Book review

'The Career Maze: Guiding Your Children Towards a Successful Future'
by Heather Carpenter

Not too heavy, not too light, just right

This is a well-titled book that guides the reader through the maze and jumble of career information and misinformation.

A few lines from the introduction sum up this book: "In the midst of this information deluge, the young person is looking for confirmation of their own intuitive thoughts about who they are and what they might be good at" (p13).

Looking through the contents alerts the reader to the fact that this is a very practical book based on sound knowledge and research, and backed up with helpful tips. The section titles range from ‘Young People's Career Decision Making’ and ‘Some Guidelines for Parents’, to my favourite, ‘Helping the Lost Older Child’.

Each section in the book has themes, mixed with things to think about, quizzes to help cement ideas, and real case study quotes. These quotes resonated with me as a career consultant and as a parent of young people.

'The Career Maze' is easy to read and has a good flow, with just the right combination of theory and practical information. It is packed full of relevant information and includes a helpful chapter called ‘Useful Resources for Parents’, which includes helpful websites and links.

Heather Carpenter has a gentle way of guiding anyone working with young people through some big ideas.

Armed with this book, parents and teachers have a good chance of encouraging self-belief, self-knowledge and confidence in young people to get through the career maze.

"Our job as parents and career practitioners is to help young people come to know their unique and individual selves well enough to choose the right paths to move forward into becoming competent adults they desire to be" (p13).

Reviewed by Lindsey Gott, Career Consultant, Career Services