WORKING GIRLS: TRIXIE & KATYA'S GUIDE TO PROFESSIONAL WOMANHOOD
TRIXIE MATTEL AND KATYA ZAMOLODCHIKOVA
© 2022 Plume
$28.00
224 pages

If you must work, at least you should find a job that fits you, right? So start with the career aptitude test in Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova's guide, Working Girls: Trixie & Katya's Guide to Professional Womanhood. You might be surprised — or you might "qualify for 0 percent APR financing."

Next, think about what you really want to do with your life. How about a career of service as a cleaner who removes "the carnage of lowly grifters, criminals, and monsters"? Or you might rather hang out with kids as a nanny, or be a "tipped laborer." (Remember, always tip the waitstaff.)

You could work in publishing, "big tech," financing, whatever you choose, but always dress for the job. If that means drag, "grab a wig, some fabric, and two lashes... and poof!" You're ready to hire.

But wait. First, you'll have to go through an interview, so think about the skills you want to showcase, then "reel them in" with thoughtful answers to those silly questions. Once you've got a job offer in hand, be forearmed with the handy guide to the types of coworkers you might encounter. Remember: work is not like college, where you can avoid "germs, viruses, and nonessential enzymes named Carol from Accounts Receivable."

Know how to ask for a raise (do you even deserve one?). Be glad if they ask you to do a Zoom meeting from home. Know how to manage your time, know when it's time to leave your job, and know how to be graceful if it wasn't exactly your idea. Learn to recognize work scams. And then prepare for retirement. Yeah, you do deserve that.

It should be crystal-clear by merely looking at the cover that this book pokes plenty of fun at the world of work. It's funny, saucy, and over the top... and it actually includes surprisingly decent advice, too.

Just be willing to read between the lines, although that shouldn't be a problem. Readers who are old enough to handle the theme of this book should be smart enough to know that Mattel and Zamolodchikova aren't exactly trying for Dear Abby here; there's an overload of snark and sarcasm in these pages, and it's in neon.

Still, the fact remains that there are usable nuggets inside this book — on working from home, on getting along with coworkers, on asking for a more money, and on how to quit.

Bring your sense of humor when you tackle this book, but bring your résumé, too. Working Girls is funny and useful, and, well, you want it.