Everything I Think I Would Learn at Business School: Review of 'Body of Work' by Pamela Slim

Continuing my series of career book reviews, next up is Body of Work: Finding the Thread That Ties Your Story Together by Pamela Slim.




Quick, on-the-go career advice

If you're looking for something straight-to-the-point, with no flowery or poetic language, Slim's book is for you. The writing is very accessible and concise. To me it was almost like reading long social media posts. Overall, it made for a quick, effective read.


Biggest takeaway: start a side hustle

I was drawn to this book initially because I have a varied career background, and I do a poor job of 'selling' this diverse experience on the job market. I was hoping Slim's book, would, as the title promises, help me tie my story together. 

While I would say it succeeded in helping me to think on how I might tie my story together, my biggest takeaway was the inspiration I felt to start a side hustle! Her book offers tons of concrete, precise advice on things to consider when starting a side hustle, how to run one well, and how to take it to the next level, all in 221 pages!  

While this was certainly exciting and entertaining, it was like walking into a store for one thing and coming out with something different. This isn't a bad, just not quite what I thought my biggest takeaway would be!


One stop shop

Slim quotes and discusses concepts and advice from other business experts thoroughly (though still in her trademark, concise way). She mentioned Martha Beck on so many times I swear I was going to turn it into a drinking game (i.e., take a shot every page she mentions Martha Beck).

That being said, the key concepts she included, like Malcolm Gladwell's 'connector, maven, and salesman' from his book The Tipping Point were insightful and frankly, reading Slim's book saved me a trip to the library -- I enjoyed getting her take on key concepts from other books, and don't feel I want to read them in full on their own just yet.

Above: Pamela Slim!

Business school crash course

I've never been drawn to business school personally, though I imagine that everything I would learn there is stripped down to its essence in Slim's book! I know this is rather ignorant of me to say so, but as someone who hasn't read a lot on business (more about careers and work) per se, I wondered if this is all stuff I would learn had I done a Bachelors in Business rather than my Bachelor of Arts.


Typos!

Weirdly, my particular copy had quite a few typos! I bought my copy new at a local, independently owned bookstore, and it is listed as being published in 2013 by Portfolio/Penguin. It's not a huge deal, just odd enough to mention.


more from the yak occidental career book review series

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity by David Whyte
Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts by Annie Duke
Not quite a full review yet but close enough on Insight: The Surprising Truth About How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves, and Why the Answers Matter More Than We Think by Dr. Tasha Eurich
Just Listen: Three Different Career Books on One Key Skill - in which I synthesize wisdom from three of the books above!

All images from Slim's website.

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