How does this book differ from other career guides? WORK IT! is written more like a magazine or website than a boring career tome. Every chapter includes sage advice from career experts as well as war stories from the trenches. Not only that, I hate self-help and how-to books that force readers to read the whole thing before they can start seeing an improvement. With WORK IT! my hope is that job seekers can start using the advice immediately, on the fly and as they need it. Another major difference between other career guides and WORK IT! is that they treat the internet as an afterthought. Their treatment of the internet is too basic for the young professional who lives and dies on the web. Instead, I try to integrate the pros and cons of using the internet into every single chapter-getting job seekers to consider the advantages of its use as well as some of its dangers and pitfalls. Finally, a lot of career guides focus on career changing or helping readers figure out what kind of job or industry would be a fit. WORK IT! instead focuses on the job hunter who knows what job they want to land. It includes tactical tips to move from an unknown applicant to a sought after new hire. As unemployment continues to rise, should a person take the first job that's offered to them or should they continue looking? Like anything in life, whether or not someone should take the first job offered to them depends on their individual situation. You first must ask yourself: Do you want the job? Will you succeed in it if you take it? Remember, interviewing is like dating, you don't have to hop into bed on the first date and start a relationship. It's OK, to continue looking-if you can afford to. If you've been out of work for a while, have used up your unemployment and your bank accounts are dwindling, you might need to take the job out of sheer financial necessity, until the economy turns around. As the founder and driving force behind the world-famous Pink Slip Parties, how have you seen them change over time? When I threw the first Pink Slip Party in July 2000, the folks who came were not concerned about landing another job. People would get laid off that day and have their pick of job offers the next. One interesting thing is that the pink slippers (i.e. job seekers) who came were initially annoyed when recruiters starting showing up. They were so confident in the job market that recruiters were actually shunned at the party. All that changed in the fall of 2000 through most of 2001. That's when you started to see big brand name dotcoms start imploding: Boo.com, APBNews.com, Psuedo.com...Suddenly, recruiters were no longer pariahs. Pink slippers were quite happy to see them. At the most recent Pink Slip Parties, people started being a lot more professional. Instead of pink slippers showing up like they just rolled out of bed, they started dressing up and wearing suits; bringing their resumes and actively working the room. The cocktail part of the party now, doesn't really get going until after 8:30. People get there and they have a mission. Another thing we've done, to change to the demands of our audience is to add activities to the party like Free Career Coaching, 15 Minute Resume Makeovers and Practice Interviewing. This way, people feel like they get a bit of professional development when they show up. If someone were to lose their job what's their first step? Take a deep breath, do an assessment of their current financial position and be careful not to succumb to Pink Slip Paralysis...a dangerous plague that can be brought on by a number of frustrating new realities: the shock of losing your job, a competitive and ever changing job market, hiring managers not returning your calls, and a deep-seated paranoia that you've got a gigantic bumper sticker affixed to your forehead which reads, "Downsized Loooooser." To prevent Pink Slip Paralysis, you need to: Allow yourself to be upset Don't get bitter Give yourself time to mourn Don't overwhelm yourself, focus on accomplishing one goal a day (job related or not) Take advantage outplacement Get a career coach Most importantly: start a routine. Why is the internet ruining people's job hunts? What's the best way to take advantage of it? The Internet promised to be the holy grail of job hunting. Unfortunately, it has created a new generation of passive job hunters who can hide behind the comfort of their computer screens-never having to deal with face-to-face job hunting rejection. They think they're working hard on their job hunts by zapping thousands of resumes out on a daily basis. Well...they thought wrong. In 2001, only five percent of the clients of Drake Beam Morin, a leading provider of career transition services, found new positions through online job searches. This take-away here is that the odds are really stacked against job seekers if they are spending a significant portion of their time only looking for work on the web. Instead of over-relying on the Internet or the Big Job Boards as a singular strategy, job seekers need to get active about their job searches. They need to diversify their approaches and include the internet as one of several methods. I advise job seekers to allocate a percentage of time to each job search activity which includes: working the web, networking, attending industry events, seeking internal referrals, using headhunters and setting up informational interviews with contacts. Does the basic navy blue suit work for interviews. In one word. Yes. Hiring managers know that interviews are special occasions, which means that they are expecting applicants to put their best foot forward. A rule that I repeat throughout the book is you're not hired until you're hired. Corporate casual is a perk that companies bestow on their employees...NOT their applicants. In the book you mention that even if you're the most qualified person for the job that you still might not get it, why? The right work experience will get most applicants in the door and maybe even to the finalist stage, but the job offer comes to the candidate that can demonstrate that they will be able to play well in the sandbox with others. Managers need to have their team members work well together. Throughout the interview process people will be evaluating a candidate's organizational fit, enthusiasm for doing the job and other highly subjective wild-card factors-all of which will almost always determine whether or not someone gets an offer. What are your tips for negotiating a severance package? People usually freak out and panic when they have to go in for a severance meeting. What they forget is that they still have some power to negotiate even on their way out the door. No-brainers: Get paid for unused vacation and personal days Get reimbursable expenses paid back Have any promised year end bonus or outstanding commissions pro-rated Ask for a signed letter of recommendation (if the layoff has nothing to do with performance related issues) Request auto-reply and email forwarding for a set period of time. Hail Marys: Request more severance pay Get the non-compete agreement waived or amended Offer to come back as a consultant or freelancer Ask for a health care extension Request outplacement assistance Negotiate use of your old office Ask for additional training or education Ask to keep your computer equipment. The goal is to try and get management to surrender on a point or two. Author Bio For more information, email info@workitbook.com