Book review: Y’s Up!
Category: Business
March 29, 2010 | BY Regan Mathias
Y’s Up! 85 Tips From the Trenches to Help You Succeed in Today’s No-Guarantees Job Market
By James J. Simon and Nicole D. Simon
Paperback 192 pages
BookSurge Publishing $15.99
A quick skim of Y’s Up! 85 Tips From the Trenches to Help You Succeed in Today’s No-Guarantees Job Market is rather unimpressive. Many tips, such as “Number 60: Dressing to Impress,” seem so obvious that nobody should need a book for this advice. Others, such as “Number 10: Empowering Your PowerPoint,” seem very useless. Who in Generation Y doesn’t know how to use PowerPoint? Still other tips, such as “Number 16: Less is Sometimes More,” feel too cliché to apply in real-life situations.
However, an in-depth reading of Y’s Up! provides invaluable insight for anyone starting a career. James Simon and Nicole Simon have 25 years of combined experience in the business world and it shows in their work. It is clear that they have experience in both entry-level and managerial positions. From both perspectives, they offer advice on how to ace an interview, how to ensure a promotion, and how to secure a job in a tough economy.
Reading the tips that may seem dumb at first glance can actually be quite educational. Yes, everyone knows to dress for success, but not everyone knows what that entails. The authors offer more than just what is appropriate office wear. They offer advice on how to avoid a bad impression if someone spills his coffee on you during the day (a back-up shirt in the car never hurt anybody) and other scenarios that you may not think about until it is too late.
Their advice on PowerPoint is actually useful – even to technologically savvy Generation Y. Knowing how to use the program is not enough to guarantee success. Simon and Simon point out the traps that many people get caught in when presenting with PowerPoint. Too much information on one slide can be overwhelming and reading directly off the slide gives the impression that you are ill prepared and lack confidence.
Even the cliché “Less is Sometimes More” offers knowledge that could help a career. Everyone is guilty of being a little verbose at times or offering unnecessary information. Perhaps this seems innocent, but as the authors illustrate with another cliché, time is money and nobody in the office appreciates it when her time is wasted.
The one area lacking in this book is advice on obtaining a job. The final tip, “Number 85: Maximizing Your Chances for a Successful Interview,” is longer than any other tip. Yet, resumes are barely mentioned and many of the tips for interviews are not included in the real-life example, which makes it hard to translate their advice into action. Still, Simon and Simon acknowledge that there are other books better suited for those attempting to find jobs and ace interviews. This book is designed to guide those who already have jobs.
Overall, the authors provide excellent insight into the mind of a manager. Their book offers a unique perspective that could only be written by those who have been there. They provide the reader with detailed career advice, but more importantly, they create the mind-set of a person driven to succeed. With these tips, your career could go a long way.
Tags: Advice, Book Review, Economy, Jobs
About the Author
Regan Mathias: Regan Mathias is a senior at The University of Texas at Austin majoring in Government, Sociology, and Women’s and Gender Studies. She is from Houston, but spent several years of her childhood in Indonesia. Regan is particularly interested in women’s issue, including reproductive rights and the portrayal of women in the media. She believes in voting on issues and the quality of the politician themselves – not parties. However, her commitment to civil rights and civil liberties almost always aligns her with the Democratic Party.
Thank you, Regan, for the fair and balanced review! James and I appreciate you taking the time to read the book and going beyond the names of the tips to see that there are some nuggets of information that can be quite useful. We hope the tips help those who may not have the good fortune to have a mentor to guide them. Best wishes!
Nicole, I really enjoyed your book and I would seriously recommend it to anyone who is beginning their career.
Most people use dates to define the Millenial Generation. This should not be done, because there are many individuals who were born from the late 1970s through the late ’90s who do not have the characteristics of this generation, as well as 50 -year – olds who are more like 20 – and – 30 – somethings. Such people do not feel that they belong to the generation to which they were assigned, which is why they should be able to choose whichever one best fits their CHARACTERISTICS. For example, I was born in 1979, and while there are many out there who say I am gen y, and others call me gen x, I am a Millenial because I am tech – savvy, open – minded to ALL kinds of diversity, and I like the latest music and entertainment.