Bait and Switch

That law degree of mine is looking better and better. I've just read Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream by Barbara Ehrenreich, and I must say that it can really suck to be unemployed in the white collar world. After the author wrote Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America -- in which she attempted to survive on a blue collar income -- she received some requests from readers who wanted someone to investigate the plight of those that did everything right: got the education, worked hard, and still couldn't keep the job.

I don't know if nonfiction books have spoilers, but I'll risk it. The author legally changed her name back to her maiden name, invented a resume emphasizing some public relations and event planning skills, and dutifully sought a job making $50,000 or more in corporate America. It didn't happen, even after several months of really open-minded hunting.

Bear in mind that the author's exercise in frustration is not itself frustrating to the reader. It's actually quite enlightening: she attends networking events and day-long seminars where she can meet similarly miserable executive types who are unhappy with the job they have or unemployed as well. Some of these functions have a hidden Christian bent, where God is said to have a role in the corporate hiring process. And all this time I thought big business had no soul.

One aspect of the book I enjoyed was her interaction with job coaches in developing her resume. They seemed particularly attuned to the art of stretching the truth, and it occurred to me that this universally accepted line of thinking is what got George O'Leary in trouble at Notre Dame a few years ago. (Not to mention Al Gore's many generalized statements of self-puffing that bordered on lying, but I'm not going there.)

It's a mixed blessing that the author never got a job that met her requirements. I'd hate to see a fellow applicant be denied the opportunity for employment in the name of another person's investigative research. Come to think of it, I need to get a job before she comes here and pretends to have a legal background.