One of the fringe benefits of running a job board and being an active blogger is that you receive a regular stream of career-related books. Most are quite good. A few, well, not so much. But definitely falling into the former bucket is Alexandra Levit's How'd You Score That Gig?

Alexandra's book provides an in-depth look at the 60 careers that over 500 Gen Y and Gen X voted to be the coolest jobs. But the book does more than just give examples or describe the jobs. It also helps the reader determine which jobs are most suitable for them through a unique self-assessment.

What I really loved about this book is that it includes insider accounts. So rather than just taking Alexandra's word for what a particular job is like, you'll be able to learn about the jobs from peers who actually are employed in these cool jobs. And if their experiences resonate with you, the book then walks you through how to get the job.

We regularly advice job seekers to conduct a series of informational interviews with people who work in the types of jobs which are of interest to the job seekers. The job seekers should not ask these people for a job but instead they should ask them to describe their work and how they got their jobs. This book is a great supplement to that process it will enable the job seeker to walk into these informational interviews with a lot more insight into the jobs they are considering and likely save them a lot of time by helping them include jobs they may not have considered and excluding jobs that they didn't realize were not suitable for their competencies, interests, or values.

Bravo, Alexandra! The bookshelves of every college career service office should include at least one copy of the superb How'd You Score That Gig?