(Book Review) Forever Employable, 1st Edition

Overview

Review Published: February, 2021

From author, consultant, and UX advocate Jeff Gothelf comes an introductory primer for those looking to create new opportunities through making more of an impact in their industry.

From general context, to specific steps to reaching out in your field, this book serves as a beginners’ guide for those that want to create opportunities through professional advocacy.

Rating:

4 / 5

(Great Content, Presentation is Clear)

What does this score mean?

Difficulty:

Beginner (No specialized design knowledge needed).

Length:

94 pages.

Where to Buy It:

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What's Good

Simple step-by-step content; the content is (literally) organized in a convenient step-by-step way that makes it easy to understand the methods and techniques being discussed.
Well-researched with further reading; the author provides a list of supporting books and articles for those that want to dig a little deeper into various concepts.
Approachable writing with a relatable point-of-view; the author presents things in a conversational tone that is very matter-of-fact, and doesn’t require any specialized knowledge or jargon to understand.

What Can Be Improved

Visual references; while the content itself is well presented and comprehensive, there are a few sections where a visual representation would aid in comprehension (i.e. building a following with different user-types, how to tell an effective story, etc.), and this would make for a perfect 2nd edition.

The Bottom Line

A great framework for UX advocacy; while the bottom line of the book is to empower the reader through the creation employment opportunities, it does so by providing a step-by-step guide for effectively advocating UX design strategies and methods.
For any UX professional looking to chart out their career goals; whether you want to raise your perceived value as a UX professional within a traditional organization, or take a more entrepreneurial route, this book is a great general guide for those looking to share their knowledge to raise their professional profile.
A worthwhile long-term investment; for less than $20, this book delivers a great amount of content that serves as a primer for those looking to take their UX work into a wider arena.