Cathy Liska Reviewed by: Heather Richard, Leadership Development Consultant and Coach, Above Par Business Solutions, LLC – www.aboveparbusiness.com
The Career Masterclass for Women provides actionable advice for women navigating job transitions, empowering them to be proactive in creating
sustainable career futures. Heidesch provides a comprehensive guide to making strategic career decisions, building impactful professional relationships, mitigating risk, and effectively marketing oneself. Drawing on forty years of professional experience in crafting her own career path and helping others gain a competitive edge, she has crafted a proprietary approach that has helped countless clients achieve career success. Through this book, Heidesch aims to equip her readers with the necessary tools to take control of their career trajectory and reach their desired goals.
Heidesch’s book is divided into five parts, guiding readers through key strategies for navigating career change effectively. In Part I, she urges readers to combat today’s destabilized career landscape with a proactive mindset and strategic action. Heidesch encourages readers to focus on factors that are within their control, suggesting that they have considerably more agency than they might assume. She provides guidance on the right employers, aligning career choices with personal priorities, and identifying the best industry for their goals. She also explores modern challenges to job stability, including evolving consumer needs, industry trends, improved technology, and government policies. Part I concludes with strategies for building resilience, managing the emotional toll of change, and fostering peace of mind amid uncertainty.
In Part II, Heidesch delves into her distinctive approach to achieving career success, known as STEEP Qualifications (Skills, Tools, Education, Experience, and Personal Qualities). She encourages readers to view each of these Qualifications as buckets that can be filled, with the levels shifting with time, experience, and the nature of the opportunity pursued. Among the five Qualifications, Heidesch highlights Experience as the most impactful overall, since every experience one has, whether positive or negative, contributes to the value of their Experience bucket. The goal of this part is to help readers identify what may be missing from their buckets and offers actionable advice on how to fill the gaps.
Part III provides practical strategies for navigating the job market, including creating effective resumes, refining one’s online presence, applying for jobs, and managing the competitive nature of the modern hiring landscape. Heidesch offers suggestions on approaching the interview process, negotiating job offers, and communicating salary expectations. She also outlines various resources available to job seekers, such as career development programs, staffing agencies, and recruitment firms. Heidesch highlights the value of building a strong professional network, offering actionable advice on how to connect with others in a way that cultivates a reliable support system; one which can adapt to the highs and lows of any career path.
Part IV is centered around navigating career transitions and integrating the STEEP Qualifications into a long-term plan. Heidesch emphasizes both the importance of creating a strategic plan to achieve career success and understanding the underlying motivations for desiring change in the first place. She provides valuable guidance on how to enter and exit job opportunities gracefully, ensuring a strong start while leaving the door open to future opportunities. Heidesch also explores the challenges and advantages of entrepreneurship and offers practical advice on how to monetize one’s STEEP Qualifications to build a more robust safety net for navigating inevitable change.
Throughout the book, Heidesch emphasizes the importance of agency and proactivity, empowering her readers to take control of their futures even before change occurs. She urges readers to recognize that they are 100% responsible for the actions they take, including how they maximize and leverage professional opportunities, as well as how to they utilize their experiences and connections to create new opportunities. Drawing on compelling examples from her own personal journey, client successes and failures, and case studies, Heidesch powerfully illustrates her points. By the end, the reader feels well-equipped and empowered to embrace the changes they may face.
Heidesch provides valuable strategies for adapting to change and building a multifaceted career, but the book’s tone is driven by a sense of urgency, instability, and risk mitigation. This effectively highlights the importance of her guidance; it also frames the job market in a way that may feel unsettling to readers. Heidesch’s assertion that ‘there is no such thing today as job security’ defines the narrative, reflecting significant changes she has observed in her 40-year career, particularly the declining stability of the job market. Although she encourages adaptation and embracing change, the tone stops short of celebrating these shifts, which might have offered readers a more optimistic feel. Instead, Heidesch favors a more pragmatic approach that aptly captures the realities of today’s rapidly evolving professional world.
The Career Masterclass for Women is a must-read for anyone navigating today’s job market. Heidesch provides a compelling case for being intentional in shaping one’s career journey and being prepared for both anticipated and unexpected transitions. Her proprietary STEEP Qualifications provides an actionable tool to help individuals take control of their career path and leverage their unique strengths to create the stability they seek. By encouraging readers to maximize their abilities and take a proactive approach, Heidesch empowers them to become agents of their own change, intentionally crafting a future on their own terms.
