Table of Contents
Introduction 9
Chapter 1 The First Rung: Navigating a Job Search 13
Excuse Me, Sir, Have You Seen Any Jobs Around Here? 15
Selling Yourself Without Selling Out 20
Dear Hiring Manager 26
Tell Me About Yourself 31
From "a Job" to "Your Job" 42
Because You're Worth It 49
Chapter 2 Let's Do This: Starting (and Having) a Job 57
How to Career, Part I 58
Wardrobe Dysfunction 63
Wardrobe Assumptions 68
Even IfYou Don't Write for a Living, You Write for a Living 72
#NotSafeForWork 80
"Awake and Alert" Is Non-Negotiable 85
Chapter 3 Great, Expectations: Settling Into Your Role When You're No Longer 91
How to Career, Part II 93
You're Only One Person 98
Surprising Yourself 103
Surprising Yourself (Remix): Not in a Good Way 107
In the Feedback Loop 111
The Worst That Could Happen 115
Wipe That Face OffYour Face 118
Chapter 4 Your Time Won't Manage Itself: Staying on Task-and Staying Sane 123
Step 1 Make a List 125
Just Send the Damn E-Mail Already 130
Your Phone Has a Silent Mode 134
Do You Even Know What Kind of Day I've Had?? 139
Home Work 144
Chapter 5 You're All in This Together: Dealing with Bosses, Coworkers, and Other Workplace Inhabitants 151
Conflicts and Interests 153
I Hate Your Face 158
How About That Sportball Game? 163
On Wednesdays We Wear Pink Slips 168
Since You've Been Gone 172
The Coworkers Who Knew Too Much 176
Chapter 6 How Do I Say This?: Tackling Tricky Topics with Grace and Aplomb 181
Use Your Words 183
Um, Actually … 188
Your Mother Doesn't Work Here (And Even If She Did …) 194
To Your Health 201
Bearing Bad News 208
Chapter 7 Like a Boss: Making Your Job Work for You 213
Fraud Alert? 215
Preserving Your Last Nerve 219
Let Me Get That for You 224
Moving On Up 228
This Isn't Working 234
File under "Pastures, Greener" 238
I Guess This Is Working, Then 245
The Book Ends but the Conversation Doesn't 247
Acknowledgments 249
Index 251
