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What does it mean to be a “professional?” The Common Sense Guy Bud Bilanich explains in this concise, informative book about how to succeed.

What could one more book on how to be a professional offer to anyone searching for a job?

A lot, as Bud Bilanich shows in 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success. The tiny volume is packed with personal stories of success - and just missing the mark. It offers practical advice for the new professional and good reminders for those toiling in today’s workplace or scrounging for a new job.

Bilanich covers a wide range of topics, including what to eat during a corporate dinner, how to dress for success and using the Internet to create and protect your brand.

I thought most of his advice was sound, and liked that he referred to other experts in business to support his theories. As a social media diva, I really appreciated Bilanich’s focus on the Internet in one of the sections. Too many times, people don’t understand just how using Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn can impact their professional lives. (Drunken photos are NOT what you want a prospective employer to find in your stream or that of a friend’s.)

Also important was emphasis on the business dinner. Bilanich shares enough about place settings to get you started. He also tells you what to order - and why it is important not to order certain foods for business meetings.

One point I really didn’t care for: Bilanich tells his readers if they like to read, to review books. He mentions that he no longer posts bad reviews, only reviews of books his likes, as part of his pay it forward mentality.

My personal belief system doesn’t like this. As a reader, if I go to a site and see only good reviews, then I move on because I feel like the reviewer just likes anything with words. When I write a review, the bad books are some of the most important to talk about. I want other readers to know why it was bad (in my opinion) and why they should not waste their money.

Of course, this is a personal decision and one more and more reviewers are making. If you write reviews as part of building your online presence, or brand, then doing only good things may make you more appealing to some employers. I guess it depends on what job you are looking for. Someone seeking an HR job won’t need the Bad Book clips as much as a book reviewer or, in some cases, freelance writers.

Maybe it is a moot point to everyone but me. Either way, I really enjoyed Bilanich’s book. It is concise and offers perspective on several aspects of business professionalism. With my short attention span, it was just the right length for the topic.

42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success would be a terrific stocking stuffer for the college student on your Christmas list. It would also be a good read for anyone in the job market.

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