Bait And Switch

Bait and Switch is the follow-up to the best-selling Nickel and Dimed. In Nickel and Dimed the author went "undercover" and worked a series of low-wage jobs (including a stint with Wal-Mart), Bait and Switch sees her venturing into the Corporate World.

I enjoyed both books, but I thought that Nickel and Dimed was more compelling. In Bait and Switch, the author was never able to land a corporate gig, so the books explores the world of online job searching, resume and career coaches, and networking. The author gives a great snapshot of the unemployed, middle aged corporate workers, whom she encountered in the nine months of her job search. I found myself getting depressed as I read about their plight, and frustrated by how the "system" undervalues their experience. Unless you have a profession with built-in barriers and supply limits (think CPA's, lawyers and the bar exam, or MD's and the medical boards), you need to stay on top of your field, and hope your skills stay relevant. In an earlier post, I highlighted the growing problem of asymmetry in this globalized economy.

Definitely worth reading, if only to find out how "career coaching" actually works. Plus the author is an exceptional story-teller.