First things first – I didn’t read Covey’s related book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People so I cannot really offer much in the way of comparing one book to the other. I have the 7 Habits audio book, but I haven’t had the chance to sit down and listen to it yet.

The first book aside, though, I definitely recommend The 8th Habit for the young professional who may have little prior leadership experience and is trying to find a way to break through to the next level in his or her career. For those who are already overflowing with leadership experience, this book might be a nice refresher course and serve to remind you of some aspects of success that you might have overlooked. In either event, using the link above you can purchase this book for only a few bucks so if you’re interested, it’s definitely worth the purchase.

Covey breaks this book into a variety of sections and makes excellent use of charts and graphs throughout. He also intersperses the text with quotes from famous leaders, which I found very enjoyable (I’ll be lifting some of those quotes for the random quote generator located on the right hand side of this page). Chapters include topics like finding your voice, empowering those around you (which is essentially the “core” of the 8th Habit), and aligning basic strategies. One theme that is consistently brought up in the book is the idea that we – as a society – are leaving the industrial age and entering an information age.

Or, as Covey calls it, the Age of Wisdom. This is an interesting and yet obvious insight to those in the working world. The Age of Wisdom presents a fundamental change to employers and employees as the contributions of the masses will no longer be blood, sweat, and tears, but instead information. In other words, where the economy once thrived off of the backs of industrial age workers, the new economy is being built off of the minds of wisdom age workers. Interesting insight once you start to study the job market and notice how many highly physical jobs are being taken over by automated processes.

And the introduction of automated processes isn’t a bad thing at all! In fact, it’s great because it will force many people to begin studying and researching new ways to contribute to their employer. Sure, it won’t happen on a mass scale, but I agree with Covey that one day we’ll look around and find ourselves immersed in an information age society. Could be faster than you think…

For those of you who are into these types of books, I suggest picking up (an inexpensive copy of) this book and giving it a read. You’ll find it to be a fast read with nice messages that you can take away throughout. Enjoy!

The article in the Times is based on a study that also found more tuition dollars going to pay for administrative expenses as opposed to instructional expenses. For me, I find this to be a bit of a concern since I always want to see more dollars spent on instructional expenses and not administrative costs, but anyone who knows how to run a good business knows that you have to retain good talent administratively if you want to keep things moving smoothly. That said, I can take some of the increased administrative fees so long as it leads to better instructional results.

I’m glad to hear that students are shouldering more of their college costs, though. The current economy has so many problems that citing any one of them as “among the worst” puts it in the company of dozens. However, one of the worst problems that some young professionals are facing is their lack of ability to live on their own. In other words, there are college graduates out there who are living off of an allowance from their parents. No, the allowance isn’t their only form of income. There are young twenty somethings who actually have a job in this economy, but are still living lifestyles that are outside of their means.

As someone who spent the last 6 years advising college students around New Jersey, trust me – I’ve seen these folks! They are the ones who are still driving around in brand new cars and purchasing homes as the economy is going to shit – and they’re doing it on an entry-level salary? I don’t think so. These kids have the luxury of getting their car payment, gas expenses, and mortgage payments financed by the national bank of Mom and/or Dad.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t begrudge those whose families have enough money to pay for these expenses, but let’s look at the long-term prospects of this scenario. You have middle class parents who are subsidizing expenses which their children are incurring that their children really can’t afford. This means that the parents are saving less for their own retirements, which ultimately leads to parents turning the tables and needing their children to give them an allowance at some point!

Again, I’m not totally opposed to this structure, but my problem exists in the fact that those young professionals who fall into this category are not being trained properly on how to manage their income and expenses. Improper financial training and irresponsible financing are the EXACT same problems that led to the mortgage meltdown in this country. By not allowing young adults to either make it or break it on their own, the problem will only perpetuate itself in a different form.

That’s why I was glad to read the Times article linked above. Let college students begin this new revolution in financial education by learning how to shoulder the burden of their education expenses. It’s a great way to kick start their lives in the real world and while it may be stifling at times, learning to manage money and live on a strict budget will only help – not hurt – the entire financial system.

As a result of the recession, college seniors and grads are not only vying with their classmates for employment, but also with career-changers who possess much more professional experience. The difficulty of today’s job hunt is further compounded by hiring freezes and slashed budgets. Even in light of President-Elect Barack Obama’s proposed stimulus plan, the outplacement consultant firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas forecasts another one million layoffs in 2009, and some economists expect unemployment to soar as high as nine percent before the job market begins to rebound. Now more than ever, it’s essential for job-seekers to distinguish themselves from the crowd.

In light of this, Gradspot.com has launched “30 in 30,” a series that will feature one insider job-hunting tip (developed with the help of career experts and people who have successfully found employment) each day, for the next 30 days. We know that finding a job can be an aggravating process—by providing hunters with these essential tips and tricks over the next 30 days, we plan to get hunters started on the right foot, and to save them from the humiliation of sitting alone in their underwear uploading resumes to Monster.com for six months. Topics include: “Five Recession Proof Industries,” “Online Career Networking,” “Informational Interviews,” “What’s Your Greatest Weakness?”, and more…

In addition to all of this great stuff, once the 30 days are over there will be additional links added to the site from users and previous contributors. I’ve arranged to have a brief entry added to the collection which will focus on the language you want to use in your resume. I’m looking forward to writing it and I think that you’ll enjoy reading it…plus, as a JerseySmarts.com reader you’ll get a first look at my entry as it’ll posted here first!

Enjoy the Insider’s Guide to Job-Hunting in ’09!