Penelope Trunk's "The Brazen Careerist"; Advice you almost certainly have not heard before

Penelope Trunk has just released the Brazen Careerist, her handbook for achieving career goals. Penelope has a lot of non-traditional career advice (such as "job hopping in your twenties is a great idea."). This is definitely not your parents' job handbook--probably because it is no longer your parents' world. Baby boomers re-entering the workforce (or just wanting to re-energize their careers) will need to unlearn what was done the first time around--even those things that worked.

The world today is far removed from the "organizational man" world that is at the heart of so many of today's career advice handbooks (e.g., emphasis on moving up ladder, myopic focus on increasing salary and responsibility, and the assumption that the bigger the company the better). Today's generation of job seekers hops jobs with much greater frequency, continues to learn throughout their lives, and works particularly hard on those things that interest them. Today's new workers are not satisfied with just "surviving" the corporate jungle. Instead they are going from jungle to jungle to find which one they like the best and along the way they might find out they don't even like jungles. Perhaps they feel better in the dessert or on a mountain. Well, you get the idea.

While written for Generations X and Y, the book is also relevant for baby boomers--who have many of the same satisfaction needs as their younger counterparts. The only difference being that boomers typically suppressed these feelings fearing that doing otherwise would ruin their career. Furthermore, it's important for older workers to understand the new work force since they are: 1) working side-by-side, 2) managing; 3) being managed by; and 4) competing for jobs against these generations. (One section of the book addresses the differences between boomers and the younger generations, which Trunk clearly believes are significant. However her description of what Gen X/Y care most about--"being challenged, learning new skills, and preserving one's personal life"--all apply to the baby boomers that I know.)

Trunk's non-traditional perspective is based in part on her decidedly non-traditional career background. She is a columnist for new economy Yahoo!Finance as well as the mainstream media Boston Globe. She has been an active blogger and had previously worked as a software executive. She was also a professional beach volleyball player.

Her professional volleyball career had a significant impact on her approach to the workplace. In the book she describes an early post college job interview at a Manhattan publisher where it stuck her that she really didn't want the job she was applying for. The fact is that she wanted to play volleyball on the beach. For a moment she wondered if she was a loser but decided to follow her dreams (rather successfully as it turns out). Now some years later she has taken a step back to write a book on the rules as they apply to today's latest generation of workers.

Her first piece of advice, which sets the tone for the book, is to embrace the trial and error process of figuring out what one is really good at. After that, she has almost 200 pages of tips about how to do well while having time for family and activities.

Some of her more notable thoughts:

Hunting for a job is not a task, it's a lifestyle. Ask a lot of questions in the interview. Concentrate on finding the right manager as opposed to the right position.

Cold calling is for champions. It used to be that cold-calling was for losers at the bottom of the corporate ladder. No more. People who are good at it can do a lot for themselves.

Don't be afraid to negotiate your salary. Even if you don't get more money you will feel good for asking for it. First, get an offer in writing before asking for more.

People who say they hate office politics will die a slow, painful career death. There is no getting around office politics, and mastering them is essential being able to steer your own career.

Being likable matters more than being competent. Social skills matter more today in the workplace than ever and be prepared to work at it (and don't discount flattery).

Most people work hard to get ahead but the real way in getting ahead is to have good ideas. Stop, rest and think of a new way of doing something.

(And our favorite tip) There are no bad bosses, only whiny employees.

Overall the Brazen Careerist is a quick, tip-laden and enjoyable read and far more relevant than most career books on the market.

Link to other LifeTwo stories on Penelope Trunk.

Amazon link: Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success