Faking Smart!: Get Hired, Get Promoted and Become a V.P. in Six Short Weeks

by Karl Wolfbrooks Ager, Martin Fossum (Contributor), Matt Cory (Illustrator)

Faking Smart! is a book that will astound, enlighten and terrify any person willing to approach the job market from a new angle. Faking Smart! shows you how to get hired, get promoted and become a VP, in six short weeks – GUARANTEED! That's right, in six short weeks you'll have everything any low-level corporate executive could ever wish for - unlimited horizontal job potential!

Genres: Humor, Business, Nonfiction

146 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2014

About the author

Karl Wolfbrooks Ager, founder of the FSRI (Faking Smart! Research Institute) and the FSIHL (Faking Smart! Institute for Higher Learning) is a famous author, entrepreneur and business self-help guru. Ager was the recipient of the coveted FSRI Author of the Year Award for 2011.

Reviews

[Karl Ager · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is certainly the best book out there. I give it my highest rating - FIVE STARS. And I'd give it five stars even if I wasn't the author! That's how good it is!

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Brief Description: The subtitle of the book is “Get Hired, Get Promoted and Become A V.P. In Six Short Weeks.” Theoretically, it is a satire of business self-help books.

My Thoughts: Oh dear. This is my worst book blogging nightmare: a very nice author asks me to review their self-published book and I don’t like it at all. Such is the case with Faking Smart! When I read Mr. Fossum’s witty e-mail requesting that I consider reviewing the book, I accepted because the book sounded like it could be fun. And it is… in parts. However, the humor that is present is just drowned by overkill and repetitiveness that ended up making reading the book feel like a chore. Although it is a slim book (under 150 pages with illustrations), it still took me more than a week to read it because I kept avoiding it. Giving Mr. Fossum the benefit of the doubt, perhaps my dislike of the book was because I’ve been out of corporate world for almost a decade. Still, I really can’t recommend this. I think this could have made a good short-form essay but, stretched to book form, it just doesn’t work for me.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars? How about 2 chuckles and a smirk?

I picked this up on Kindle without realizing "Faking" is by a Goodreads Author. A quick read written in the style of a young Steve Martin (I was a huge fan back in the day), only more wordier, and less funny, but easily fixable with a better edit. As "Faking" is self-published, this should be considered. (Edit: Perhaps this has happened as the version I read was before this Volume 1 release date~opps.)

Okay, I confess, I was tempted to call that 1-999 number.

Having worked in human resources at the beginning of my career, I will say, that this book could have given a few of the applicants a clue. Now, of course, I'm the VP of the company...I did read it, afterall.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faking Smart is a program that will not only get you a job, but also get you promoted to Vice President, and all within six weeks.

This was a hilariously sarcastic and over-the-top read. It read like a skit from Saturday Night Live or The Colbert Report. It definitely made me laugh and see the humour in moving through the corporate world. I can see this book appealing to everyone from teenagers who see exectuive positions as unattainable until the distant the future, to executives who will say they wish it had been this easy to get to where they are now.

This was a very timely read for me. I lost my job at the end of March, and am currently looking for work. This was just the book I need to read as a pick-me-up during the depressing act of job searching. While I don't see myself actually performing the program as written, it makes for a very uplifting read.

Along a different line, this is the first book I have ever had signed by the author. Not only did he include a handwritten letter with the book when he sent it to me, he also signed the actual book too. It was a pleasant surprise, and an added bonus that made my day.

[Alyssa Greatbanks · Rating 1 out of 5]

So I'd like to start by saying, the kindle books website I had found this title on listed it as a business book, I'm not really sure why, but that is what they had it under. By the time I had gotten around to reading it I had totally forgot what it was about, so I guess you could say I was a little confused in the first chapter.

I did realize quickly that it is a comedic book and is not supposed to be taken seriously, but I really didn't find it very funny. I'm sure some people would enjoy it, but it wasn't my brand of comedy so it took me quite a while to finally get through it.

I'd say that if you were someone who liked just about every kind of comedy, then you would probably enjoy this book. If you are picky about where your laughs come from, or dislike comedy all together, then this is probably not the book for you.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this book as a First Read and since it was a signed copy from the author felt like I had to read the entire book to give it a fair review.

That said, I thought this book was ridiculous. I realize that it is supposed to be humorous and sarcastic but I just didn't think it was either of those things. I didn't find any useful information in the book and the parts that were so far fetched and supposed to be funny just weren't. If it's any indication of my thoughts on this book, it took me months to finish and I usually finish a book in a few days. I literally had to force myself to read it and think that there were many other things I could have done with my time.

I hate to give a bad review of any book but I just really didn't like this one.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly I have only glanced at 'Faking Smart' but even this brief interaction has raised a smile in an otherwise gloomy day. Massively impressed by Ager tho. I won a copy of FS through this website (yey) and it came through the post this week - always satisfying to get a parcel through the post from an exotic land. Carried the package round for a day pretending to be far too busy and important to open it, hoping to impress on my fellow shoppers in Sainsburys.
When I unwrapped it I was pleasently surprised too find Ager had signed the copy and contained a small but lovely note. What a gent!

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book for free as part of the Goodreads Fist Reads program. I will tell you that I thought this book was a fun read but also a helpful way to convery information, helpful suggestions, and pointers in a comical way to my teenagers and even their slightly older friends. The advice was presented in a unique and comical way but was accurate and the principles can be applied in the real word. I thought the writer had a consistant smooth writing style and I plan to keep this one on the bookshelf as a reference and a loaner to my friends and family that could use a job or a laugh. A good read indeed.

[Paul Steele · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best crap read all year! Inspired by the introduction, I read the whole thing in just one "sitting" while in stall #2, (which is just off the main conference room). I wasn't going to quit until I had finished, no matter how long the line got!

I can't wait to start applying the lessons in Faking Smart to my own career and I'm looking forward to moving from my current position of Tech Zero to VP!

Thanks Dr. Ager and Mr. Fossum for such an extraordinary program! I can't wait to tell everyone that I got there by Faking Smart!

P.S. Thanks for the sticker too!



This was a First Reads selection from Goodreads.

[K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have you ever wants to get on the fast track to success? Stuck in a dead-end job and want a change? Or maybe you’re unemployed and know that a cushy title is just what you need to motivate you to succeed. If this sounds like you, then you have to get the new book Faking Smart: Get Hired, Get Promoted, & Become A V.P. In Six Short Weeks. In six short weeks you can go from loser to leader!

Read my review on Fandomania!

[Stuart Hargreaves · Rating 3 out of 5]

I FOUND THIS BOOK TO BE QUITE AMUSING BUT NOT HILARIOUS. PERHAPS SOME OF THE HUMOUR DID NOT TRAVEL ACROSS THE "POND". I WOULD RECOMMEND PEOPLE TO READ THE BOOK AS IT GIVES AN INSIGHT IN HOW TO WORK YOUR WAY UP IN THE BUSINESS WORLD, THERE ARE SEVERAL STEPS WHICH COULD ACTUALLY WORK BUT ALOT IS WHAT I WOULD CALL "TONGUE IN THE CHEEK" BUY IT AND SEE WHAT YOU THINK

[Vanessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won this book from First Reads and when I got it I was not sure what to think! I started pageing through it and found that I was laughing out loud. It was nice to have some humor put to a stressful subject. My Husband is one of those high up Managers and when I handed it to him to check out He took it and wouldn't give it back! Too Funny!

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I graciously won a signed copy of this book through first reads giveaway.

This book was just ok to me. I get that it was supposed to be sarcastic and goofy, I just didn't find it humorous. Even pretending to promote pretend smoking is not cool in my book. I won't be passing this on to friends or family, but I do appreciate getting the chance to read it.

[Crystal]

Won this in a good reads contest. I'm on the first chapter and finding it humorous. If you are a fan of the office or office space this book will be right up your alley. Witty and light heart humor that those job searching or currently working in the business field will enjoy.

[Kristina Franken · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book for anyone

FTC: I received a free copy of this book and was not reimbursed in any other way.

[Damien Ryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thus proving that it's not easy being Scott Adams. Sub-Dilbert nonsense.

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf @ 20%

[Martin Fossum · Rating 5 out of 5]

What else is there to say...? This book is brilliant!