Find the Bathrooms First!: Starting Your New Job on the Right Foot

Rating:
Summary: Great survival kit for the inevitable job change
Review: Although lots of books help you deal with how to pull together a good resume and even get to a "live" interview. This is the first book that really helps you get a realistic handle on how to survive your first day, deal with your expectations, and monitor whether the change has been a good one or how to improve it. Since almost everyone can expect to change jobs (possibly even careers) several times, this handy volume provides you with a lot of things to think about plus great "Suggestions for Action." It belongs on your shelf with "What Color Is Your Parachute" as a compass for change!

Rating:
Summary: Tremendous
Review: Roy Blitzer is spot on in his helpful guide to starting a new job. I'm only days into my new job and already I have found the advice invaluable. There's so much to take in both in terms of the tasks to be done and the people to meet and this book helps ease that awkward transition. The title may be jokey, but the advice is actually sound - knowing where the toilet is situated is pretty important. In my last job I immediately made the wrong impression on my colleagues after I went awol from my desk for almost 45 minutes wandering around aimlessly with an expression on my face which must have given away the fact that I was clenching the turtles neck for all I was worth. The boss finding me squatting in the bushes next to the carpark, jettisoning a foul payload didn't exactly enhance that impression. But full marks to the author for a fantastic guide.

Rating:
Summary: Common Sense and Good Judgement
Review: This is a good and easy book to read. Its bulleted format and straight-forward presentation makes it simple to digest in even one sitting. The weeks are broken out as chapters, with milestones and activity checklists and questions at the end of the chapters helping to reinforce the message.

Using it as a guide for the first six weeks in a new position, its probably most effective to stay aligned with the chapter for the week that you're in at work, although things don't always progress at the same pace for everyone at every job, plus, the format makes it so easy to read ahead - which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Interestingly, after six weeks in my new job, I now find myself back in my last position. Among many other factors, the new job wasn't what I was led to expect. The lesson, "Don't Burn Any Bridges", should be in the prequel.