|  |
| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 10 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 13 found the following review helpful:
Hopping around your career options Mar 09, 2007
By Armchair Interviews
Grindhopping:
1. Hopping out of the corporate grind and into the work you want.
2. Building a rewarding career without paying your dues.
For the most part, the author is talking about developing skills that will allow you to "hop" into the corporate world at the point YOU want to without putting in all those years of meaningless drudgery and traditional corporate ladder climbing.
The author lays out the characteristics essential to successful Grindhopping, urging her readers to follow their dream and get someone else to pay you to do it. She offers as much 'sage' advice as a 29-year-old can, and gives illustrative examples of her points, shoring them up with statistics. But, I wonder if the 'reader' is hearing what she is saying.
While the external environment and internal motivation may differ between the true Grindhopper and the corporate ladder climber, many of the character traits and advice for success apply to both.
Grindhoppers are people who either by desire to be their own boss or lack of options, have a combined fiscal acumen, the ability to long-range plan and set goals, with a lot of self-control to succeed at controlling their own career destiny, much like the corporate climber.
The advice offered for potential Grindhoppers--know where you're going, work hard, network, get experience, stay ahead of the curve, pay attention to detail--has a vague business school ring to it.
The difference is that the Grindhopper IS the boss - either of her one-woman operation or of others who desire to climb her company's ladder!
While I'm not convinced Grindhopping is as revolutionary as the author wants you to believe, the book is worth a read, especially if you allow it to provoke questions about your own career choices.
Armchair Interviews says: A look at transitions written by a New York City-based freelance writer who is a contributing editor at Reader's Digest and is a member of USA Today's Board of Contributors. She reports and writes on a variety of topics including careers, education, health and pop culture trends.
11 of 13 found the following review helpful:
Unforgettable and Comprehensive Jan 12, 2007
By Timothy C. Ferriss
"masterlock77"
Grindhopping is the answer for anyone who asks "is this as good as it gets?" or anyone looking for more out of life than 9-5 until retirement. It is packed full of real case studies, my favorite part, which gives you both the practical steps and confidence to take action. Too many career books are big on inspiration but lacking in detailed how-to. Vanderkam, by contrast, leaves no question unanswered in what will surely be looked back upon as a classic. Highly recommended!
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Insightful, practical, well-written Feb 11, 2008
By Carrie S.
"Carrie S."
Grindhopping provides a look at living life outside the box. The decision to take the veer off society's typical path is a difficult one, and Vanderkam offers assurance that, provided you're willing to put in unfettered enthusiasm and hard work, this path can be a wildly successful one. She also outlines the practical, nitty-gritty details on how to make this lifestyle choice work.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Grindhopping strikes a chord. May 13, 2007
By JP
Vanderkam offers practical advice for jumping out of the world of the 9-to-5, bosses, and the low and middle rungs of the corporate ladder. The title of the first chapter illustrates the author's straightforward tone and approach for the rest of the book: "Always Be Your Own Boss: No compromises, no excuses". She offers compelling reasons to take this path and practical advice for getting there (e.g. how to find reasonable health insurance, how to keep expenses down, and how to maintain multiple projects in the "Craig's List Economy" to keep the money coming in). Vanderkam draws on her personal experience as a freelance writer as well as a number of case studies of "Grindhoppers" who have found success or are on their way. She also addresses the downsides and risks of striking out on your own head-on and offers sound and empathetic advice for dealing with these. But she also confronts the downsides and risks of staying in the grind to your long term career success and satisfaction.
As with other career/entrepreneur books, Vanderkam stresses the importance of planning, goal setting, saving money, and, of course, networking. Yet, she delivers her advice and personal experiences in a way that feels somehow more authentic than with other books I've read. For example, in the networking chapter, she talks about her own tendencies towards shyness and how she overcomes and works around these. She opens up her own life and experiences to the reader just enough and in a way that is not self-indulgent. She succeeds in striking the right balance between focusing on her case studies and her own trials, tribulations, and successes in the world outside of the grind. Her writing is honest, and at times refreshingly quirky. (Check out the section on hunting mastodon and you'll see what I'm talking about.) Highly recommended.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Grindhopping Jan 23, 2007
By Erin L. Albert
"yuspie"
I read this book and enjoyed it. Vanderkam has her finger on the pulse of the new work world. Younger people (particularly entrepreneurs) don't like the ball and chain of 'a' desk or 'a' job. I'm finding a lot of people that are experimenting with their careers are doing exactly what Laura describes - they have their paws in a lot of different projects and jobs. I currentlh have 4 myself (but I'm the classic Gemini she describes in her book...easily bored!) If anyone younger has been in the work world a couple of years and is asking themselves the question, "is this all there is?" needs to read this book.
See all 10 customer reviews on Amazon.com
|
| | |
