You Don't Have To Be Smart To Own A Smartphone

A guide to the working world for recent graduates.

Adler’s (Business/Chapman Univ.; From Three to Five, 2011) experiences as a businessman and as a professor inform this book, in which he gives practical advice to college graduates about what to expect from their first jobs. Some of his advice is fairly common, such as his urging to dress properly for job interviews, but he also addresses the proper attitude to adopt as a new hire. New employees often find themselves doing relatively menial tasks, and Adler warns: “You want to stand out, but you don’t want to encourage people to take advantage of you.” The author has a good sense of how working life proceeds on all levels, and he counsels new graduates to understand not only their job skills, but also their social positions. Adler’s tips are invaluable, particularly for students who have excelled in an academic setting; the ability to drop a point of contention when it’s no longer worthwhile, for example, can serve someone very well at work, when it might not have done so at a university. The author also understands the culture shock that can come with the college-to-work transition; he’s experienced it himself and has seen plenty of others go through it. His astute observations on current office pressures and practices are useful, and his commentaries take the tone of a mentor dispensing helpful advice. His patient dissection of what life was like before newer technologies were available has valuable insights for new graduates about to work with people from older generations. The book offers thematically grouped sections, each quite short, which makes them easy to read and absorb on any schedule.

A useful, readable collection of advice for young people on the verge of new careers.