In 2021, it’s time for Black professionals to get the pay, dream jobs, and advancement/growth opportunities they deserve. Navigating the career space as a person of color has been tricky for decades due to racism, hiring bias, systemic oppression, and unfair practices that leave us either unprotected in the workplace or full-on targets.

Because of this, simple career accolades and wins such as receiving raises and salary increases, promotions, and advancement opportunities can be out of our reach. Being Black in Corporate America comes with a unique set of burdens that other groups don’t have to bear.

There’s a certain level of unapologetic boldness that we must have, along with Beyonce-level confidence, to succeed - to deal with the microaggressions, to put up with coworkers and managers who have it out for us, and to make it through each day and its landmines.

IT’S OUR TIME TO THRIVE

But in today’s day in age, we’re no longer putting up with BS and we are taking our careers into our own hands. Black experts and corporate professionals everywhere are demanding to be paid what they’re worth, landing roles at top companies, driving organizational DEI initiatives, and making their mark.

To put it bluntly - our black and brown sistas and brothas are out here thriving.

Here are 8 books written by Black career experts designed to help you do the same no matter where you are in your career. Learn how to:

Develop an intentional career plan
Negotiate a 6-figure salary
Launch your professional brand
Job search like a mfn boss
Overcome imposter syndrome
Avoid interview pitfalls
Navigate the workplace as a Black professional (because let’s be honest, we need to move different)
...and much more!

8 CAREER BOOKS BY BLACK CAREER PROFESSIONALS

1. Career Rehab - Kanika Tolver

In Career Rehab, professional career and life coach Kanika Tolver helps you strip away the fear and doubt holding you back from living your best life and get down to the "good bones" of your resume so you can build your dream career. Tolver outlines simple yet innovative ways to brand, market, and sell yourself into jobs that promote work-life balance, fair compensation, and continuous career development.

Buy Career Rehab here:

2. Thrive Through It - Brittany N. Cole

Brittany shares a framework through The Resilience Roadmap(R) to help you redefine resilience with authenticity, purpose, courage, and joy. Through thought-provoking and transparent storytelling, research from leading organizations, insights from leaders across industries, and a curriculum with room to implement the inspiration, Thrive Through It will help you:

Elevate your emotional intelligence as you journey through change and loss.
Communicate through differences and difficult decisions to build connection.
Practice empathy as an ally and advocate for others.
Remove your cape and mask to take up space and allow yourself to be seen.

Buy Thrive Through It here.

3. Who Needs A Career Coach Anyway? - Lakrisha Davis

This tell-all career strategy book guides job seekers through the entire process of landing their dream jobs. From defining your dream role to writing an impactful resume, to implementing a well-structured job search plan, to negotiating the offer, WNACCA spills all the relevant and most current career hacks every job seeker in the market should know about today. Lakrisha shares the best practice methodologies she's used to help hundreds of job seekers transition into their dream careers.

Buy Who Needs A Career Coach Anyway? here.

4. Dominate Your Career: A Professional Guide to Helping You Get The Job You Want - Tea Cooper

Feeling stuck at a dead-end job is not a great feeling. "Dominate Your Career: A Professional Guide to Get The Job You Want" is a book encapsulating over 10 years of Tea Cooper's knowledge, research, leadership, interviewing techniques, and recruitment strategies. She promises to walk you step by step through the process of choosing a career that aligns with who you are.

Buy Dominate Your Career here.

5. The Memo - Minda Harts

Most business books provide a one-size-fits-all approach to career advice that overlooks the unique barriers that women of color face. In The Memo, Minda Harts offers a much-needed career guide tailored specifically for women of color.

Drawing on knowledge gained from her past career as a fundraising consultant to top colleges across the country, Harts now brings her powerhouse entrepreneurial experience as CEO of The Memo to the page. With wit and candor, she acknowledges "ugly truths" that keep women of color from having a seat at the table in corporate America.

Providing straight talk on how to navigate networking, office politics, and money, while showing how to make real change to the system, The Memo offers support and long-overdue advice on how women of color can succeed in their careers.

Buy The Memo here.

6. The Little Black Book of Success: Laws of Leadership for Black Women - Marsha Heygood

When Elaine Meryl Brown, Marsha Haygood, and Rhonda Joy McLean wrote THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF SUCCESS they had hoped it would touch and transform the lives of women who wanted to get ahead in their careers, change careers, find a new job, or start a new business.

Not only did THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF SUCCESS help numerous women AND men get promoted, navigate challenging situations, cultivate skills, and land new positions, it was a national bestseller, an NAACP Literary Award nominee, and the topic of talk on traditional and social media that moved the authors into the national spotlight.

Buy The Little Black Book of Success here:

7. Expect To Win: 10 Proven Strategies For Thriving In The Workplace - Carla Harris

Carla Harris, one of the most successful and respected women in business, shares advice, tips, and strategies for surviving in any workplace environment. While climbing the corporate ladder, Harris had her own missteps and celebrated numerous victories.

She vowed that when she reached senior management, and people came to her for advice, she would provide them with the tools and strategies honed by her experience.

“Carla’s Pearls” have become the centerpiece for her many speeches and television appearances. Now, Carla shares these valuable lessons, including:

Authenticity: The Power is You

The Ninety-Day Rule
Perception is the Copilot to Reality
The Mentor, the Sponsor, the Adviser: Having Them All
Leverage Your Voice
Balance is a Necessity: Use Your Passions to Achieve It
Expect to Win: Show Up with Your Best Self Every Day

Buy Expect to Win here.

8. The Career Journal for Women - Latesha Byrd

This career journal is designed to help women discover clarity, build confidence, and take control of their careers. Latesha Byrd, a Certified Career and Life Coach, wants to close the gender pay gap by making sure women of color get the salaries they deserve. She created this journal to help women accomplish three main goals:

Develop a clear vision of their dream career and better understand their strengths and weaknesses in the workplace.
Gain the confidence they need to go after their dream job and dominate every interview.
Learn how to advocate for themselves inside the workplace and negotiate a salary and benefits that support a life they love.

Buy the Career Journal for Women here.

HAPPY READING!

If you haven’t purchased any of these great reads by now, what are you waiting for?! Click the link to each to get one or all of them shipped to you ASAP. Books are just as much of an investment in your career as a class, training, or workshop. The information you will take away is sure to give you some gems on how to take your career to the next level.

Add These 8 Career Books Written By Black Professionals To Your Reading List