Book Review: Find Your Inner Ugly Betty by Tanner Stransky

BIG THANKS to Tanner, Michelle and Kaplan Publishing for getting me a copy of this book to review!

“Find Your Inner Ugly Betty” by Tanner Stransky

Published by Kaplan Publishing

Rating: 4 stars

It takes a lot of work to rise to the top of the corporate ladder, or even just to survive your first day on the job! Tanner Stransky, author of “Find Your Inner Ugly Betty”, should know. He has gotten himself writing jobs at a number of popular magazines and currently works as an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly, in addition to being part of the Ed2010 staff (a network group for young editors).

Taking his lead from popular and successful television series, such as Ugly Betty (hence the title!) and Grey’s Anatomy, Stransky outlines 25 career lessons needed to excel in any industry. The book consists of five sections that teach how to polish your image, build relationships, become irreplaceable, go beyond office hours and advance your career. Within each domain there are explanations, realistic pointers, advice from experts and anecdotes to further illustrate each chapter’s message.

Being a young professional myself, this book has a lot of relevant and helpful advice that I will certainly put to good use. While some of the tips seemed obvious, the majority of them are contemporary, carefully considered and creative. I especially enjoyed the chapters on embracing your individual style and the importance of knowing the people who really make things happen (such as the office manager and receptionist). What I really like about Stransky’s approach is how clearly each lesson is outlined and explained. Each chapter is very succinct and includes a quick list summarizing the key points at the end. Of course, the pop culture references included add an entertainment aspect to the book in addition to its educational value.

I definitely recommend this book for anyone entering the workforce or anyone returning to work after an extended period of time who needs to educate themselves about the modern workplace. I have a hunch that even seasoned career veterans could learn a thing or two from this book as well!

For more info, visit Tanner’s website