Anne Emerick

Being unemployed, for a short or long period, is part of life in the present day. This book presents short contributions from people who have been there, and successfully come out the other side.

You might receive an offer for your "dream job." Several weeks, or months, later, the offer disappears. In the meantime, other job offers are declined, waiting for this dream job. You might be a nanny, and about to get married, whose employer suddenly stops returning your phone calls. You might be close to retirement age, and one day, you suddenly find yourself without a job. You have received a severance check from a previous employer. Do you do something you have always wanted to do, like open a bakery (for instance), or do you stay home and binge-watch Netflix? What if a major medical condition (including pregnancy) causes the phone to stop ringing?

You are out of work; now what do you do? Take some time to grieve the loss of your job, but don't make it a habit (chocolate ice cream helps). Read a recent job search book. If the goal is a white collar, corporate job, set up an account on LinkedIn. Advertise your skills on a gig site like Fiverr. It is a good way to keep some money coming in, while you are job searching. If your resume needs more than just updating, visit Fiverr to find someone to do it. Network, network, network; you never know where a job opening will arise. Don't be afraid of new situations. Consider starting your own business.

This is an excellent book. The individual contributions are short, only a couple of pages each. Whatever your tale of unemployment, someone in this book (or the companion website) has been there. Included is a section on good, and bad, advice given to the unemployed. Here is a gem of a book.… (more)

"No Work Spanish" - when you hear that is the name of a series of foreign language courses, you get suspicious, right? Surely you can't just learn a language! I admit I was a little sceptical before I began listening but I soon found myself actually picking up more Spanish than I ever did in my High School class!

Having said that though, if you think that you can give the book a listen once through and then have a fluent conversation with a native Spaniard, think again. I'm still listening to it and learning something more with every listen.

The storyline has me eager to keep learning - learning the phrases means that I can move onto a new chapter and find out how Paula is getting on with her poster! For learners who prefer to have something to study there are also PDFs of vocabulary sheets available.

In conclusion, I wholely recommend this series to improve your Spanish vocabulary, however don't expect miracles from the "No Work" philosophy - you still need to put in the hours to get the best results!… (more)