Congratulations, college graduates! You survived countless late-night study sessions, an overwhelming number of exams, and the bittersweet farewells to your alma mater. Before you embark on your professional journey, it is important to equip yourself with knowledge that you may not have gained within the walls of the classroom. So, we’ve compiled a list of ten books every college graduate should read before their first job. But after spending four years of reading big and boring textbooks, you want to read more books, right? We didn’t think so. That’s what LevelUp Leader is for! All ten of these books are featured on LevelUp Leader, a leadership skills site with book summaries and exclusive videos by experts to help you get started on the right foot.
1. Crucial Conversations
Many interpersonal problems start when people disagree on high-stakes, emotional issues. In the third edition of Crucial Conversations, Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, and Emily Gregory explore what people can do and say in the moments those disagreements occur to improve their relationships, build loyalty, foster inclusivity, and reduce friction.
2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Today’s complex and interdependent world is plagued by numerous common human challenges, such as fear, personal stagnation, and a lack of life balance. In his renowned book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey proposes a principle-centered approach for addressing such challenges. The Seven Habits are not a “quick fix,” but a long-term commitment to universal principles with the potential to maximize personal and professional success and happiness.
3. Atomic Habits
In Atomic Habits, James Clear explains how his dedication to bite-sized results paid off. More impressive than his turnaround are the principles he’s learned. Clear shares a step-by-step plan that athletes, leaders, and anyone who desires to perform better every day can use to create lasting, meaningful progress.
4. The Work-Life Balance Myth
In today’s busy world, many people feel that their work and personal lives are out of balance. In The Work-Life Balance Myth, David J. McNeff shares the Seven-Slice Method—a new way to contextualize your life and manage stress. This technique will enable you to live in each part of your life, leading to greater harmony every day.
5. The Big Stretch
Your dream of starting a new business, landing a new role, or launching a new career can become a reality. In The Big Stretch, entrepreneur coach Teneisha Jackson Warner provides a 12-week guide to kickstart your journey. Her program will help you to examine your dreams, determine your risk tolerance, assess how much you can commit to your goals, and strengthen your capacity to achieve them.
6. It’s Who You Know
As Janine Garner explains in It’s Who You Know, networking is vital for individual development, and can lead to both personal and professional success. However, merely collecting a superficial group of individuals is insufficient; instead, you need to develop a deeply connected network of people who can help drive your success. By seeking out twelve key types of people and personalities, you will be able to make your network transformative rather than transactional and develop a mutual exchange of value.
7. Career Choreography
Career expert Ken Lindner believes people must take definitive steps to accomplish their professional goals. He proposes a “career choreography” to work through these logical, success-evoking tasks and shares how his steps drive people to carve their career paths, land their dream roles, and excel in their professions. In Career Choreography, Lindner explains how people in any industry can identify and develop their career paths and attain true happiness in their lives and work.
8. Emotional Intelligence
In Emotional Intelligence, Amy Jacobson explains how to control your emotions and mindset to achieve better outcomes in all facets of life. By following her process to disrupt your mindset and own your performance, you can also learn how to meet the needs of your team members, customers, and other individuals you are interacting with. By applying her techniques, you can increase performance, outcomes, and engagement levels for yourself, your teams, and your organization.
9. Resolving Conflicts at Work
Few people have been trained to resolve conflicts in a healthy manner, which is why conflict is common in every workplace. In Resolving Conflicts at Work, Kenneth Cloke and Joan Goldsmith help readers understand the underlying causes of conflict and how to approach it in new ways.
10. Connect First
Workplace dynamics can be complicated, especially when you are required to collaborate with people who have motives, reactions, and egos. In Connect First, Dr. Melanie A. Katzman shares proven strategies that can help you succeed. Building upon her work as a clinical psychologist and corporate consultant, she provides fifty-two simple suggestions that can help you boost your psychological savviness, widen your mindset, and form beneficial partnerships.
Starting your first job can be intimidating, but these ten books will help you navigate the professional world with ease. LevelUp Leader is designed to deliver book insights in a fraction of the time. So, choose a book, open your mind, and get ready to successfully launch your career!
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