Q: I feel if I don't find a new job now, I never will unless I'm let go or fired. I've heard resumes and interviewing are all very different now, but there are too many books to pick one on my own. What do I need to know?

A: Ideally, your resume should sell you and all you can do. The truth is, though, that everyone is not equal in talent nor does everyone excel in performance. One reader says all his IT friends in programming and developing code lie on their resumes and in their interviews to get jobs. They figure if they get the jobs, they will learn whatever is required at that time, and he says they do get the jobs. He goes on to say they get friends to recommend them even though they may never have worked together, and their lies are never discovered. It may get you a job, but lying even once brands you as a liar, and once you've been "outed," you will never regain complete trust from anyone.

If you don't have impressive skills and remarkable work experience, focus on what you do well. If you have to dig deep to find something that makes you stand out above others, evaluate yourself and your work life, and reflect on why you have not been motivated to do your best and contribute. That's where discovering and living your passion becomes important. Staying in a familiar and unfulfilling job is hurting you, perhaps without you realizing it yet, and making a lateral job change isn't going to help.

Another reader recently wrote about getting a job under unusual circumstances. He says, "As an experienced supply chain management consultant with a resume loaded with all the right buzz words," recruiters (head hunters) were willing to work with him. He had also worked with two big name companies in his field, so he knew he had a marketable work history. You must know when you have a desirable background so you don't walk in as if you're special when you're not. Knowing who has the upper hand is the key to succeeding in myriad company cultures.

His first interview was by phone with a company recruiter hired to weed out those who didn't qualify. He passed, and his next interview was with the department manager, also by phone. He and the manager spoke for an hour and he was hired. He never met face-to-face with anyone from the company. He supplied business references and started work after the boss called everyone.

It sounds unusual, but he's working at the company now and loves his new job. The point is that companies will handle their interviewing process however it suits them, following state and federal employment laws, of course. Do your homework on resume styles to see what best fits your background and use that format. Check some of the books on interviewing, such as "101 Great Answers to the Toughest Interview Questions" so you don't do an interview naive to the typical process. If you're asked to describe your work ethics, you need to have an answer that shows you've thought about the subject.

Expect the unexpected and go with the flow. If an interviewer asks you an improper question, politely sidestep your way out of answering it. Don't create a scene or get belligerent. You are there for a job, not to press for money from an EEOC charge. Be smart and likable. No one wants to hire a troublemaker, and no one wants to work with one.

Email your questions to workplace expert Lindsey Novak at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @TheLindseyNovak and Facebook at Lindsey.Novak.12. To find out more about Lindsey Novak, visit the Creators Syndicate Website at www.creators.com.

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