My gender doesn't align with that of the protagonist in 90% of the supposedly representative scenarios. The part that really grates, though, is how much this book is clearly not targeted at me. I would go so far as to say they're post-facto goals, ones that look nice on a dust jacket. He delivers on neither, though - those are pretty lofty goals for something written in dribs and drabs as unrelated blog entries. Those would have been great, and I picked up this book sort of hoping for exactly that. Emphasis on the 'loosely.' Lopp says that the goals of the book (it has goals?) are to improve the reader's improvisational skills (presumably as regards career curveballs) and to define one's career strategy. This is a collection of blog entries, loosely edited into a book. Seriously underwhelming at best offensive at worst. It's nothing like his, but in considering the distinction you may clarify your status and your goals. If you're freelancing, or working for a startup, then reading this book is useful not for its specific advice, but simply as an opportunity to spend a few hours considering your own situation. I've never been such a person, and I never meet them either. Lopp's advice might apply to those fresh out of college, with no contacts, looking for long-term employment in giant corporations. If you want to apply to a dozen companies and get nowhere, submit your resume. When I left college I, too, thought this was how people applied for jobs, but in my experience it's a sign of desperation if you resort to such measures. Lopp advises the reader on job-searching, but it's a style of search which I consider an illusion: You respond to a job listing with a resume carefully tweaked for the position, pass a phone screen, and interview on site for half a day.

He also assumes a kind of corporate culture that I hope is obsolete: The kind where you have a week to prepare for the Big Meeting, the kind where you live and die by PowerPoint. The author has worked at large corporations (including Netscape) and small startups, but his idea of a startup is 80 employees. A supposed career handbook, with little relevance to my career.

Michael lopp books