Bait and switch : the (futile) pursuit of the American dream

The New York Times bestselling investigation into white-collar unemployment from “our premier reporter of the underside of capitalism”—The New York Times Book Review Americans’ working lives are growing more precarious every day. Corporations slash employees by the thousands, and the benefits and pensions once guaranteed by “middle-class” jobs are a thing of the past. In Bait and Switch , Barbara Ehrenreich goes back undercover to explore another hidden realm of the economy: the shadowy world of the white-collar unemployed. Armed with the plausible résumé of a professional “in transition,” she attempts to land a “middle-class” job. She submits to career coaching, personality testing, and EST-like boot camps, and attends job fairs, networking events, and evangelical job-search ministries. She is proselytized, scammed, lectured, and—again and again—rejected. Bait and Switch highlights the people who have done everything right—gotten college degrees, developed marketable skills, and built up impressive résumés—yet have become repeatedly vulnerable to financial disaster. There are few social supports for these newly disposable workers, Ehrenreich discovers, and little security even for those who have jobs. Worst of all, there is no honest reckoning with the inevitable consequences of the harsh new economy; rather, the jobless are persuaded that they have only themselves to blame. Alternately hilarious and tragic, Bait and Switch , like the classic Nickel and Dimed , is a searing exposé of the cruel new reality in which we all now live. **

the Bestselling Author Of Nickel And Dimed Goes Back Undercover To Do For America’s Ailing Middle Class What She Did For The Working Poor

barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel And Dimed Explored The Lives Of Low-wage Workers. Now, In Bait And Switch, She Enters Another Hidden Realm Of The Economy: The Shadowy World Of The White-collar Unemployed. Armed With A Plausible Résumé Of A Professional “in Transition,” She Attempts To Land A Middle-class Job—undergoing Career Coaching And Personality Testing, Then Trawling A Series Of Est-like Boot Camps, Job Fairs, Networking Events, And Evangelical Job-search Ministries. She Gets An Image Makeover, Works To Project A Winning Attitude, Yet Is Proselytized, Scammed, Lectured, And—again And Again—rejected.

bait And Switch Highlights The People Who’ve Done Everything Right—gotten College Degrees, Developed Marketable Skills, And Built Up Impressive Résumés—yet Have Become Repeatedly Vulnerable To Financial Disaster, And Not Simply Due To The Vagaries Of The Business Cycle. Today’s Ultra-lean Corporations Take Pride In Shedding Their “surplus” Employees—plunging Them, For Months Or Years At A Stretch, Into The Twilight Zone Of White-collar Unemployment, Where Job Searching Becomes A Full-time Job In Itself. As Ehrenreich Discovers, There Are Few Social Supports For These Newly Disposable Workers—and Little Security Even For Those Who Have Jobs.

like The Now Classic Nickel And Dimed, Bait And Switch Is Alternately Hilarious And Tragic, A Searing Exposé Of Economic Cruelty Where We Least Expect It.

the Washington Post - Marcellus Andrews

barbara Ehrenreich's bait And Switch Is A Worthy Companion To nickel And Dimed, Her Engaging And Infuriating 2001 Exposé Of The Hard Lives Of Working-class Americans. The New Book Provides A Victim's-eye View Of The World Of Unemployed White-collar Workers -- People Struggling, Mostly In Vain, To Recoup The High Wages And Prestige They Lost After Being Dismissed From The Not-so-secure Confines Of Corporate America.

The New York Times bestselling investigation into white-collar unemployment from "our premier reporter of the underside of capitalism"--The New York Times Book Review Americans' working lives are growing more precarious every day. Corporations slash employees by the thousands, and the benefits and pensions once guaranteed by "middle-class" jobs are a thing of the past. In Bait and Switch , Barbara Ehrenreich goes back undercover to explore another hidden realm of the economy: the shadowy world of the white-collar unemployed. Armed with the plausible resume of a professional "in transition," she attempts to land a "middle-class" job. She submits to career coaching, personality testing, and EST-like boot camps, and attends job fairs, networking events, and evangelical job-search ministries. She is proselytized, scammed, lectured, and--again and again--rejected. Bait and Switch highlights the people who have done everything right--gotten college degrees, developed marketable skills, and built up impressive resumes--yet have become repeatedly vulnerable to financial disaster. There are few social supports for these newly disposable workers, Ehrenreich discovers, and little security even for those who have jobs. Worst of all, there is no honest reckoning with the inevitable consequences of the harsh new economy; rather, the jobless are persuaded that they have only themselves to blame. Alternately hilarious and tragic, Bait and Switch , like the classic Nickel and Dimed , is a searing expose of the cruel new reality in which we all now live. "Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed explored the lives of low-wage workers. Now, in Bait and Switch, she enters another hidden realm of the economy: the shadowy world of the white-collar unemployed." "Bait and Switch highlights the people who've done everything right - gotten college degrees, developed marketable skills, and built up impressive resumes - yet have become repeatedly vulnerable to financial disaster, and not simply due to the vagaries of the business cycle. Today's ultralean corporations take pride in shedding their "surplus" employees - plunging them, for months or years at a stretch, into the twilight zone of white-collar unemployment, where job-searching becomes a full-time job in itself. As Ehrenreich discovers, America's middle class is now the loser in a classic game of bait and switch, in which the promise of upward mobility and financial security has given way to a harsh reality of limited social supports for newly disposable workers - and no guarantees even for those who have jobs."--Publishers note. "Bait and Switch charts the increasingly common fate of people who have done everything right--gotten college degrees, developed marketable skills, and built up impressive resumes--yet still fall prey to financial disaster, as today's ultra-lean corporations take pride in shedding "surplus" employees. There are few social supports for these newly disposable workers, Ehrenreich finds, and little security even for those who have jobs. Worst of all, rather than faulting the harsh new economy, the jobless are persuaded that they have only themselves to blame."--Page 4 of cover Intrigued by reports of poverty & despair within America's white-collar corporate workforce, the author decided to infiltrate their world as an undercover reporter, & learn about the problems facing middle-class executives. Her story is funny, & delivers a warning about the future that faces corporate employees everywhere Very poor quality scan (verified after download).But you can find at least 1 much better downloadable version in this storage.