Basic Advice in Job Hunting

How to Get a Job in Los Angeles by Thomas M. Camden and Freda Greene (Surrey Books: paperback, $13.95).

With its vast geographical sprawl and huge population, Los Angeles County can prove a daunting area for the job hunter, whether experienced or neophyte. To simplify the task, Thomas M. Camden, editor of a series of books on this subject, and Freda Greene, who heads Images International, her own public relations firm, have produced an enormously useful guide, based on extensive research.

After pointing out that one-third of the economic activity of the Western states is located here, the authors list local essential resources, such as libraries, special publications, vocational schools, job-training programs, public-transportation systems and chambers of commerce.

They don’t overlook the nuts-and-bolts business of helping the reader decide on the best kind of job to have, how to write queries, conduct oneself during interviews and write eye-catching resumes.

The heart of the book lists 1,500 companies in aerospace, entertainment, manufacturing, plastics, real estate and recreation, each entry complete with address and phone number.

In its second printing, this book could prove to be an “Open Sesame” to employment.

Help in Selecting the Right Career

Getting the Right Job by Steve Cohen and Paulo de Oliveira (Workman: paperback, $6.95).

Cohen and De Oliveira, two savvy young men in their 30s who hold executive positions at Time magazine and Disney TV channel, respectively, address their guide to recent college graduates who are still uncertain about what they want to be or do.

They reassure the job candidates. And they reassure their parents, who may groan that such questions even occur at this juncture, because, as the authors emphasize, an Ivy League B.A. can cost as much as $80,000 today.

Not to worry.

The right stuff leads to the right job, but only through an understanding of how the job search works.

Bravo to the authors for their brightly written analyses of work possibilities in many areas, for their self-appraisal exercises and for showing how to give grace-under-pressure interviews--all informative and a pleasure to read.