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Whoa, My Boss Is Naked!: A Career Book for People Who Would Never Be Caught Dead Reading a Career Book
A hilarious yet savvy career guide for the generation that grew up with remote controls in their hands. (Who knew that you could learn so much about work from American Idol , Anchorman , and Entourage ?)
In Whoa, My Boss Is Naked! , strategy consultant (and twentysomething) Jake Greene uses pop-culture references from the ’80s, the ’90s, and today to school young professionals on every stage of the entry-level experience.
Free of cliched motivational advice and bogus “steps for success,” Whoa, My Boss Is Naked! reveals everything you need to know about how to get a tighter grip on the working world without becoming a sellout corporate
The reason most bands suck (why everyone needs to "commit to a sound" before they can get "signed" )
Like, listen to . . . uh . . . yourself talk, ya know? (or . . . why speech fillers are job killers)
Party on, Wayne (rules for expanding your business network in social settings)
The rules of interview dating (tips to help you score a job)
With its irreverent humor and wisdom from the world of pop culture, Whoa, My Boss Is Naked! proves that career advice doesn’t have to be boring.
In Whoa, My Boss Is Naked! , strategy consultant (and twentysomething) Jake Greene uses pop-culture references from the ’80s, the ’90s, and today to school young professionals on every stage of the entry-level experience.
Free of cliched motivational advice and bogus “steps for success,” Whoa, My Boss Is Naked! reveals everything you need to know about how to get a tighter grip on the working world without becoming a sellout corporate
The reason most bands suck (why everyone needs to "commit to a sound" before they can get "signed" )
Like, listen to . . . uh . . . yourself talk, ya know? (or . . . why speech fillers are job killers)
Party on, Wayne (rules for expanding your business network in social settings)
The rules of interview dating (tips to help you score a job)
With its irreverent humor and wisdom from the world of pop culture, Whoa, My Boss Is Naked! proves that career advice doesn’t have to be boring.
- GenresBusinessNonfiction
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
3 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Jake Greene
7 books42 followers"In his witty debut, marketing consultant Greene offers sound and entertaining advice to 20-somethings on the job market.... Enlivening his wide-ranging advice with comical pop culture references from the ’80s to today, Greene organizes the guide in quick, attention-grabbing chapters that can be easily read during commercial breaks.... This refreshing take on the job search guide for recent grads supplies career-advancing tactics in a humorous, easy-to-digest format." - Publishers Weekly
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 31, 2008
I couldn't even get through this book. The author tries to be hip and trendy by frequently referencing pop culture, but the references don't work to further the points. It feels like the references are more important to him than communicating anything meaningful.
One chapter about Desperate Housewives is intended to communicate that it "takes time to land a star-making role". Cute idea, but very poorly executed... almost like he thought, "how can I work Desperate Housewives into this book?" and then really reached to make it (unsuccessfully) happen.
The constant efforts to work "twenty-something" references into the book are unbelievably annoying.
"I got shot down more often than aspiring actors on ElimiDATE, and it sucked each time."
"When you start a new job, you will no doubt enter the office every day bursting with energy and ready to please, like a puppy that's been let out of its crate after a long night, or like Reese Witherspoon in Election."
"I don't care how talented, qualified, or personable you are, your chances of landing a cool job and accelerating up the food chain diminish significantly if you talk like Pheobe from Friends or the cast of The O.C."
"It's not like the firm is going to send a Nordic hit man after you for asking to many questions, like Bandini Lambert and Locke did to Gary Busey in The Firm."
I could go on. A few of these inserted occasionally would be tolerable, probably even amusing, but there's one or two on every page.
There are actually some valuable (although common sense) tips in the book, but again, they are poorly communicated. For example, "Social gatherings can be great for expanding your business network."
A few more sentences of elaboration, maybe even an example of a real life incident, and you communicate a worthwhile point. However, the author's real life example tells how he went to a party, started a conversation with a drunk who was getting ready to relieve himself in the host's swimming pool at 2am... who happened to have an apartment in Tokyo (where the author would be traveling and needed a place to stay). This is the chapter on rules for expanding your business network in social settings?
I'm not a twenty-something so maybe I'm too old to get this, but in my opinion, this book was a complete waste of time... even if you're only reading it for entertainment value. The few (very few) valuable points were destroyed by overkill of pop culture references and stories that were frequently irrelevant to the information offered.
No, I didn't read the entire thing. Maybe it gets better. When I glanced one last time at the book and briefly skimmed Chapter 30 about Leadership Skills, there was actually something of substance there. I certainly wouldn't have anticipated that, considering the chapter starts with, "Young professionals can learn more about leadership by watching Survivor than they can by reading most business magazines. I'm serious about this."
Words of wisdom that I'm sure are unknown to the editors of Time, Newsweek, and Forbes, but just as valuable as many of the teachings of Micheal Scott on The Office.
One chapter about Desperate Housewives is intended to communicate that it "takes time to land a star-making role". Cute idea, but very poorly executed... almost like he thought, "how can I work Desperate Housewives into this book?" and then really reached to make it (unsuccessfully) happen.
The constant efforts to work "twenty-something" references into the book are unbelievably annoying.
"I got shot down more often than aspiring actors on ElimiDATE, and it sucked each time."
"When you start a new job, you will no doubt enter the office every day bursting with energy and ready to please, like a puppy that's been let out of its crate after a long night, or like Reese Witherspoon in Election."
"I don't care how talented, qualified, or personable you are, your chances of landing a cool job and accelerating up the food chain diminish significantly if you talk like Pheobe from Friends or the cast of The O.C."
"It's not like the firm is going to send a Nordic hit man after you for asking to many questions, like Bandini Lambert and Locke did to Gary Busey in The Firm."
I could go on. A few of these inserted occasionally would be tolerable, probably even amusing, but there's one or two on every page.
There are actually some valuable (although common sense) tips in the book, but again, they are poorly communicated. For example, "Social gatherings can be great for expanding your business network."
A few more sentences of elaboration, maybe even an example of a real life incident, and you communicate a worthwhile point. However, the author's real life example tells how he went to a party, started a conversation with a drunk who was getting ready to relieve himself in the host's swimming pool at 2am... who happened to have an apartment in Tokyo (where the author would be traveling and needed a place to stay). This is the chapter on rules for expanding your business network in social settings?
I'm not a twenty-something so maybe I'm too old to get this, but in my opinion, this book was a complete waste of time... even if you're only reading it for entertainment value. The few (very few) valuable points were destroyed by overkill of pop culture references and stories that were frequently irrelevant to the information offered.
No, I didn't read the entire thing. Maybe it gets better. When I glanced one last time at the book and briefly skimmed Chapter 30 about Leadership Skills, there was actually something of substance there. I certainly wouldn't have anticipated that, considering the chapter starts with, "Young professionals can learn more about leadership by watching Survivor than they can by reading most business magazines. I'm serious about this."
Words of wisdom that I'm sure are unknown to the editors of Time, Newsweek, and Forbes, but just as valuable as many of the teachings of Micheal Scott on The Office.
June 9, 2008
It's refreshing to hear career tips that sound more casual and realistic than scouring the advice at monster.com about 'how to improve your resume' and the like. And where the pop culture references were helpful in a reflective kind of way, and created an entertaining ambiance, I more enjoyed the spots where I found a bridge between my good and poor behaviors in my own workplace via these characters and could see more clearly where I was being 'Toolish' and needed a change. Thanks for the recommendation and keep up the good work, the daily grind needs more down to earth, conversational humor.
Read
March 5, 2012I've been laughing out loud ever since I started this book. It's a fun read thus far with tons of pop-culture references & some very witty commentary on how to succeed in the work place. I'm enjoying it thoroughly thus far!
July 19, 2008
This book is a lot better than that "Parachute' one. This book is a lot of pop culture references and I recommend this book to anyone that has watched as many television shows and movies as I have.
July 13, 2024
This book is more about keeping your career and excelling there, and not about identifying a career. That's why I give it 4 stars.
The writer doesn't mince words when he tells you to avoid doing something or to do something. The examples to support his point are from the world of movies, and really do provide a relevant context, even though I admit that I haven't seen most of the movies.
There are great points mentioned about preparing for an interview which were interesting for me since I also do career coaching, and have had a corporate HR career of 20 years. So yes I enjoyed the book.
Who should read this book? People who are entering the job market without any experience, as well as those who have work experience of years, but find themselves stuck at a particular level.
The writer doesn't mince words when he tells you to avoid doing something or to do something. The examples to support his point are from the world of movies, and really do provide a relevant context, even though I admit that I haven't seen most of the movies.
There are great points mentioned about preparing for an interview which were interesting for me since I also do career coaching, and have had a corporate HR career of 20 years. So yes I enjoyed the book.
Who should read this book? People who are entering the job market without any experience, as well as those who have work experience of years, but find themselves stuck at a particular level.
July 27, 2017
nothing new, but pretty funny.
September 23, 2009
The good: Unlike most career-oriented books out there, this one was written in an engaging and humorous tone and replete with pop culture references from the 80's and 90's. Greene also managed to work in words like "douchebag" and "toolish" on a fairly regularly basis. He's also a definite smartass, which I can appreciate.
The bad: While I was entertained while reading the book, the pop culture references were what stand out in my mind, not the actual career advice, which was the whole point of the book. Instead of putting the book down and reflecting on interview strategies and ways to improve my resume, I was left reminiscing about "Clarissa Explains It All" and past casts of "The Real World".
The takeaway: Good for a light, humorous read but the pop culture references really should have been used more sparingly. Each and every tip or principle doesn't need a pop culture example to complete it. Some of them were really a stretch - using the Desperate Housewives as a metaphor for the fact that it takes time to land a star-making role - really? Or that you should seek to understand the pecking order in an organization so as to avoid unintentionally slighting a boss, with a Sopranos reference - hm.
Read it for the humor and reminder of 80's and 90's iconographs, not the content.
The bad: While I was entertained while reading the book, the pop culture references were what stand out in my mind, not the actual career advice, which was the whole point of the book. Instead of putting the book down and reflecting on interview strategies and ways to improve my resume, I was left reminiscing about "Clarissa Explains It All" and past casts of "The Real World".
The takeaway: Good for a light, humorous read but the pop culture references really should have been used more sparingly. Each and every tip or principle doesn't need a pop culture example to complete it. Some of them were really a stretch - using the Desperate Housewives as a metaphor for the fact that it takes time to land a star-making role - really? Or that you should seek to understand the pecking order in an organization so as to avoid unintentionally slighting a boss, with a Sopranos reference - hm.
Read it for the humor and reminder of 80's and 90's iconographs, not the content.
June 25, 2008
This would be a really good book for someone just entering the working world, especially the for-profit working world. I've been in non-profit work for 4 years now and all of his advice was old news to me, but he was so entertaining with it that I continued to read the book. I am a big 80's fan and a lot of his references are from that era, which was a lot of fun for me. If you've been in the working world for more than three or four years this book is probably not what you are looking for in terms of career advice, but if you are a new graduate it might not be a bad idea to check this out.
October 27, 2016
I recommend this book because it has a couple of things in it that I have found helpful. I skimmed it in the library back in 2008. I have not read the whole thing.
It said that if you play solitaire your career will go nowhere. Since my library withdrew it, I think it's dated, obviously by the solitaire comment. But I'm sure you know your own time wasters.
I loved the descriptions of types of employees. I only remember the ones that pertain to me, but there are ones that would pertain to you.
A** kisser. I am, but my excuse is I need to keep my job.
The bagel cutter - Cool, but not useful.
It said that if you play solitaire your career will go nowhere. Since my library withdrew it, I think it's dated, obviously by the solitaire comment. But I'm sure you know your own time wasters.
I loved the descriptions of types of employees. I only remember the ones that pertain to me, but there are ones that would pertain to you.
A** kisser. I am, but my excuse is I need to keep my job.
The bagel cutter - Cool, but not useful.
January 23, 2008
Just a great book overall. I picked it up to skim through it and before I knew it I was 30 pages in and laughing the whole way. It is full of tons of nuggets of career wisdom but you pick them up without even noticing. It is fast paced and a ton of fun.
If anyone is interested in finding the dream job, or just making their job work better for them, this is a fantastic book in every way. I highly recommend it.
If anyone is interested in finding the dream job, or just making their job work better for them, this is a fantastic book in every way. I highly recommend it.
January 23, 2008
I know that you think I am really biased as this is one of my friends. Truthfully though, I do not laugh at loud at books or movies, and I did with this book. The way Jake brings back memories of My So-Called Life (showing on ABC right now), MMMM-Bop, and Swingers is ingenious. Let me know what you think.
July 24, 2008
This book was too funny! The pop culture references are great and make alot of sense. I wasn't sure if I would get anything out of it as my job isn't so much a corporate type position, nor am I just starting out in the working world, but I did find alot of helpful information and good tips for office interaction.
A quick read but a book worth picking up!
A quick read but a book worth picking up!
December 4, 2007
Smart, witty, and blunt. Full of hysterical puns and pop culture references while at the same time providing priceless tips on how to succeed in the workplace. It is full of the advice I've heard my parents repeat over and over, but was too stubborn or impatient to take to heart.
March 3, 2008
We have alot of "Career Guides" in our office, but this is a new one. I consider it a pop-culture career book; the author uses metaphors to describe different aspects of career building (most references are from 80's and 90's movies, which is pretty sweet).
July 2, 2008
This was an easy read, which I didn't know was possible for a career guide. I felt I already knew a lot of stuff in it from my experiences but to a complete noob to the job hunt this book would b both very helpful and very entertaining.
August 2, 2011
This book does an outstanding job of taking America's obsession with pop culture and putting it to good use. I highly recommend this book to everyone looking for practical advice about what it takes to survive in the workforce!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews