THE #PACE
Process for Early Career Success
By: Mark Zides
Published: April 5, 2022
Publisher: Armin Lear Press
Non-Fiction
Recently, I’ve heard from a few parents of adult kids that I am friends with about their kids struggling to find careers after college. Our son searched for 5 months before finding a job in his selected career. Even though this book was published in 2022, the tips Zides shares are still extremely relevant today. This book is written specifically for young adults seeking to enter the workforce, whether after high school graduation or college. In 2022, Zides wrote that experts predicted that in 2025, employees under the age of 40 will make up the majority of the world’s workforce. So, if your adult child is struggling to find a job, this just might be why.
The workforce has changed dramatically since 2020, and employees are often working from a home office on Zoom or doing some sort of hybrid home/office schedule, like our son. This was an adjustment for him due to his college life being so social and around people all the time, to now working from a desk in his bedroom with no social outlet during the day. He is thankful he has the option to go to the office a few times a week.
Zides offers tips on the whole job-hunting process from the beginning of networking (often while still in college) to the actual job hunt and eventual interview process to finally securing a job and hopefully being promoted. Not all sections will be applicable to every person, but his tips on putting your best self out there and how to handle interviews can apply to any job/career situation. At the end of every chapter, Zides includes a list of #PACE Process Steps. They include essential points from each chapter and advice or action steps to take.
One tip I really appreciated was that when you are looking for a job, you have to make the job hunt your job. You need to dedicate distraction-free time every day to searching online, sending/returning emails, making phone calls, updating your online career profiles, and actually applying for jobs. The application process at many businesses can take many steps and require a lot of paperwork. Setting aside time each day to fill out applications can be frustrating, especially when you are entering the same information on numerous forms, but you just never know which form will lead you to your career. The book also includes several sample resumés, cover letters, and tips on what to include in them.
Since so many initial interviews are held over Zoom, Zides offers several Zoom tips either for the interview process or after you are hired and holding Zoom meetings. Zoom etiquette became a huge issue during 2020 when many of us had never interacted in that format before. Even I appreciated his tips about camera placement and how your hygiene can be more noticeable in a Zoom video versus in person.
If you have finally secured a job, Zides offers advice for accepting the position, including what to look for in a hiring contract. If you are unsure about what something means, make sure you ask. Understanding your salary and benefits package is important, as well as the policies for that particular company. Creating a 90-day plan for yourself as you begin a new career also shows your new employer that you have goals and are interested in learning and in moving up in the company.
Not everything will always go smoothly at your first job. There are likely to be setbacks, mistakes made, and frustrations, but keeping the idea of #PACE as a mindset, Prepare, Apply, Commit, and Evaluate, in mind for any situation will help you hold yourself accountable and keep success in your future. If you know someone job hunting or will be soon, gift this book and maybe even offer to be a mentor to them as they go through the process.
Mark Zides is now the bestselling author of The #PACE Process for Early Career Success. His book is impacting the lives of young professionals who are Millennials and Gen Z to thrive in their careers. He presented his first TEDx talk at Babson College, his alma mater, on the topic of “The Difference Between Gen-Z and Everyone Else. In this talk, he highlights the challenges facing Gen-Z’s as they kick start their careers, and the strategies they need to establish the right mindset for success.
Mark is the founder and CEO of CoreAxis Consulting, an award-winning custom learning & development, professional & leadership development, and talent management firm. CoreAxis partners with companies such as Amazon, Thermo-Fisher Scientific, Netflix, Nestle, and more to develop innovative immersive learning solutions for their entire workforce. Mark is also the founder of Katama, an agency specializing in marketing, sales strategy, and customer success for small-to-medium-sized businesses, as well as Recipi, a digital marketing agency for rental event equipment companies. Check out his website, HERE.
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Thanks to the publisher for sending a copy of this book for this review. This review is my honest opinion. If you choose to purchase through the above links, I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase.
Posted Under Book Review, Mark Zides, graduation, non-fiction