Rites of Passage at $100,000 to $1 Million+: Your Insider's Lifetime Guide to Executive Job-Changing and Faster Career Progress in the 21st Century

Many of us play golf, a game which has quite specific rules as well as generally accepted etiquette. Managing a career is really no different but many people do not know -- or least understand -- the rules and etiquette. Most professional golfers have a "swing doctor." I view Lucht as serving essentially the same purpose for business executives. Professional golfers vary in terms of their size, strength, "tournament tested" competition, athleticism, judgment, self-control, and commitment. The same is true of business executives. Therefore, it remains for each reader to complete a rigorous self-audit. Identify strengths and weaknesses. Set bold but realistic career objectives. Then select an appropriate combination of ideas, strategies, and tactics from among the abundance of material which Lucht so generously shares. This is not a "job-hunting manual." Rather, a comprehensive and cohesive guide to nourishing one's career by nourishing, in the process, one's self.


Most complete career management book I have ever read.   October 28, 2000
 33 out of 35 found this review helpful

This is a complete revision of what was already by far the best book in the field. I know. I bought the original about 10 years ago. I also bought the prior complete revision of about 5 or 6 years ago. The others were excellent, but this one-"Rites of Passage at $100,000 to $1 Million +"- puts the others in the shade. Now, for the first time, it also covers the Internet as an executive career development tool. Today, if used knowingly, the Web can safely bring huge advantages. I find this book (like its predecessors) to be the quintessential guide to taking charge and managing one's career. Whether you are currently unemployed, employed but itching for something better, or you're just scanning the marketplace, this book is unlike any other I've seen. It is a reference guide, a "how-to" manual, and a collection of practical tactics and strategies to help you avoid common and potentially devastating pitfalls. This new edition's focus on the Internet and technology is superb. Knowledge of current technology, such as email and web-site navigation, has become table stakes in business today. Regardless of what your resume states, your actions can speak much louder to convey your true abilities. This new book provides a road map to safely using the Internet to save you lots of time and effort. Meanwhile, it also expands the proven inside information (from a top headhunter) on resume preparation, networking, interviewing, managing recruiters, and personal organization in the previous versions. As professionals, we get no classes in career management. We are left to learn these concepts on our own. "Rites of Passage at $100,000 to $1 Million +" is the only reference book I feel I can trust for this critical self-study course. Plus it's subtly humorous and fun to read.

Walter W. Winkel III Director of Corporate Acquisitions & General Counsel, Siemens Building Technologies, Inc.


Lucht's Book Delivers Helpful Advice Overall   June 22, 1999
 32 out of 34 found this review helpful

"Rites of Passage" provides an insider's advice on how to navigate through the often uncertain waters of job-changing at the executive level. It should be distinctly understood that the book is intended for higher-level executives -- much of the advice in the book is unsuitable for lower and mid management career changes. I especially liked the well-developed idea that an executive should avoid being presented to a company with a price tag on her head (the recruiter's fee), and should attempt to make herself known directly, without "representation". This is a novel idea that makes sense after you read the book, and this one idea alone is worth the read.

Lucht details an effective plan to go directly to company decision makers for the top jobs. The plan is not presented as a faddish, magic wand technique, but as a no-nonsense "elbow grease" way to get noticed.

There are some problems with the book. First, job changing at all levels is in flux these days, largely because of -- you guessed it -- the Internet. You get the idea that Mr. Lucht was caught off guard by this new big thing. He devotes only a couple of pages, stuck disjointedly in the middle of the book, to online recruitment and job-posting, and nothing at all to how technology will affect the industry.

I would have preferred a more thorough going-over of the world of contingency recruiters, but since they find jobs for lower level managers, Mr. Lucht gives the contingency recruiters a light touch.

The book is odd typographically. For some reason, text in parenthesis is in a font that appears to be several sizes smaller than the regular text, giving the reader the impression that the typesetter just discovered font menus in Microsoft Word. The text often switches between bold and regular and italic, sometimes on the same page. My eyeballs at times were crying "enough already!"

Overall, however, I would recommend the book because it contains some powerful ideas, along with an understanding of the motivations and limitations of executive recruiters. "Rites of Passage" leaves you with the impression that you just got good advice on executive job hunting from a distinguished uncle, without having to feed him dinner.


What you need to know about Executive Job Changing   January 18, 2002
 26 out of 26 found this review helpful

After 10 months of being an unemployed executive, I stumbled across this book. I wish someone had told me the 2 truths I am about to tell you! If you are an executive, do not -under any circumstances- contact a recruiter without reading this book. Secondly, do not -under any circumstances- post your resume on the Web without studying the chapter about the Internet. Let's face it, as an execuitve, it's sometimes feasible to sneak by pretending to know more than you do. But when it comes to getting your next job, what you don't know is detrimental. And all of the typical "get a better job" books don't cater to executives. Trust me, the time to get educated about the world of recruiting and executive level job changing is while you are still employed. And the place to get educated is Rites of Passage. Then just when you think you've gotten all possible benefit from the book, it's time to visit Lucht's Website, RiteSite.com for more. P.S. If you hadn't guessed, I credit using Rites of Passage and the Recruiter lists I downloaded from it's Website with helping me land my new job!


Most usable career guide available   November 1, 2000
 20 out of 24 found this review helpful

In my years as a personal career coach I have made extensive use of John's book as a reference and have regularly recommended it to my clients. The information is accurate, complete, and immediately usable. You will gain more knowledge about the "recruiting business" than you could learn from years working in the business just by reading this book. The sample resume, the listing of executive recruiters and the industry specific source lists are invaluable, even in today's internet age. With people changing jobs more often this book is helpful now more than ever.