Book excerpt: This title outlines the personal and professional skills and behaviours needed to be an effective early career teacher beyond that of your own subject knowledge and class-based practices. It provides guidance on how to gain the most from mentoring conversations and how to develop good habits around workload and managing priorities. It helps you develop and understand the importance of engaging in self-reflection, professional development, building relationships and managing your well-being, encouraging you to consider your professional identity, values and motivators in order to become the best teacher you can be. The Essential Guides for Early Career Teachers provide accessible, carefully researched, quick reads for early career teachers, covering the key topics you will encounter during your training year and first two years of teaching. They complement and are fully in line with the new Early Career Framework and are intended to assist ongoing professional development by bringing together current information and thinking on each area in one convenient place.