relationships built over the years plus skills and character times hustle. Most of us are certainly aware of the elements but may not have considered how, all combined, they can help with career challenges. Drawing on his own experiences and those of others who've faced layoffs, Acuff admonishes readers to stop focusing on work and refocus on careers with a willingness to effect the kind of change that would make the work weekand lifefar more enjoyable. Acuff unpacks the details of the CSA and offers advice on cultivating each element with the clear purpose of restarting careers rather than sticking with the drudgery of a job just to pay the bills. An amusing and insightful look at careers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)