I have a ton of books on my many book shelves and one that I was compelled to pick up today was from legendary Zig Ziglar. This book, Top Performance, reveals an interesting fact:

Fifteen percent of the reason you get a job, keep that job, and move ahead in that job, is determined by your technical skills and knowledge – regardless of your profession!

Guess what accounts for the remaining 85 percent of your job success? People skills and people knowledge.

So next time you think you need to take that computer programming course or that business writing class, think again. Or when you say, "I'm not a 'people person,'" remember that if you want to succeed in your job, you have to transform yourself into one!

Following 7 months of struggle, one Minnesota man recently made a simple change in his job search and was hired for a new position only 30 days later.

Here's the story …

Scott Bornstein, from suburban St. Paul, had what he thought was a well written resume. But "every time I sent it out, people would suggest changes to make. When I handed it out at a job fair, they'd say, 'Thank you' and file it away immediately." He wasn't getting called by employers.

Sound familiar?

Bornstein found a way to improve his resume, which boosted his self-confidence, which, in turn, led to more interviews, in a virtuous circle that got him hired in 30 days.

What did he do?

"I went to using a Guerrilla Resume. It was easy to write and it gave me confidence, with a resume that I felt positive to hand out to anybody," says Bornstein.

The Guerrilla Resume, a new style of resume, is normally one page long and has two essential components:

1. logos from past employers, colleges, or organizations;
2. quotes from people familiar with your work, such as managers or clients.

Let's look at them in detail …

1. Logos

Fact: The brain would rather look at pictures than read. (What's worth a thousand words?)

That's why 2-3 logos can improve your resume. They catch the reader's eye, allowing you to make an emotional connection with the employer and piggyback on any positive feelings associated with those logos.

All before they've read one word of your resume.

Can you get in trouble for using logos? Not in my experience since 1996.

Reason: You're not using these graphics to sell anything. Of course, I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. If in doubt, ask permission before using a logo or other graphic.

2. Quotes from past managers or clients.

Bornstein used 3 quotes in his Guerrilla Resume. Quotes get attention because they are third-party endorsements of you, like testimonials in a TV infomercial.

Where to get them? From recommendations on your Linkedin profile! They're already in the public domain — why not use those quotes in your resume?

Here's what happened after Bornstein revamped his resume.

"The next day I went to a job fair in Minneapolis. I walked up to a recruiter and handed my resume to her. She actually grabbed my hand, leaned in, and said, 'This is an amazing resume.' I knew at that moment that I had something," says Bornstein.

What he had was confidence, which improved every part of his job search.

Think about how easy it is to do something when you *know* you can, versus when you're unsure. It's the difference that can make all the difference.

"With the new resume, I had complete confidence in what I was doing. As soon as I started handing it to other people — hiring managers, recruiters, whoever — nobody wanted to change it. I felt they all wanted to give me a chance, and that was different," says Bornstein.

The job Bornstein eventually took came from a contact he made at the Wooddale Transition Group. (If you're not a member of a high-quality job club, consider joining one. In addition to producing employment leads, it gets you out of the house to meet and help other people.)

"An email went to the group members on a Wednesday and I applied, along with 32 other people. The new resume immediately popped up for the hiring manager," says Bornstein, who was called on Friday and interviewed on Monday. A second interview followed on Thursday and he was offered a job the next day — 9 days after applying.

An eye-grabbing resume can provide the same kind of ego boost you might enjoy after getting a new suit or tie. If clothes make the man, can a Guerrilla Resume make the job search?

Apparently, yes.

Now. You've just been given the key to creating a Guerrilla Resume: include logos and quotes. You can do it yourself, today.

If you'd like help, however, you can go here -> Guerrilla Resume

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Small town life….everyone knows one another. It’s safe to go to bed at night with the door unlocked. When you get sick, half the town shows up with chicken soup to make sure you’re okay. Aside from Ernest T. Bass showing up on occasion, and stirring up trouble, life in small towns can be pretty nice, right? Well… maybe. But even if there are small towns out there where such a lifestyle still exists, they generally aren’t such great spots for IT professionals.

In the current economy, finding good jobs is just plain hard for everyone. Back in 2008, I worked for a while as a corporate IT recruiter, also recruiting for a variety of other roles. While there were exceptions, my general experience was that within a few days of posting a position on the corporate Web site, there were more resumes than I could possibly manually review that had been uploaded.

Here’s where things get tough for the applicant from a small town. The first thing a corporate recruiter does when faced with such large numbers of applicants is to narrow the field to something manageable. A logical first step is to eliminate everyone who’s not local — let’s say, everyone who lives more than 10 to 15 miles away from the work location. In Louisville, the town where I live, such parameters could include pretty much everyone within the greater Louisville metropolitan area, but would exclude most applicants in outlying counties. In larger cities, you’d probably only be pulling from one section of town with such a search.

Before I get flamed by a host of recruiters or others, let me stop and say that there are countless good reasons why one would initially want to use other parameters initially to narrow the field, rather than proximity. For example, businesses generally try to promote diverse workforces which are representative of the surrounding community. By narrowing the field too much geographically, it could potentially favor one group over another.

Can you see though how this would work? Even if a recruiter extends the search out to 30 miles or more, there are still applicants living out in the smaller towns and counties who are probably going to get eliminated on one of the initial steps to narrow the field. It turns out that in most cases, there are many qualified applicants for each open position living almost within a stone’s throw of most employers. Need a NOC engineer? Oh look, here are two dozen of them, all with commute times of less than an hour.

This is the dilemma that faces Scott Newman, a veteran IT professional who resides in a small town about 30 miles outside of Jacksonville. His experience includes technical help desk work, operational support of Tandem mainframes as well as more recently NOC support of a large CISCO network. Scott is doing the “right” things that one would typically suggest to someone who’s looking for a position. He has around 50 search engines set up on different websites and has sent out as many as 100 emails in a day when seeking to be considered for open positions. These aren’t just generic emails either. He makes the effort to customize his cover letters to gear them toward the positions in question. Additionally, Scott has been proactive about upgrading his skills. Since losing his job as part of a workforce reduction, he has completed CompTIA A+, Security+ and Network+ certifications. Now he’s working on his CCNA.

In a stronger economy, Scott would undoubtedly be employed by now. Unfortunately, the collapse of the housing market had a domino effect on much of Florida, and the jobs are just really hard to come by.

So, what’s one to do, given the grim circumstances? Obviously, there’s no silver bullet. Here are some strategies that seem to be working for some:

1. Stay put and generalize. So, you’re a NOC Support Analyst? Hang out your own shingle and network with the local community. Maybe your doctor needs someone to back up her files and keep the security software updated. Maybe the local dry cleaner might be open to moving from a manual system of keeping the books to using Quickbooks. Perhaps there are a few people or organizations in town that need their own websites. Or maybe the chamber of commerce would be open to having you give a talk on the problems associated with logging on to Facebook from work.

Heather Williamson, a writer and consultant who resides in the town of 1200 she grew up in notes that networking in a small town is different than networking in a larger environment. To paraphrase an article she wrote on the subject, you really need to invest yourself in the community and get to know people. Scott has taken this approach and has found a bit of work helping out a couple of local churches with technical support and Web site development.

2. Specialize and be ready to relocate. I think Scott is generally on the right track. The goal is to set yourself apart from the rest of the pack with skills that are still not all that common. In that respect, the CCNA might get him some traction. Moving a bit further along that path, and thinking about needs that large corporations might have, CISA and CISSP certifications still have some strong appeal. (I spoke to a guy a couple of years ago though who tried to claim that he was one of only a dozen CISSPs in Louisville and almost had to laugh at him. While still somewhat rare, as more people flock to obtain those certifications, the market value will decline.)

3. Specialize and consult remotely. Honestly, I don’t want to oversell this as an option. As the total number of jobs available has declined, so too has the need for employers to consider this as an alternative. Still, Web sites like guru.com, rentacoder.com, and scriptlance.com can be sources of real projects that pay real money. One option many might consider would be to bid low in order to obtain work, specifically for the purpose of strengthening one’s resume. For example, if you have Java, C++, and VB.Net experience, but have only taken a class and tested on C#, do a project for next to nothing. That way when interviewed, you can point to what you have done as real world experience.

The downside to this is that work opportunities can run ho and cold. When you’re busy, you’re too busy to focus on trying to line up the next assignment. Then when your contract ends, you may go weeks or months between paychecks.

4. A final possibility that’s not entirely new is onshoring. Yes, onshoring, not offshoring. The concept of onshoring is similar to offshoring. It’s to outsource jobs for a lower cost than if an employer had to hire a complete team locally. I found a couple of good articles on this topic here and here. One such example is Rural America, a company that specifically seeks to find talented individuals in rural communities and match them with needs in larger
metropolitan areas.

There are obvious advantages to this general approach. First, unless matching employers in New York City with consultants from the deep south, communication is likely to improve when compared to most offshore settings. Second, give or take a couple of hours, you’re in about the same time zones, so collaborating isn’t quite so complicated. Finally, as a general rule of thumb, the onshore consultants are going to be US citizens, which means that they can also assist with many projects that have security-related requirements.

I got to have a conversation with Derek Gleim, a lead developer for Rural America, and formerly a consultant who employed strategy #3. As much as I love to talk about online job search strategies, Derek found something about Rural America on a bulletin board one day when visiting his old tech school. They had a client with a website that had been created with Drupal and needed help transitioning to something else. He helped with that problem … the first step of what has been a fruitful career for Derek.

Derek noted that they are hiring.

A final note: Technology and politics change over time, but for now, things are looking a bit brighter for developers here in the US and gloomier for operations professionals. That’s not to say that prospects are entirely great, or completely terrible for either group, or for their counterparts on the other side of the globe. Additionally, I think that the general economic outlook is improving. Recruiters and staffing companies generally felt the pinch before economists started saying much in public about a recession. (Back in 2007.) Similarly, I’m starting to hear cautious notes of optimism from some in the industry. It’s hardly a reason to celebrate just yet, but maybe it’s that glimmer of hope that will help us all hang n there until the hope becomes a reality.

Best of luck to all of you. I hope this at least sparks some helpful discussion and brainstorming.

Tim Heard is the owner of eSearch Associates, a search and staffing firm that focuses primarily on information technology, project management, and legal technology jobs and recruiting. You can find him online at Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook,

By Tim Heard

This corporate sham is one of the most insidious, most damaging, and yet most ubiquitous of corporate activities. Everybody does it, and almost everyone who's evaluated hates it. It's a pretentious, bogus practice that produces absolutely nothing that any thinking executive should call a corporate plus.

And yet few people do anything to kill it. Well, it's time they did.

Don't get me wrong: Reviewing performance is good; it should happen every day. But employees need evaluations they can believe, not the fraudulent ones they receive. They need evaluations that are dictated by need, not a date on the calendar. They need evaluations that make them strive to improve, not pretend they are perfect.

Who, Me?

Sadly, most managers are oblivious to the havoc they wreak with performance reviews. To some extent, they don't know any better: This is how performance reviews have been done, and this is how they will be done. Period.

Here's a simple experiment you can try. Ask yourself: How often have you heard a manager say, "Here is what I believe," followed by, "Now tell me, what do you think?" and actually mean it? Rarely, I bet.

The performance review is the primary tool for reinforcing this sorry state. Performance reviews instill feelings of being dominated. They send employees the message that the boss's opinion of their performance is the key determinant of pay, assignment, and career progress. And while that opinion pretends to be objective, it is no such thing. Think about it: If performance reviews are so objective, why is it that so many people get totally different ratings simply by switching bosses?

No, instead, the overriding message is that the boss's assessment is really about whether the boss "likes" you, whether he or she feels "comfortable" with you. None of this is good for the company unless the boss is some kind of savant genius who can read an employee's talents with laser accuracy — and then understands what motivates the employee so perfectly that he or she can push just the right psychological buttons to get the employee to use those talents.

Unlikely and even more unlikely.

The Damage Done

At this point, you may be asking: So what? So what if you can't speak your mind to your boss? So what if the performance review forces the boss to focus on an employee's "weaknesses" (since most bosses are told they can't give everyone top grades)? What harm does it really do?

Sadly, it does enormous damage. Forget, for a minute, the damage it does on a personal level — the way it makes work lives miserable, the way it leaves employees feeling depressed and anxious, the way having to show so much tolerance at work leaves them with too little tolerance at home. Just think about what it does on a corporate level, the enormous amount of time and energy it wastes, and the way it prevents companies from tapping the innovative, outside-the-box thinking that so many employees are capable of. If only, that is, they weren't so afraid.

A Better Way

The good news is that none of this is the way things have to be. The one-sided, boss-dominated performance review needs to be replaced by a straight-talking relationship where the focus is on results, not personality, and where the boss is held accountable for the success of the subordinate (instead of just using the performance review to blame the subordinate for any problems they're having).

In this new system, managers will stop labeling people "good guys" and "bad guys" — or, in the sick parlance of performance reviews, outstanding performers, average performers, and poor performers to be put on notice. Instead, they'll get it straight that their job is to make everyone reporting to them good guys.

If you're a boss, and your subordinate isn't succeeding, something is broken here. Doing more of the same isn't going to cut it. It's now time for you to ask, "What do you need from me to deliver what we are both on the firing line to produce?" And just as important, it's time for you to listen to the answer.

Asking and listening. Imagine that. It's called a conversation, and it's a rarity in workplaces today. Only by hearing what the other person thinks, and putting that person's actions in the appropriate context, can you actually see what the person is saying and doing — and how together you can get where the company needs you to go.

Performance reviews won't get you there, because that's just about the boss getting the subordinate to buy into his or her way of thinking. It's a mirror — not a window into the other person. But take away the performance review and you might actually have straight talk.

Rotten Milk

Proponents of performance reviews say that the problem isn't the review itself, but poorly trained reviewers. Sorry, but that doesn't fly: The performance review done exactly as intentioned is just as horribly flawed as the review done "poorly." You can't bake a great cake with rotten milk, no matter how skilled the chef. They also say you need performance reviews to protect against lawsuits by laid-off workers. Nonsense: Most performance reviews hurt a company's case because they aren't honest assessments of a worker's performance.

Also, before you start griping about how I don't understand Margaret, the woman in your department who wants to do as little work as possible, or how Tom is so distracted by his life outside the office that he can't get anything done at work, let me stop you and say: I know that not everybody deserves to stay in their jobs. Getting rid of performance reviews doesn't get rid of slackers. Not everybody will leap at the chance to get better and grow.

But everybody deserves the best shot managers can give them. And they can't get that shot with performance reviews.

Adapted from "Get Rid of the Performance Review! How Companies Can Stop Intimidating, Start Managing — and Focus on What Really Matters." Copyright 2010. By Samuel A. Culbert with Lawrence Rout. Published by Business Plus, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group Inc. All rights reserved.

Here's the transcript from a phone interview that Kevin Donlin, from Guerrilla Job Search International, recently did with one happy Guerrilla Job Hunter, Scott Melrose, from Mokena, Illinois.

He was hired for an executive position by an employer who found him on Linkedin, after he re-did his online profile to match his Guerrilla Resume.

What can you learn from Scott's remarkable success story?

Read on …

Kevin Donlin: Let me set the stage. Scott, you are a very busy executive and you had been looking for three to four months for a job using traditional methods. How many interviews did you get doing that?

Scott: None.

Kevin: Zero. Then you started using Guerrilla Job Search Tactics, including a Guerrilla Resume. What happened after that?

Scott: When I started using the Guerrilla Resume and also building it into my LinkedIn profile, people started finding me. They started coming out of the woodwork. I actually ended up with a position that is a better fit for me than anything I was able to find through research.

Kevin: Using Guerrilla tactics, how many different companies did you interview with?

Scott: Four.

Kevin: Four, and you just got a job offer now, in early April. You were offered a new job about April 2?

Scott: Correct.

Kevin: Congratulations! Now, what other Guerrilla tactics worked in your job search? Which ones were most helpful for you?

Scott: The main thing was highlighting my strengths and having that online. Taking care of the LinkedIn; getting a lot of connections so I would show up with a lot of other people; taking control of my ZoomInfo profile.

Kevin: How did you actually find out about the job that you accepted?

Scott: I got contacted via one of the people who will be my counterpart saying, "Hey, you look like someone we would like to have on our team."

Kevin: So they found you on Linkedin?

Scott: Yes.

Kevin: If I recall your LinkedIn profile, it's largely based on what we preach and teach in creating a Guerrilla Resume. You're using pretty much the same information?

Scott: I was cutting and pasting the Guerrilla Resume right into LinkedIn.

Kevin: Good. Are there any other tactics that got good results for you that we haven't talked about?

Scott: The resume format, which I don't believe we spent time on, is really powerful, and they were very helpful in getting me set up with that with the templates and the advice on where to get the logos.

Having the logos and then the quotes from previous managers and customers really paved the way for me. The evidence was there for the quality of work that I do, not just from me but from the people who have paid me in the past.

Kevin: Good. The evidence had been hiding in your work history until the Guerrilla Resume prompted you to go back and examine it differently, is that not true?

Scott: Correct.

Kevin: You would never have thought of putting logos and quotes in your resume. You've never heard of that before, have you?

Scott: I would have never dreamed of it.

Kevin: What was the reaction employers had to your resume?

Scott: It was killer. It was really killer, Kevin. Everybody that I showed it to was really impressed with it.

Kevin: Do you think that helped you interview more confidently?

Scott: Absolutely!

Kevin: Thanks, Scott. You've just shown that the best way to find a job is for the job to find you.

Your Takeaway Lessons:

1) Make sure your Linkedin profile has recommendations AND specific achievements for each job you've held. This can attract potential employers, as Scott's profile did for him.

2) Consider using a Guerrilla Resume, which emphasizes graphics and quotes from past employers, clients, and schools you attended. Done correctly, a Guerrilla Resume can be very effective. More information is available here –

Guerrilla Resume

1. Start smart
 
The Coffee Cup Caper — a paper Starbucks cup, full-color Guerrilla Resume, and a Guerrilla Cover Letter (asking to meet for coffee), shipped in a box — gets extraordinary results. By contrast, ordinary resumes and cover letters, sent by email, get ordinary results.
 

2. Follow up with style
 
Delivering a Halloween treat with her thank-you note was correct seasonally, if not politically. Use good judgment before sending items that might be perceived as bribes by employers sensitive to such things. In Berman's case, however, it worked like a (chocolate-covered) charm.
 
And, leaving out the gift, could you arrange to have your thank-you note delivered by a courier, or a friend posing as one? Of course.
 

3. Give employers another reason to hire you
 
Mary did this in spades after her second interview, when she sent a written plan of action for her first 3 months on the job.
 
A 30-60-90 day plan is a way of proving you can do the work — before you're even on the payroll — by describing how you would learn the job, build rapport with employees/customers, and contribute to the bottom line.
 
Mary's plan was 8 pages long and took the better part of a Friday night to prepare. (Before you balk at spending an entire evening at home researching and writing a 30-60-90 day plan, ask yourself if you wouldn't trade a night out for getting a steady paycheck again.)
 

4. Score style points with your delivery
 
Mary's first follow-up, the chocolate-apple-thank-you note, was delivered by a courier, not by email. Her 30-60-90 day plan was delivered by FedEx, not by email.
 
Do you NOT see a pattern? Email should NOT be the sole delivery method for your career documents.
 
Bottom line: This smart Guerrilla had failed to get even one job interview in 20 weeks of conventional job hunting with conventional tactics.
 
After adopting unconventional Guerrilla tactics, she found work in only 7 weeks.
 
If Guerrilla job search methods can work in Michigan, where the unemployment rate tops 15%, they can work where you live. The only thing stopping you from thinking and acting like a Guerrilla is you.
 
Resource: The same Guerrilla Resumes and Cover Letters Mary used are here.
 

Veteran recruiter Joe Turner describes online routes to the short list when professional talent scouts are looking for candidates.

I was a recruiter for more than 15 years, so job seekers often ask me for advice on how to meet recruiters and how to make working with recruiters a beneficial experience. My reply is not always what they want to hear: Top recruiters don't want to meet you. They don't want you to call them, and they don't want you to send your resume to them.

They are already wired into their own network of potential candidates in the fields they cover. If they're doing their jobs correctly, they already know all the top candidates in their fields or know where to find them. In other words, if they want to meet you, they'll find you.

But these are the people you want to meet! These are the executive search firms that will introduce you to a company or corporate recruiters who want to fill open positions.

There are ways you can increase the odds that they will find you. By making sure you are visible in the places recruiters look for new talent and by optimizing your profile to appear high in their search for candidates, you can increase the odds you'll become one of those candidates recruiters in your field seek out.

1. Build and update a LinkedIn profile

"If you're not online, you don't exist." That‘s the motto of many recruiters today. And for many of them, "online" means one place: LinkedIn. According to a recent survey of U.S. hiring managers, 66 percent used LinkedIn to find job candidates for openings, 23 percent used Facebook, and 16 percent used Twitter.

If you haven't done so already, visit both LinkedIn and Facebook to establish a profile page that describes who you are. Keep it professional, but make it an expression of your professional personality. Whet the appetites of visitors to your page. Update it regularly.

2. Advertise yourself with a Unique Selling Proposition

Describe yourself with a brief sentence – a Unique Selling Proposition. A USP is a one-sentence description that says who you are, what your biggest strength is and the greatest benefit you bring.

For example:

"Hands-on Operations Manager with strong people and team-building skills who has helped produce revenues of $2.8 million with a 22 percent margin for my previous employer."

Place this sentence in your profile header as a starter to explain what distinguishes you from others in your field. Include your previous employers as well as the briefest descriptors about you.

3. Add your LinkedIn profile URL to your resume

Once you've built your profile, make sure you make it easy for recruiters and hiring managers to find you on the Web. Add this link directly to your resume right under your contact information.

4. Ask for LinkedIn recommendations

Amassing recommendations is like stockpiling referrals before you need them. Once again, you want to make it easy for recruiters and hiring managers. A great way to provide them with good feedback about your work is with LinkedIn recommendations. A recommendation is merely someone saying something good about you. Make a list of your past (and present) bosses, supervisors, colleagues and clients. If they're on LinkedIn as well, they can provide you with a recommendation. Don't be afraid to ask, since most will be more than glad to do this for you. When they're done, you'll have a number of professional recommendations easily seen by anyone who visits your profile page. 

5. Make yourself an expert

You can also employ tools like LinkedIn and Facebook to extend your network. You'll find hundreds of groups on LinkedIn beyond the obvious ones dedicated to alumni and job search. With a little searching you'll also find groups of people dedicated to the advancement or discussion of their particular profession or industry as well as people seeking solutions to specific problems.

Recruiters will often monitor groups relevant to the industries in which they specialize and keep an eye on outstanding members. Once you're a member, you can initiate new discussion threads for others to join. You can ask and answer questions; if members of the group deem your answer the most relevant or helpful, you gain visibility within the group. Recruiters definitely notice these people, since they prove to be the movers and shakers within their profession. They make the short list for a check on your profile and a potential e-mail or LinkedIn direct message to your inbox.

Start with LinkedIn as a tool to gain the attention that will merit a call. Then you can move to incorporate both Facebook and Twitter into your job-search marketing.

A former recruiter, Joe Turner spent 15 years finding and placing top candidates in some of the best jobs of their careers. The author of "Job Search Secrets Unlocked" and "Paycheck 911," Joe also hosts his "Job Search Guy Radio Show" as well as weekly Resume Writing Workshops to thousands of job seekers across North America. You'll find Joe's free tips and advice on landing a job in this tough economy at: www.JobSearchGuy.com
 

I had been working for a pre-IPO startup when the bottom fell out of the NASDAQ; I found myself unemployed, along with a whole rash of other like-minded individuals. Of course, what's the second thing you do after you've been laid off (first is drink beer, that's a given, right?)?

You update your resume at all the online job sites (HotJobs, Monster, CareerBuilder, Dice, etc. – add LinkedIn and several others today).

I noticed that my search results didn't have much to show for them except when I updated my resume. It was as if updating my resume put my resume at the top of the virtual stack. Now, I won't kid anybody and expect you to believe that my resume was better than anybody else's.

However, I will tell you that I was experiencing more hits to my resume immediately after I updated it compared to when I had let it sit stagnant for a few days or weeks.

So, that' the tip.

UPDATE YOUR RESUME AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK

All you have to do is change one character save it, then change it back and re-save. I suggest that you actually update your resume every day. After all, if you're unemployed, what else are you doing? It takes less than 5 minutes to change your resume at all of the top job sites.

You really have nothing to lose.

I have a new gig! I am now Business Development Manager for Fremont Consulting, one of Silicon Valley's best IT recruiting firms. We have openings all over the world in many IT-related fields. If you're in the job market, send us your resume and we'll get you set up in our system.

We work with major companies with operations in the Bay Area like SAP, Cisco, Microsoft, IBM, and Blue Cross. Many of these opportunities have telecommute possibilities, too.

Check out Fremont Consulting.

It seems as if those days are gone forever.

Now we have "convenience stores" whose only true convenience is that you don't have to talk to anybody. You go inside, get what you want, go to the check stand, pay your money, and walk away. You might get a "Thanks."

But don't hold your breath.

Same goes for nearly any retail establishment. I cannot remember the last good experience I had in a store. I mean truly good. I don't have bad experiences every time, of course, but most of my outings are either unremarkable or horrific.

I was a retail store manager for 7 years (years ago), but I never took my customers for granted, either during my tenure as a manager, before, or after.

I treat everybody like I care. Here's the deal: Why not make every personal interaction a good one? It's really not difficult. It's sort of like smiling: It takes less effort to smile than to frown. It is unfortunate that most people in the service industry (and if you have a job or own a business, you're in a service industry) take the middle road:

No expression whatsoever!

The blank stare, which is something I perfected as a store manager when somebody demanded something so preposterous that words could not deflect it, is now commonplace. However, nobody uses it in its proper context. It's to make a point: As in, what you want is so outlandish that words will not dissuade you from your ridiculousness.

People use the blank stare today without even knowing it. It's no longer a tool; it's now a way of life. It tells me that you so hate your job and your lot in life that you're going to try to shed your poor self image onto somebody else. As if you can make your life better by somehow making everybody else's worse.

This is no way to do business. It's also no way to live a life.

I'm going to share something with you that I tell my children: When you are feeling a little down, smile. It works.

People often mistakenly believe that a smile is the result of being happy. But it's a two-way street: You can make yourself happy by smiling.

Try it. I think you'll agree. And the worst that could happen is that people will mistake your fake smile for genuine happiness – and that will make them happy.

Look around: Happy people tend to hang out together. So, too, do sad people. Misery loves company, but so does happiness.

Please try to do a better job with customer service. It starts with being happy with what you do. If you don't like what you do, do us all a favor: Find something that you love and figure out a way to earn a living from it.

PLEASE