“When You Know Better, You Do Better” ~~Maya Angelou

As you embark into the world of work, wouldn’t you like to hear the practical advice of successful employees who have already gone down their career path? Wouldn’t you like to learn from their mistakes? Build a unique and successful career path by reading this guide of unwritten workplace rules. It’s what you will not find in your company’s books of policies and procedures. Claudia Samuels Newton knows that experience is the best teacher and that you can avoid making devastating mistakes on the job that can stunt your career. In Career Wonders and Blunders: If I Knew Then, What I Know Now, she has provided the advice, insight, and experience of others who have walked this path in the world of work before you. Dr. Linda Salane, Executive Director The Leadership Institute at Columbia College states, "Career Wonders and Blunders is a comprehensive career guide with direct, concrete, and basic advice for success in the first job, and for positioning oneself for advancement. The author identifies fundamental realities that this generation of new workers may not consider: understanding the company’s culture, cultivating good work ethics, dealing with difficult bosses, navigating office politics, establishing value, choosing a mentor, networking, personal wellness to establishing a professional image. The book is honest and readable. It covers essential blunders (do not sleep on the job; do not call in sick when you are going to a ballgame). More interesting are the complex “wonders” (how do you evaluate a company’s culture? how do you successfully establish value?) that give a new employee insight into what he or she can do to be more effective. Filled with personal stories and chock full of good advice, Career Wonders and Blunders is a great present to a new graduate or a new employee." Read the powerful advice of successful executives including CEOs and COOs. Equally powerful are the candid stories of people just like you - acquired over the course of their working years. This is Career 101 - what you were not taught in school. Use the wonders and blunders of real people with real experiences at the end of each chapter to ascertain you are on the correct path. Now you have an essential tool to prevent you from repeating their mistakes on your career journey.

Claudia Samuels Newton is an adjunct professor of Communications, a manager in Corporate America, and the owner of Rewarding Career and Resume Services. Her career articles have been published on numerous websites and she has been published in newspapers. She has been a guest on local television and is a sought-after presenter at colleges and state agencies around South Carolina. Claudia earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, NJ and a master’s degree in Human Resources Management from the University of Phoenix in Arizona. The author identifies fundamental realities that this generation of new workers may not consider: understanding the company’s culture, cultivating good work ethics, dealing with difficult bosses, navigating office politics, establishing value, choosing a mentor, networking, personal wellness to establishing a professional image.