Earlier this month, the “internet’s big sister,” Erin McGoff, released her first book. The Secret Language of Work: Hyper-helpful Scripts for Every Situation is McGoff’s first foray into the publishing work. McGoff is probably best known for her work with the YouTube and other social media channel AdviceWithErin, where she discusses tips on how to spruce up your resume, set boundaries at work, and generally advocate for yourself. Her theory is that only you will look out for you, and her new book reinforces that point with specific scripts to help you achieve your goals.
The Body of the Book
McGoff’s book is focused on providing readers with specific scripts to follow in common workplace situations. These include negotiating for yourself during job interviews or promotions, setting clear boundaries at work, or advocating for yourself during an interview, but also many more. She offers the readers use of the scripts without reservation: if you found them helpful, she’s done her job. Likewise, if you wanted to copy them but make a few tweaks to best fit the situation, that is also helpful. McGoff’s strength throughout the book is making sure you know you can succeed. Nary a page is flipped with her encouraging you to strive for more. Aside from the scripts used to illustrate various points, McGoff’s main argument is about how the gatekeeping around the language of work has kept people out of jobs they otherwise could, or should, have been able to complete.
More importantly, McGoff’s book focuses on how small adjustments to how you speak both to yourself and the rest of the world can make a great impact. Quite often cutting the negatives and adding positives can make these adjustments pop while centering your work as a great contributor. Likewise, McGoff writes about how information and behaviors, both those associated with success and failure, are passed down from generation to generation. If you are coming from a lower socio-economic background, this book might truly challenge what you have been told about work.
The Book’s Language
Probably the biggest complaint about the book is the informality of it. While it is well structured, The Secret Language of Work uses a little too much internet language or informality that might erect a barrier for those not in tune to it. A conversational tone is something that can be useful, especially in book like this, but it should not draw readers out of the content by its style. Aside from its informality, an argument could be made that the book does not cover every imaginable situation, but that would be an insurmountable task. McGoff did an excellent job in choosing the situations people are most likely to face throughout their career, and indeed often many times throughout their work life.
Erin McGoff’s The Secret Language of Work is an exceptional book designed to help today’s employee become tomorrow’s professional. Picking up the book, even to skim it, will offer readers countless nuggets of information that can be transferred into larger and larger career decisions and impacting generations to come.
