New Girl On the Job: Advice from the Trenches

by Hannah Seligson

What do Bobbi Brown, CEO of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Soledad O'Brien, co-host of CNN's American Morning, and Jill Herzig, executive editor of Glamour magazine, all have in common?

They've all been the New Girl on the Job, just like you. And in this book, you'll gain access to their hard-won wisdom and strategies for success.

In New Girl on the Job, author Hannah Seligson blows the lid off of one of the most common--and least discussed--topics facing young women

Surviving and thriving in the workplace.

Through interviews with some of the best and brightest businesswomen in the country, meticulous research, and one-on-one chats with hundreds of New Girls starting out in their careers, New Girl on the Job provides you with all of the information you always wanted to know about workplace success but were afraid to ask. Inside, you'll find valuable tips and information you can put to use right



   • You never get a second chance--Making a killer first impression


   • Is this the "real me?"--Being "yourself" while maintaining a professional attitude


   • Dress for success--Think Ann Taylor, not Forever 21


   • Just ask--Overcoming your fear of the dumb question--and getting the answers you need to succeed


   • It's just business--Developing a thick skin


   • X + Y--Navigating male-female dynamics at the office


   • Nice is the new mean--Building successful relationships with female coworkers


Loaded with real-life advice, helpful lists, and quick take-away points to get you off on the right foot, New Girl on the Job gives you everything you need to take charge of your career--and climb the ladder to success.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Hannah Seligson is a regular contributor to The New York Times Sunday Business Section, where she writes about Gen. Y, the workplace, and innovation, among other topics. Her work has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Slate.com.

Hannah first book, New Girl on the Job: Advice from the Trenches, a career guide for young women, was called "a must-read for every woman entering the work world" by the Houston Business Journal and the Washington Post said that it "covers the key things any young women needs to know to thrive at those first couple of jobs."

In 2010, De Capo Press published Hannah's second book, A Little Bit Married: How to Know When it's Time to Walk Down the Aisle or out the Door, about the long-term unmarried relationship. The book was optioned for a television series by CBS.

Hannah's professional speaking includes conference and seminar presentations at universities, business associations and corporations. Recent speaking engagements have included Harvard Business School, Viva, Beijing Professional Women's Network, and the Culinary Institute of America.

She has been featured in news outlets such as The Today Show, Fox News, USA Today, and Glamour.
Hannah serves as a mentor-editor at the Op-Ed Project. She graduated with a B.A. from Brown University in 2004.

Reviews

[Cristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it’s a good book for someone just entering the workforce, an entry-level professional. As a mid-career professional, I was more interested in reading bits about adjusting to a brand new job. The title suggests that the tips can be either for entry level professionals or those switching to a new job. I think many tips are good, and the perhaps a woman who is fresh into the workforce could benefit. I did find the tips in Chapter 2 most helpful when it comes to the first few weeks at a new job. What I didn’t like is how many anecdotes are totally steeped in sexist: Yes, the workforce is very sexists and holds women to sexist standards, but I don’t expect a book on career coaching women to rely on that same sexism. An example is a list of what not to wear in the workforce. I get it that we are judged by our appearances, and modesty is the best bet. I just find it a turnoff that we have to feel like we’re walking this thin line of professional versus attractive constantly. It’s demeaning, I think. Anyways, the book is alright and it does provide a guide to women looking for straightforward guidance in the workplace.

[Tanka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently remembered this book and with great pleasure, I reread it after 10 years. I bought it myself, as I was searching for support in my integration into my first job. Surely, some things we do intuitively, while others turned out to be very helpful, becoming real tools for me over the years. A heartfelt reflection on this book. Grateful. I highly recommend this book to be read, even by those who are newly employed or have some experience.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perused this book because I was curious about the author. I had heard her on NPR and her last name is my maiden name so I wanted to read her book. Pretty sure we are not related but I thought the advice was good and the book was well researched and written.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

For various personal reasons (namely, changing jobs) I figured it was high time I read this book that my mom lent to me last year, Hannah Sigelson’s {book: New Girl on the Job: Advice from the Trenches]. Whether or not it will prove to be useful in my new jobs remains to be seen, but it certainly seems to be full of very good advice! It’s quite well-researched—the author interviewed a ton of highly successful career women and also a ton of young women who had recently entered the workforce. There’s a fairly heavy focus on white-collar corporate jobs—the kind of thing that requires a college degree—but since that is actually the kind of jobs I have I am not complaining.

The book is short and readable, although there are times when I think it gets a bit twee/buzzwordy in the way it discusses certain concepts (the book is less than 200 pages long but it has a seven-page glossary). It covers a good breadth of topics, from dealing with bad bosses to what “mentoring” actually means. Some of it seems pretty obvious—flirting at work isn’t good for getting taken seriously, that sort of thing—but other information is much less so, like how to avoid getting stuck with all the assistant/administrative tasks just because girls tend to be better at them. It also discusses stuff like perfectionism and, near the end of the book, takes a turn for the fairly explicitly feminist and discusses the dangers of inter-female sabotage, both as a concrete possible problem at work and as part of the larger picture of women in the working world and the social forces that shape our success or lack of it.

Overall I’d say it seems like a good recommendation for any other young women looking for or just starting work.

Originally posted at http://bloodygranuaile.livejournal.co....

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I assumed that the use of the word "New Girl" in the title of this book was 100% ironic, and that this book was a guide for "Young Ladies" or even "Womyn" who can't cope with the colossal moral dilemnas and demeaning experiences that having a job seems to present (at least for me).

Thank you for that rude awakening Hannah Seligson.

This book does discuss some of the ways that female managers/executives are restructuring the workplace, and it does emphasize the importance of supporting (rather than competing with) other women. But Seligson also devotes two pages to the subject "Crying at Work" and includes a list of techniques to hold back the tears.

Find out what to do if you are asked to to blot grease off of your male boss' fried chicken or buy sexy lingerie for his 20 year old girlfriend! Do I feel better yet?

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a new graduate who has never worked an office gig, this book is probably not all common sense advice and tips.

For anyone who's been working for several years, many tips like "don't wear flip flops to work" and "don't be afraid to ask questions" are the sort of no-brainers that make me question the younger generation's intellect.

Though I've been working several years, the useful topics to me were on self-promotion, administrative work, and negotiating raises -- all important for me, as I work in a highly male-dominated field.

To determine if this book is relevant to your needs, I suggest reading the ends of each chapter in-store -- each chapter ends with a bulletized list of "Takeaways" which are succinct advice tidbits from the preceding chapter. If many of the takeways are new information for you, you would likely benefit highly from reading this book.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

My grandma bought this for me. Shh. Anyway, it was pretty good. It was written in a very journalistic style, with a lot of quotes from some interesting women. A lot of simple office politics things I already knew or could figure out for myself though, because I've worked in an office environment for 5 years now. There were some good tips for what to do when you get fired, and how to approach your superiors with confidence.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is my new pink bible for professional corporate advice. While tailored specifically for new college graduates who have not experienced a corporate environment before, girls of all experience levels in the 20's and 30's can find some fantastic and very practical advice and tips in this book. It's an easy and fun read and written for the modern business world which we all work in and can relate to.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book directly after Megan Hustad's "How To Be Useful" and this book doesn't stand up well in comparison. The tone comes across as insincere and preachy in comparison. I would give this book 2 stars, but I found the chapter on mentorship to be very informative -- instead of just the same old advice (You have to have a mentor!) it includes very basic information about how to approach a mentorship relationship, how to manage it, and how to get the most of it.

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I recently started working at an office so I'm a "New Girl" myself. It's a great book!! Although I work at newspaper a lot of the information still applied. It's written in a way that you can go about highlighting key information that you can apply to you career as a New Girl including specific dialog to make you not sound like a n00b but instead a professional. I only wish it would have been longer though and more in depth especially about how to fit in.

[Alyson Chain · Rating 5 out of 5]

So glad I picked up this book. It has lots of great advice for us college grads just entering the workforce, from interview advice to actually functioning in the office. Really wish I had read this before taking my first "real world" job (which, according to this book, I never should have taken), but at least now I'm feeling a lot more confident for my next steps. Ladies, this is a definite must-read.

[Molly Fannin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is helpful for girls with no concept of common courtesy and self-awareness. Much of the advice is a no-brainer, but on the other hand, sometimes common sense has to slap you in the face before you are able to grasp it. I found the professional dress chapter the best out of all advice offered.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

chock full of what sounds like good advice, but having a bit of trouble just reading a few bullet points and becoming bobbi brown.

however, something to be said for the very concrete, fact-based approach to answering the question of how a girl becomes a respected working woman. not a self-help book, really, but a book that may help some.

[Stasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every graduate should receive this book not just the women. A listing of lessons that many assume young people still learn from school and parents, it also applies to older women returning to the workplace and those who started out on the entrepreneurial track who may need to re-enter the job market.
It also has a listing of internet resources for further information.

[Sophia Cheng · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not sure how relevant this book would be because it is from a primarily corporate standpoint. However, Seligson also interviewed young women from the nonprofit and education fields, and the advice is as much about boundaries, self-preservation, conflict and communication, as it is about "getting ahead."

The book has good nuts and bolts advice and is a breezy read.

[Cristina Mazilu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Genre: Self-help
Rating: 2/5 stars

I can't say this book adds much value to a person. It has somewhat interesting points and "ok" pieces of advice (that's why I gave it two stars) but I don't think this book is a must for every young woman stepping into the labor force. I would honestly not recommend it to any of my friends.

[Dina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: a good friend of mine wrote this book. But, nonetheless, I can tell you that it is a funny, engaging and helpful book. Hannah is wonderful and her book provides practical tips for surviving as the low(wo)man on the totem pole.

[Margaret · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about 50% useful, 50% things I knew/common sense/not actionable. It was definitely helpful in calming with pre-start date jitters. Not sure if I'd recommend it to a friend or just tell them the 10 things I found most useful.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would probably have been more helpful if I'd read it right out of college as opposed to having been working for several years.

[Erica Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is very helpful on telling girls how to deal with a professional job.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked this up on a whim, let it sit for a couple of weeks and then skimmed most of it. Not a good fit for me.

[Sharon]

Christmas present option

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh....

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a great book, I may not be the best person to rate it, as I'm in my mid career and picked this book up in my transitional period of switching careers. I must say tough that as I read I was reflecting on how I could have handled things better in my younger days. This book still provided me with some valuable tips to now bring my A game on in my new company. I would highly recommend this to a fresh graduate as they may benefit fully from it. The advises given are timeless and could still be put to use