I had a job interview to prepare for, and it's been a long time since I've done an interview cold. So I hustled off to the library and grabbed a couple of books. This is the only one I actually read because it was so scary I was afraid to read any of the others. Shapiro sets herself up here as the keeper of all the secrets, but all the secrets are the same: everybody wants to screen you out, nobody wants to hire you. Ever. No matter what you say or do or wear. There's an almost breathless selling tone throughout, and in the resources section, Shapiro herself appears many times in many hats, which made me question even more the scary tone. I began to wonder if I hadn't just read an extended promo for the website.

Aside from this thread of doom underlying all the tips, there is in fact some interesting information here. It's primarily targeted at the young and ambitious corporate professional type, not the mid-life relaxed Zen type like me. So if you are relatively sanguine and laid-back, you might want to pick a different book, but if you're fresh out of business school and want to swim with the sharks, this might be right up your alley. ( )