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List Price: $30.95 | | Publisher: iUniverse, Inc.
Salesrank: 1074430
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| Our Price: $26.56 |
| Used Price: $9.34 |
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| Media: Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
In a job market turned upside down, job seekers need fresh approaches to get noticed, regardless of their employment status. The old methods are now dead and those looking must learn new rules quickly, to stay in control of their careers. In The 7 Keys, author Dilip Saraf lays out easy-to-use strategies for approaching job search in an entirely new light. Discover how one frustrated job seeker, already resigned to fate, got an interview, within six hours, using these strategies. In this groundbreaking work, Saraf helps you learn how to:
- Tap into your genius and present yourself uniquely
- Conquer a job even when you do not meet all requirements
- Go after a dream job even when that job does not exist
- Stay in control of difficult interviews and recover from mistakes after the interview
- Differentiate yourself in every step and become a must-hire candidate
- Negotiate a salary and get even more than you thought possible
- Manage the transition process so that you are always in control
- Eliminate fear surrounding a transition by operating from your genius
- Get back into action when a position of interest is cancelled and then claim it
The 7 Keys to a Dream Job: A Career Nirvana Playbook! Reviews:
The proof is in the pudding 
2006-04-03 - As much of a panacea as the numereous cures for baldness! The cover is flashy and dramatic but the contents and title are deja vu and the publishing sub-par. To be fair the book is fairly comprehensive and does focus on a few key areas: the résumé as a marketing tool, filling the pipeline and your unconscious competence (what the author misleadingly terms "your genius" or "Unique Skills"). However, there are numerous books that equally convincingly discourage the use of a résumé in a tough job market. People desparately looking for work will try anything! And so there are a lot of charlatans in the unregulated career coach business. So I don't understand how everyone else gave the book 5 stars - perhaps the author coached them privately into doing it or they just coincidently found a job or got an interview after reading the book and attributed it to the book. When all is said and done finding a job is mostly a function of supply and demand. In a tight labor market and with rampant high-tech outsourcing if you don't have exactly what an employer wants or are unable to prove it you don't get the job even if your résumé shines like the sun because there are plenty of people out of work and plenty of engineers in China and India for a fraction of the cost. I would read this book if available free in the library or get a cheap PDF copy from the author's website (www.7keys.org). But don't expect to do everything it says and expect to find a job in 90 days - instead take it with a pinch of common salt.
A Great Resource! 
2006-01-09 - There are very few handy guides for senior executives that can provide the needed help in their transitions. I am making a major transition in my own career now that needed very specific guidance and battle-tested scripts. I found that resource in Dilip Saraf's The 7 Keys to a Dream Job. The book lays out some foundational material that I found invaluable. It is this material that helped me achieve a breakthrough positioning and attain a transitional momentum that I found rewarding. The book warns of many pitfalls in managing an effective campaign, and if I had not read and taken that part to heart early on, I would have missed out on the multiple offers that came through in a very short order.
The book is rich with advice that is very practical for every stage of the campaign and is often counterintuitive in today's upended job market. Although the work is hard, the rewards make it really worthwhile. This is a life skill. Thanks for a great book!
An Epiphany!
2006-01-07 - After many years of growing and managing a successful marketing consulting business, I decided to change gears in late 2004 and return to my corporate roots. The impact of the economic tsunami that hit Silicon Valley - and particularly the high-tech industry a few years back - did not affect me until I started my search for a corporate position. While I knew from my clients that profound changes had occurred in the job market since I last worked on the corporate side, I was unprepared for the cold reception I received initially. After all, I told myself, I am an experienced marketing executive with a shelf full of awards and a portfolio of exceptional work.
Then I came across Dilip Saraf's book, The 7 Keys to a Dream Job. After reading it, I quickly realized that I needed to create a forward looking message that clearly articulates "my genius" (Mr. Saraf's words, not mine) in ways that intrigue hiring managers enough to call for interviews.
The book contains many examples that helped me fashion my message. Despite the fact that I can market high technology successfully without breaking a sweat, I was like the proverbial cobbler's children when it came to marketing me - until I experienced an insightful breakthrough from reading the book.
I refashioned my resume to resonate with hiring managers, and the responses were immediate and substantial. Within six weeks, I had three offers. I now have a full-time job in an industry that I love with company that needs and appreciates "my genius". The bonus from the process is that I discovered my genius and learned how to articulate it to make a difference in how others see me. At this stage of my life, I needed that perspective. So thanks to Mr. Saraf for this gift of self-discovery and for teaching me how to build a compelling value proposition around it.
A Breakthrough!
2005-12-13 - After many years in one function in large corporations I was looking to make a career change, as well as a change in company. A "double whammy" as people called it! However, I wanted to reinvent myself and break into a new and emerging area that excited me.
The first step was to create a resume. I did this with the help of advisors from placement firms, and had it reviewed by senior managers in the field I wanted to get into. They told me it was a well written resume. I posted my resume on several job boards anticipating immediate responses. Weeks and months went by, but I did not get any calls in response to my postings.
It seemed that the traditional way of creating a resume kept frustrating my efforts to present myself differently. This was due to the fact that my job history did not directly support what I wanted to do in the future, although my unofficial role provided my with the experience in the area I wanted to pursue.
A close friend suggested that I read Dilip Saraf's The 7 Keys to a Dream Job. Once I understood the book's message, I realized what I had been doing wrong for the past two years. Using the ideas, tools, and the examples in the book, I completely redid my resume.
For me the breakthrough was how the book shows ways of doing ones resume, which is forward looking and is based on one's inner voice (one's genius). With a few coaching sessions from the author, and by using the many examples in the book I was able to redo my resume and confidently portray my skills to align with my new goals.
Almost immediately I began to get enthusiastic responses and interviews; something I did not get for over two years! I wish that I had read the book earlier and saved myself all the learning that took too long.
Thank you for a great book. It is inspiring!
An Insight!
2005-12-04 - I recently was laid off from a major company in the Silicon Valley. I have over 20 years' experience in a variety of industries and have been successful in different roles at senior management levels. I did not realize that this would pose a problem for me when I started going after jobs that seem to fit my background and interests. In most cases I did not even get a call-back, even though I knew that there was a good match and that I could do a great job in the position. After many months of such frustrating experiences, I came across Dilip Saraf's The 7 Keys to a Dream Job: A Career Nirvana Playbook! For me the book's message immediately resonated because it clearly showed how a backward looking resume can limit the power of your message if you want to leverage your past. The book pioneers a great concept of discovering your genius and then using that as a centerpiece of your value proposition. Once I understood that concept I got excited about changing my resume based on my genius and then building my value message with that focus. Although I have a varied background, this concept of showcasing my value around my genius (Unique Skills) allowed me to integrate all my diverse background and showcase my specific value as a highly focused ("laser") value proposition. Voila! That was the break I needed. As soon as I went out with my new resume, I got almost immediate responses that were exciting. I am now interviewing with the companies of my choosing and selectively going after the opportunities that I am interested in. What a difference! I highly recommend this book to anyone, especially for those mid-career professionals who are tempted to bury their past and shortchange themselves during critical career transitions. This book taught me an important life skill and gave my confidence back!
