The Career Development Professional’s Survival Guide: Hardback Edition

Published: 21 November 2025

Edition: 1st

Length: 190 pages

Dimensions: 24 x 17 cm

"Michael Larbelestier’s and Marianne Wilson’s AI Toolkit for Careers Practitioners ... meets a definite need in the profession.

From the outset, the authors acknowledge that readers will approach this book with different levels of familiarity with AI, as well as different practical needs. Neither an ‘AI for beginners’ manual, nor a dense academic treatise, this book takes a different approach, equipping the reader with the knowledge and skills to use AI skilfully and effectively. Starting with a general introduction (that includes some much-needed myth busting), the authors move on to the wider social and ethical implications of this technology, and its implications for career development work. Detailed practical examples of how AI might be used in practice ground the book in the ‘coalface’ of practice, while the final section of the book offers welcome definitions of the myriad technical terms that inevitably form part of this subject.

This book is, as its title says, a ‘toolkit’. By adopting the approach of providing the reader with a ‘compass’ (to use the authors’ own metaphor), rather than a ‘map’, this volume will, I think, remain relevant and vital for many years, despite the dynamic and fast-changing nature of its subject. I cannot recommend it highly enough."

From the foreword to the book
Dr Oliver Jenkin PGCE RCDP, NICEC Fellow

CDI Senior Professional Development and Standards Manager, and Editor of the CDI’s magazine, Career Matters

Read the sample chapter here.

View the free resources here.

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A big hello

Alphabet soup - an abundance of abbreviations or acronyms

Beginnings - things to consider when starting in a new role, a different setting or a new job

Body Doubling - a technique where you work alongside another person, either physically or virtually, to enhance focus and motivation

Continuous Professional Development - occupational and educational knowledge

Communication - The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place ~George Bernard Shaw

Complaints – don’t panic! Listen and learn

Curiosity - Indulge your own curiosity by finding out how others work

Decisions – what affects decision making

Designing your day - some of the ways you can structure a day’s careers interactions

Difficult Conversations - Careers work doesn’t really matter or isn’t important; You must do shorter career sessions; You need to fill up our 6th Form/College; There’s no point in “inclusive approaches”; You can’t have a room; Clients who say “I don’t know”

Disabled? – you have rights

Disclosure and Barring – what the different kinds of checks are, and who needs them

Emails – top tips for helping to ensure that emails don’t clog up your life

Equality and equity – what they mean and why they matter

Ethics - Ethical use of different social media and technology platforms; Unethical Practice; Agendafication

Everyone has a right to Career Guidance – just saying!

Find your Tribe – why we need our own circles of support

Future gazing – what will happen next in the Careers Sphere?

Going places – things to remember the first time you go to a setting

Have a go! – how Chris and Jules got over their own anxieties and learnt to embrace things outside their comfort zones

Humour – when is a joke not a joke?

Information sharing – what should we share, and how?

Just One Thing – why doing ‘just one thing’ can be so powerful

Kindness - ways of being, which we can consider to improve our lot

Learning Styles – are they a myth?

Looking after the planet – musings on sustainable practice

Magic – why Terry Pratchett could have been writing about us

Mistakes – what we’ve learnt from ours

No such thing as a silly question – a bit about different kinds of questions and how they can be used

Opportunities - activities which promote the development of self-awareness; various ways of researching opportunities

Personalising Action Plans – what is the purpose of our action plans?

Philosophy – a romp through some thinkers

Play – why is it important?

Quick or slow – how to slow down … or stop

Realism – mental capacity and ‘unwise’ choices

Reflection – how and why to reflect on your work

Refreshments – the art and etiquette of food and drink

Sick and Tired - is a change as good as a rest?

Staying Safe – a few thoughts on how and why this is so important

Social Media – for business, for/with clients, for ourselves and for CPD

Transitions - techniques which support our clients to ‘move’

Unconditional Positive Regard – what to do when accepting and respecting others as they are gets hard

Visibility - why should we make ourselves ‘seen’

What should I wear? – some personal musings on dress codes and appearance

X-rated - Sometimes clients talk about inappropriate things!

YET – the power of yet and growth mindset

Zero Tolerance? - if a client is unaware they are doing something wrong [and it is not harmful, or an immediate threat] should we adopt a policy of zero-tolerance?

Zenith - ‘the time at which something is most powerful or successful’ – what we might call Impact!

Zone - ‘a region or area set off as distinct from surrounding or adjoining parts’.