Since presumably 100% of the students at UWW want to make money someday, I expect that most students would also be interested in the subtitle of this book: how to “get a job, do it well, and advance your career.” While this may not be the ultimate one-stop guide to all things related to jobhunting, it certainly provides an interesting twist on the flurry of job guides out there: Markman posits that by understanding the motivational brain, the social brain, and the cognitive brain, you can be better prepared to excel in all of the areas mentioned in his subtitle.
He continues to return to those “brain parts” in various real-world situations related to jobhunting and working, like what part to engage when you’re interviewing, when you have a job offer but before you accept it, when you have a disagreement with your coworker or your boss, and more. He doesn’t get too caught up in the scientific jargon surrounding neuroscience, and helpfully, the relevant takeaways related to each “brain part” are listed in a table form at the end of each chapter, so it’s reasonably accessible to the non-scientist. Much of each chapter’s content doesn’t strike me as particularly original (when you get a job rejection, no, you should not send a scathing email to your interviewers detailing their poor decision) but it’s still solid.
Much of excelling at work is in the soft skills, the people skills, that largely aren’t taught in a classroom. I could see this book appealing to those who want a more logic-based primer on all the “squishy” parts of working with people, or any job-hunter who appreciates and wants to further understand the marvelous complexity that is the human brain.
Bring your brain to work: Using cognitive science to get a job, do it well, and advance your career
by Art Markman
New Arrivals Island, 2nd Floor
HF5381 .M268 2019
