[.ca] Vault Guide to Schmoozing, 3rd Edition (ISBN 1581312059)

From Amazon.com:
Like it or not, getting ahead in the workplace has always been as much about whom you know as what you know--and the youth-oriented media and consulting company Vault Reports now takes the art of connecting with those who can further this professional ascension to new heights in its Guide to Schmoozing: Insider Advice on Making Contacts and Building Rapport to Boost Your Career. Derived from the Yiddish expression for talking informally, "schmoozing," according to the firm's editorial team, "is the development of a support system, a web of people you know who you can call, and who can call you, for your mutual benefit and enjoyment. Schmoozing is the art of semi-purposeful conversation: half chatter, half exploration. Schmoozing is neither project nor process. It's a way of life." Through informative sections like "Do your research," "Listen up!", and "Starting the conversation," it offers fundamental advice in a lighthearted but realistic manner. Through pointed interviews with famous schmoozers such as author George Plimpton and attorney Bob Bennett, as well as non-celebrity schmoozers including CNN producer Sid Lipsey and Mark Kay Cosmetics Texas sales director Bridgett Bailee, it shows how schmoozing works in real life. --Howard Rothman

Pass This One Up:
This book was a waste of time and money. The book does not give any direct advice, just suggests the obvious. At one point, the authors even suggest taking up smoking to shmooze with your smoking boss. I would recommend looking for a book by Aye Jaye. I believe it's called the Golden Rules of Shmoozing. Much more informative and direct than this vault book.

Buyer Beware:
Waste of money. It points out many things obvious to the average reader. Book totally lost my interest and was extremely boring. The Vault staff has a good library of books (i.e. Vault guide to Finance), but this one was a disappointment.