Brandon Christopher

As an unemployed/frequently under-employed person, I enjoyed this book a lot. It is an amusing glimpse at the job market and the many options available, good and bad. And, so long as companies really don't care about retaining employees, Brandon Christopher's approach to getting jobs seems to make a lot more sense sometimes than my own more honest approach. I may not ever lose a job because I lied on my application, but I also go a lot longer between jobs, and have a lot fewer employment opportunities, since I am not making up skills and experience to get hired. And, the jobs I do get don't last any longer than Mr. Christopher's. I doubt I'll be making up fictitious backgrounds to get hired in the future, but it is awfully tempting. In any case, this book is inspiring in that it suggests all sorts of work options that I would have not thought to look for before reading this book.… (plus d'informations)

This book is formed around one solid principle: most people need to work to live. After that, The Job Pirate, is a combination of what jobs will provide you some sense of accomplishment, not eat your integrity and not make you wake up every night saying "oh crap...oh crap...this is it for the next 40 years?!" Some interesting and entertaining workplace tales, mixed in with some standard mid-20's to mid-30's living, makes for a fun read. In my head it kind of played like Californication meets Willy Wonka with a twinge of Little House on the Prairie moral redemption.… (plus d'informations)

Under a different hand, it would have been all too easy for The Job Pirate to have become another autobiographical survey of poor career moves and an endless succession of jobs - but then, we're not talking about the usual approach with Brandon Christopher; which is why his book is being recommended here as an inviting, lively read for any who have an interest in a humor-spiced memoir chronicling good and bad job experiences alike.

Christopher's intention is to shock and amaze with the unexpected, and this is evident from the very first sentence of his introduction (which should serve as adequate warning to prospective employers).

And while this won't delight the job seeker who has unwittingly come upon The Job Pirate in hopes of perhaps gaining some employment-fostering tips during the process of re-careering, there are plenty of books on the market which better serve this purpose - and none with the whimsical delivery of of The Job Pirate.

After all - the full title gives away this book's focus (The Job Pirate: An Entertaining Tale of My Job-Hopping Journey in America), so there should be no cause for confusion or dashed expectations - and plenty of appropriate anticipation of a fun journey.

This is no singular path, either: Christopher's jobs range from porn magazines and moving vans to sewers, and his West Coast journeys make for particularly fun reflections for any who reside on the 'left bank' of the country.

Be prepared to laugh. Be prepared to recognize that boring jobs become enlightening and fun only under Christopher's hand. And be prepared to be delighted; for in the vast world of career and job experience books, The Job Pirate doesn't just stands out: it shines.… (plus d'informations)

Cringeworthy

The character of the loser is age old. But normally, the character is sympathetic. You want them to succeed. Brandon Christopher is not one of those. He is disrespectful, selfish, lazy, and is all about betrayal. He is hard swearing and a constant smoker who finds fault in everyone and everything. Hard to lock on to that character. He screws up in every job he has, seems to learn nothing from it, and falsifies his resume to have another go at something else. He walks off the job without telling anyone and refuses to phone back when they call to find out what might have happened. This is not someone you want on your team.

It’s definitely funny as you watch him self destruct again and again. It’s less funny as he learns how people rip each other off, from co-workers to customers. If this is fiction, it is very finely honed. If it is true, it is pathetic.

Not that he made much “progress”, but by the age of 37 he found himself pleasantly regressing to the college dropout/party stage. He finds jobs in porn, as a limo driver, plumber’s assistant, courier, mall greeter and floral arranger. Nothing lasts, and the best job he ever landed he lost the same day when the drug test came back positive. They escorted him out of the building, where his father worked his whole career. Either too funny, or revolting.

If there was a wrong way to do the job, that’s the way Christopher decided to do it. Then he sought revenge on the manager or the store or the company that operated it. It’s a tour of low level jobs that are becoming the mainstay of America. It’s not pretty, but Christopher makes it infinitely worse than it has to be. I found myself cringing at his every move. That at least made it a gripping read.

David Wineberg… (plus d'informations)