Book Review: Career Self-Care

     As a social worker for almost 20 years, I empathize with the complexities related to energetically cultivating a career passion while strategically developing a professional skill set toward a professional goal. I am continuously searching for and creating resources to support students, practitioners, and organizations’ professional self-care and development as a social work educator and career coach. After discovering Career Self-Care, I was eager to share it as a valuable read for anyone seeking to establish and/or promote holistic health and well-being within their professional role or organization.

     The contents of Minda Zetlin’s Career Self-Care are divided into five separate parts, each delivering how-to advice for taking care of your professional self and navigating a meaningful career. Each chapter (22 in total) is followed by Exercises to Try activities. These activities are substantial and add to the book’s overall usefulness.

     The book begins by exploring how and why self-care and career development are interconnected and necessary companions for professional success and wellness. The sections that follow explore the people and relationships in our work and life, including toxic coworkers and bosses and the micro and macro processes of establishing and traversing our career goals. Additional highlights include tools for creating habits that embrace your whole self in work and life.

     The flow of the book is easy to follow, and the construction allows for the reader to engage the information in a variety of ways. The author even encourages the reader to use the book “any way you want,” so if the topics in Part 2 are calling your name, you are invited to read that part first or exclusively. As a reader, I appreciate this organizational technique and believe it offers value to more readers. For me, this design also resonates with the spirit of social work by allowing the tools within to meet readers where they are in their career development process.

     Despite not being written by social workers or from their perspectives, Career Self-Care is an invaluable resource for us because of its practical and interdisciplinary nature. Social workers within various practice contexts and at all career levels can engage with this book. I also believe the book could be used by organizations to promote employee health and development. As an advocate for incorporating self-care into social work practice competencies, I feel strongly that this book could be utilized to benefit students in field and capstone courses.

     Self-care has proven to be essential for my capacity to thrive professionally. And taking care of myself isn’t just for me. Ignoring professional self-care also has detrimental consequences for social work practice, our organizations, and our communities. This book will be an ally for you and your career.

Reviewed by Tracey Kelley Neal, LMSW, founder of GROW Development Institute and adjunct faculty member at the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work at Baylor University.