This stand-alone guide/workbook explores the skills necessary for laying a good foundation for a business or personallife-without-strugglei.e., critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, interpersonal skills, and change-oriented, goal-setting skills.It presents easy-to-understand-and-use tools for achieving goal fulfillment on a minute-by-minute, day-by-day basis through goal setting, positive communication, conflict resolution, self-nurturing, time management, and career planning. By working through a variety of activities that require critical thinking and creativity, readers will develop aPersonal Life Management Planand discover the power of using new skills to become change agents forthemselves.A mentor-in-a-book for individuals making the college-to-career transition.

Sandra McKee 's second book, Practical Project Management, is out under the Prentice Hall name. Just returned from her third industrial sabbatical, McKee keeps close tabs on the types of environments and situations the new graduate will find and has fresh, first-hand information on what is required to be successful in those situations. Her professional speaking, coaching, and consulting experiences continually present new situations and challenges in diverse fields, so she has regular exposure to a broad range of industry conditions. Her recent focused research and work with retired military persons making the transition to the civilian corporate world and with adults wrestling with attention deficit disorder bring valuable insights and conclusions to the content of the book. Sandra is a Senior Professor at DeVry Institute in Atlanta, Georgia.

Brenda Walters (B.C.S.W) provides advice to hospitals and treatment centers as a consultant for their mental health patient operations and personnel issues. As a private therapist, she works with clients at all levels, from high-ranking executives to line workers and service providers, giving her superior insight into interpersonal and relational issues in those environments. Directly tied to employee assistance program directors in large and small companies, Waiters is regularly called on to address employee performance problems on both an individual and group level. She has been interviewed on television and radio regarding her work, especially in the area of addictions, and has contributed to publications on the topic of stress management in sports competition. Brenda is a board-certified therapist in private practice in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Reaching the goal of personal and professional satisfaction requires many transitions throughout a person's life. The constructive management of transitions will yield success on both levels. This book provides critical-thinking skills and behavioral tools that should be as much a part of the repertoire of the new professional as those listed on the resume.In any life transition, but especially in the transition from student to professional, priorities, communication systems, time-management patterns, finances, and goals all will be challenged. Skill in navigating the requirements and expectations of the new milieu of work aid of changing personal situations is necessary for a satisfying life. For this reason, we address both personal and professional development issues side by side.Readers will be challenged to conduct ongoing self-assessment to facilitate the goal-setting and transition process. Because behavioral testing is a particularly helpful tool toward this end, two resources for this type of assessment are available. One is the Prentice Hall Assessment Library, which is a CD-ROM for students; instructors can request copies. through their Prentice Hall representative. The other is an on-line resource, www.queendom.com. Both of these sources provide tools that cover the areas of personality, relationship, and career. In the appendix of this book is a listing by chapter of the tests that most closely apply to the material.Another recurring element is the theme of self-nurturing (taking responsibility for one's own physical, emotional, and relational well-being) combined with self-advocacy (cultivating constructive and beneficial skills and approaches in order to manage one's career). Each chapter ends with an activity that asks readers to commit to goals in self-nurturing and in self-advocacy as they relate to the specific focus in the chapter.Because the "rules of the road" are very different in industry than in academic environments, the behaviors, talents, skills, and priorities that create success in the academic world do not all necessarily transfer unchanged to industry. As a guide to the other side of the college career transition, this book goes into some detail on the conditions and challenges the new employee in a professional environment might find. (Note: The term "professional" is used throughout the book to refer to any career-type job as opposed to part-time or temporary income sources.)Recommendations for handling many potentially difficult and uncomfortable situations are given both by the authors and by professional coaches in their particular subject area. Chapter Features Transition tips.These consist of briefstatementsfrom individuals who have recently made the college-to-career transition. Some will be successful transitions, in which the groundwork was laid and the movement to the new challenges of professional life was a positive experience. Some are stories of less successful transitions in which insights gained from the mistakes will be shared. Cases for applying chapter concepts.Each chapter provides opportunities for readers to applycritical-thinking and behavioral skillsto situations adapted from real experiences. Short scenarios with thought questions punctuate each chapter and allow students to apply the concepts just learned. Links to or lists of on-line resources.These Web sites and organizations will help support the graduate during the transition to professional life. Conceptual models presented in the form ofcharts, diagrams, and illustrations to accommodate different learning styles. Activities.These occur throughout the chapters and require students to evaluate their own situations and set goals. Specific references to types ofself-assessment teststo help students evaluate their professional attributes. Aconversational st