Review of Fast-Starting a Career of Consequence

Fast-Starting a Career of Consequence: Practical Christ-Centered Advice for Entering or Re-Entering the Workforce by Fred Sievert

Morgan James Faith, 236 pages, (paperback) $16.99, 9781631953583
(Reviewed: March, 2021)

The COVID pandemic has thrown the economy into turmoil, putting many out of work. It’s an especially tough job market for young adults just embarking on a professional career. In this useful book, Fred Sievert, former president of New York Life Insurance Company, steps in, offering advice on how to begin and manage a career based on Christian beliefs.

Sievert advises readers to make Jesus their workplace partner, meaning that they should not separate their spiritual life from their work life. In the book’s first part, he explains that he based his recommendations on the advice he gave his own daughter as she began her career. The second portion outlines how people at any stage of their careers can benefit from applying Christian principles, such as St. Paul’s teaching on spiritual gifts or the Golden Rule, to the 21st century’s business environment. One chapter is titled “Pray Often for Guidance from the Holy Spirit”; another implores readers to “Always Act in Concert with Your Values and Beliefs.”

The third and final section provides ten practical tips oriented especially toward young people entering the workforce. For instance, it gives ten specific guidelines to follow when giving a business presentation, from knowing your audience, to how to shorten text to the bullet-point level.

Sievert’s avuncular advice is expressed in a clear and concise voice. He appears to come from an evangelical Christian background, but nothing here would alienate mainline Protestants, Catholics, or other Christians. Despite the career success he has enjoyed, he is frequently self-effacing; this is consistent with his stated belief that arrogance is one of the worst traits a career-minded person can have.

This book will appeal most to young adults from an evangelical background who are embarking on a career in business or the professions. However, while the Christian messaging is strong, even non-Christians could filter out the religious content and benefit from Sievert’s practical, crystal-clear career advice.