Candid advice on how to succeed
Special to the American
A new book, “Embracing the Real World: The Black Woman’s Guide to Life After College,” has been published for black women making the often challenging transition from college to the professional workforce. More than 80,000 black women graduate from U.S. colleges each year.
Written by Chaz Kyser, a journalism instructor at Langston University, the book will help young black women have a better chance of success upon entering the workforce. The information presented in the book is based off of Kyser’s experiences, those of other college graduates, the insight of employers and research.
Readers will get schooled on everything from applying and interviewing for jobs, succeeding in a new position, choosing where to live, handling conflicts with co-workers, managing their boss, networking effectively, budgeting, negotiating their salary, and coping with job loss.
But what sets this book apart from others on the market is that it’s specifically written for black women and covers topics that most career-related books ignore.
“One of the problems with the average career guide is that it doesn’t discuss sensitive topics or issues pertinent to people of color,” Kyser said. “My book gives informative, inspirational and candid advice on how to succeed in corporate America, handle racial and sex discrimination in the workplace, build a positive image, and free oneself from self-doubt and the fear of failure. Most career guides just stick to the basics of how to find and keep a job. Black women – all college graduates actually – need to be armed with more information than that.”
The book also features essays from successful black women on a variety of topics and a detailed resource guide.
“Embracing the Real World” has been praised by college presidents, career experts, students, working professionals, other authors, and the proud parents of young black women.
Dr. Belinda C. Anderson, president of Virginia Union University, hailed the career guide as a “book that should be on every woman’s bookshelf.” Dr. JoAnn Haysbert, president of Langston University, has described the book as “interesting, well written, and packed with practical information for anyone entering the job market.”
Kyser, 28, is also a freelance editor and writer. Her career columns for recent graduates have been published in numerous newspapers and websites, including the American. She received a master of science degree in publishing from Pace University in New York, and bachelor’s degrees in print journalism and sociology from Texas State University-San Marcos.
“Embracing the Real World: The Black Woman’s Guide to Life After College” (ISBN# 0-9788188-0-6) can be purchased for $14.99 plus tax and shipping/handling off of the book’s website, www.embracingtherealworld.com, and on Amazon.com.
