I don't often write about how to get a job on this blog because I have no freaking idea how to get a job. I have a history as an absolutely terrible interviewee, answering questions such as "what's your biggest weakness" with "I am nervous in front of large groups...well, small groups, too...and individuals...I am very, very nervous right now. You're not going to ask me where I see myself in five years, are you?"

So when I was offered Laura George's new book Excuse Me, Your Job Is Waiting, I thought I might learn a few things and have some fodder for the blog, so here we are.

I wanted to like this book, as the author is from Northeast Ohio like me and I like to support the locals. And I did like one-third of it. It was the two-thirds sandwiching that good one-third that didn't cut it with me.

The book is a spinoff from a 2003 book by Lynn Grabhorn called Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting which is all about how the laws of attraction are what get you good and bad things in life. Think about dating the supermodel next door, soon you'll be doing it. Think about avoiding a car crash, you'll soon be in one. That sort of thing. While I believe in positive energy making it more likely that you'll get positive results, these books go a bit overboard.

George's basic premise is that if you want a job, you need to be sending out the positive vibes in order to connect with the vibes of the job-givers. Good vibes=good job. Bad vibes=bad job (or no job at all).

Again, there is likely some truth to that, but it's amazing how George stretches this concept out to almost 300 pages. To be fair, she's a pretty good writer and storyteller. While I thought about 200 pages were completely unuseful in gaining me a job, the book was a breeze to read and George offers plenty of interesting self disclosure (including info on her nervous breakdown). I suppose this style is in keeping with the original "Excuse Me" book's law of attraction premise, so if you by chance know that book, you'll probably like this one, too.

The strangest thing in the book, though, is that after talking for 100 pages about energy and vibes, George finally gets to the nitty-gritty of the job search and for 100 pages the book is EXCELLENT. George has plenty of experience hiring people as a Human Resources leader, and it shows. She gives great, hard-nosed tips on what to do, including how I should answer those questions about my biggest weakness, and what not to do, such as not to make your tattoos completely obvious. Hints on salary, when to walk away from a potential job and more. It's like a different person wrote those pages, someone who's been in the trenches and knows how to help you get the job you really, really want.

Then she sinks back into talking about morals and Higher Self and a bunch of stuff that again doesn't seem like a great help in my job search. Where has that hard-nosed HR expert gone? Was she forced to go soft in order to fit into the "Excuse Me" framework?

Judging from the middle 100 pages, George has a great job search book in her. Unfortunately, Excuse Me, Your Job Is Waiting isn't it. However, if she follows it up with Excuse Me, Did You Really Think This Cover Letter Would Get You An Interview?, that will be a book I want to read.