Being that I’m currently on the job hunt, I’ve turned to a lot of nonfiction reads written by women in the media industry this summer. I’ve found that these kind of books keep me motivated but also provide a dose of tough love reality. Sometimes, you just get lucky and happen to be in the right place at the right time for a certain job. Most of the time, though, you have to work hard at not-quite-right jobs until you finally earn your dream position.

I wanted to share the three “career woman” books I’ve read this summer. I actually saw all of these authors in person over the course of Her Conference weekend back in July! if you ever have the chance to hear someone you admire professionally at an event, definitely jump on that chance!

1) The Big Life: Embrace the Mess, Work Your Side Hustle, Find a Monumental Relationship, and Become the Badass Babe You Were Meant to Be, by Ann Shoket

“It can be incredibly lonely to grow into who you’re meant to be.”

I have to be honest: I was never a Seventeen reader beyond flicking through it in waiting rooms. I’ve known of its former editor-in-chief Ann Shoket completely from her guest appearances on America’s Next Top Model, but one of the Her Campus (which I currently work for) co-founders interned for her back in the day and they kept in touch. This called for Ann’s workshop at Her Conference, where she talked to us about staying confident while climbing the professional ladder and keeping calm about stabilizing a satisfying personal life.

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