Dig Your Job is a 147-page “not-so-serious career handbook” written by G.L. Hoffman, the Chairman of JobDig.com. It’s aimed primarily at current graduates and entry-level employees, Generation Y, and includes advice on everything from interviews to starting your own company.

The format of the ebook – a series of stand-alone sections of tips, many no more than a page long – makes it ideal for dipping into. Hoffman’s style, however, is reminiscent of someone writing a series of blog posts rather than an ebook: in places, sentences are badly phrased or over-wordy, and his advice can sometimes be too vague or too blindingly obvious to really help. He makes good use of humour, though, such as with the list of ‘How Gen Y Can Handle the Baby Boomers At Work’.

Hoffman seems self-conscious about writing for a younger generation, and can come across as patronising: ‘First, get a grip. “MAN UP.” This is not grade school. This is the real world. No-one is going to hold your hand. This is under your control.’ (pg 6)

His comprehensive advice on interviews and on impressing managers, however, is clearly informed by his experience of hiring and promoting employees – this information would be particularly valuable for those entering the job market for the first time.

If you want to power your way up the career ladder, land a new job, or succeed in starting and managing your own business, you’ll find plenty of useful tips here. If you’d prefer to travel, freelance or simply make enough to scrape by whilst doing what you love on the side, this probably isn’t the ebook for you.

I am sure there are some jobs that are so boring and mundane that one could read on the job and still not have their work suffer too much. No, wait a minute. Actually, I can’t think of a single job where that is the case.
(G.L. Hoffman, Dig Your Job, pg17)

279 Days to Overnight Success is the second manifesto by Chris Guillebeau from his site Art of Nonconformity. It covers Chris’ own journey as a popular blogger and writer, including an unusually detailed look at his income. He also includes advice on how to achieve this success yourself, include important points in blogging and community building.

• “If you want to, you can create your own full-time career in social media (or otherwise greatly expand your influence)”
• “For me, I relate money to happiness and freedom. Right now I spend about 10% of my time on activities that are directly related to generating
  income. The other 90% of the time I’m writing, connecting with cool people, traveling the world, and drinking coffee.”

Where are the Jobs is a report by Danny Iny for job seekers discussing how they can find a job even in a tough economy. It points that despite the rising unemployment rate, there is still a labor shortage and attributes this to a lack of qualified workers. It briefly discusses how to change your job search game to qualify for one of those positions, including focusing your job search on where you can add the most value.

• “Now we still have to consider that these 3 million job openings remain unfilled, even though there are 13 million people out there who are looking for jobs… The explanation is that companies aren’t looking for just anybody – they’re looking for “A” players, for stars. The 13 million job seekers out there aren’t stars.”
• “By figuring out where you really belong, your unique strengths will make you the uniquely appropriate candidate. With this approach, you no longer waste your time applying to all the same jobs in all the same ways as everyone else. You maximize your strength as a candidate by positioning yourself in the right place.”

Marketing for Nice People is a course for small business owners given by Naomi from IttyBiz and Sonia from Remarkable Communications. It covers lead generation, conversion, pricing, personal relationships and referrals. It is intended for established businesses who already have products and sales, but need to tweak their marketing materials to improve effectiveness.

• “To use Sonia’s adorable expression, this is not “magic beans”. It’s not a wand. It’s just simple tweaks, taught by people who have done it enough times to know what you should do and what you shouldn’t. Simple. Pretty painless. Not too scary.”
• “The most easily explainable reason people aren’t buying is… they don’t like you.
  It’s not that they despise you. They don’t detest you. They don’t care enough to hate you.”

The IttyBiz SpeakEasy is a membership site based on the IttyBiz blog, which focuses on marketing advice for very small businesses. It covers information on starting an online business, working from home and blogging. The SpeakEasy includes weekly telesminars that sometimes feature guest experts along with Naomi, a semi-active forum and personal email access to marketing goddess Naomi.

Blogger Naomi is known for cursing like a sailor and telling it like it is. She routinely partners with other members of her niche including Dave Navarro and Havi Brooks for her array of information products.

Despite writing about how to make money online, reading her material doesn’t make you feel sleazy or inadequate. Her plain spoken and honest style make her both easy to understand and also accessible.

Bonus points for getting decent discounts on the wide array of other IttyBiz products.

Purpler Cows: How To Out-Seth Seth Godin

How To Write Good Copy and Not Turn Into an Asshole with Guest Expert Sonia Simone

Planning Your Launch with Dave Navarro, The Launch Coach