Fitting In: How to Get a Good...

Fitting In: How to Get a Good Start in Your New Job By Natasha Josefowitz and Herman Gadon (Addison-Wesley: paper, $9.95).

This common-sense guide to making a smooth, unobtrusive entry into an office job reflects the authors’ backgrounds. Both lived pillar-to-post lives before settling down as university professors in San Diego. Because they were forced to adapt, they counsel how to blend in, dress modestly, learn the ropes rapidly, and above all, avoid making waves.

Nothing surprising here, but what is disturbing is the hazing and nasty pranks many employees play on newcomers. Though the advice in “Fitting In” is designed for new hires or employees who are relocating or moving up in a firm, it can be used with profit by employers to make sure the new hire isn’t treated in a demeaning, counterproductive manner.