Working World

Are you looking for a career with professional rewards and personal satisfaction? Perhaps you'd like to find meaningful employment in the field of international relations? Working World is the perfect resource for making sound career choices, and is particularly valuable for those interested in exploring a career in international education, exchange, and development.

Sherry Mueller, head of a large nonprofit organization with an international focus, and Mark Overmann, a young professional on his way up, serve as spirited guidance counselors and offer valuable insight on launching a career, not just landing a job. The two authors—representing contrasting personalities, levels of experience, and different generations—engage in an entertaining dialogue designed to highlight alternative approaches to the same destination: making a difference in the world.

With a rich mix of anecdotes and advice, the two authors present their individual perspectives on career development: identifying your cause, the art of networking, the value of mentors, and careers as "continuous journeys." Mueller and Overmann push job seekers to challenge assumptions about what it means to pursue a career in international relations and to recognize that the path to career success is rarely straight.

To help the job seeker chart the best course, Working World provides specific resources including annotated lists of selected organizations, websites, and further reading. Profiles of twelve professionals, from promising young associates to presidents and CEOs, illustrate the book's main topics. Each professional provides insight into his or her career choices, distills lessons learned, and offers practical advice about building a career in international affairs. All of these resources were chosen specifically to help job seekers map the next steps toward the internship, job, or other opportunity that will give shape to the career they envision.