With companies large and small facing a credit crisis that severely limits their ability to borrow, downsizing is a real threat for many US workers. (Check out today's story in the Globe on how the crisis is affecting small business in Mass.) Even those who thought their jobs were secure are probably playing the painful mental exercise of imagining what they'd do if they lost their job.

Getting laid off is not any easy thing to endure. In BusinessWeek, "Ethics Guy" Bruce Weinstein writes that "getting fired is the eighth most stressful life experience, behind the death of a spouse (No. 1) or going to jail (No. 4), but ahead of the death of a close friend (No. 17), foreclosure on a mortgage or loan (No. 21), or in-law troubles (No. 24)."

And while doing the ethical thing may not be the first thing on your mind when you lose your job, Weinstein writes that it's critical – for both your mental well-being and future job prospects – that you handle getting laid off correctly. In a two-part series in BusinessWeek, Weinstein offers tips for those who are on both sides of the downsizing issue -- employers and workers. Here are samples of some of his advice for workers:

1. Get angry ... later. It's easy to react with hostility when you're told that your position is being eliminated. Don't... It's only human to be terribly upset or even filled with rage, but acting on those feelings may violate the do-no-harm principle. Less obvious but also important to think about is the damage you would do to a valued relationship that you may not be able to undo. You won't regret holding back, but you will regret losing your cool.

2. Don't take it personally. We'd like to be able to control our lives and shape our destiny through the sheer force of will, but sometimes things happen to us that have absolutely nothing to do with what we've done or who we are. This is one of those times.

3. Get a recommendation. One of the best ways for a potential employer to find out how valuable you are is to hear from your current boss, but you may have to be the one to make this happen. Get a recommendation in writing as soon as possible. Volunteer to write it yourself. If a letter is out of the question or doesn't arrive in a timely fashion, ask your boss to send you a short e-mail; even a one- or two-line testimonial will do. Get your boss's permission to put his or her direct phone number on your résumé and give out at job interviews.

4. Be a self-promoter. We're raised to believe that it's wrong to toot your own horn, but if ever there were a time to put that belief aside, it's now... One of our greatest challenges is striking the right balance between self-absorption and devotion to others. Still, there is not only no harm in standing up for yourself; it is unethical not to do so.

5. Grief is good. Grief is a natural and healthy response to losing something or someone of value in your life, and taking your grief seriously is another important way to treat yourself with kindness. It is a sign of strength, not weakness, to seek counseling in the wake of being downsized. If you sustained an injury to your back, you would have no qualms about getting physical therapy. Why shouldn't you seek the appropriate remedy when your world is turned upside down? Many of us still attach a stigma to psychotherapy—wrongly so.

6. Accentuate the positive. Is it possible that one of the worst things that could happen to you might turn out to be the best? Take a look at Harvey Mackay's We Got Fired!: ... And It's the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Us (Ballantine Books, 2004). Michael Bloomberg, Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King, Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus, Lee Iacocca, and Robert Redford are just a few of the wildly successful people who explain how losing a job led to something much better.

(Read the complete articles on BusinessWeek's website: Part 1 and Part 2)

Of course, following such a plan is easier said than done when your way of life is at stake. As the Job Doc pointed out in a recent column, it is hard for some to move on when they lose their jobs.

Many Boston.com readers chimed in on a discussion thread on the topic of being 'wronged on the job', and it is clear that, even many years after being slighted, many still hold ill feelings toward their former employers.

How would you deal with a layoff? Have you been through this before? What steps have you taken to prepare for the worst?

Share your thoughts in the discussion forum.

It probably makes it hard to even think about leaving a job you're not happy with.

Do you feel stuck? Are you burned out at your job but terrified of hopping into a job market that is as miserable as you are?

Well, maybe the solution starts at home, so to say. Or, as Stephen Stills sang: "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with."

That's the general theme of an article by Liz Wolgemuth in "The Inside Job" blog on the U.S. News & World Report website. She offers "10 great things you can do right now to improve your job." Among my favorites:

1. Make some friends. "Life is hard and then you die." My mother has been saying this to me since I can remember (she pulls no punches). Well, work is also hard. But you have to do it if you want to pay your mortgage and your cable bill and avoid scavenging for Christmas presents. That being the case, why not just make some friends where you do it? Try making a joke. Ask someone about their weekend. If you say something stupid, at least you'll get some notice, which is better than being "the guy who works down the hall beside the copier."

...

6. Stop eating at your desk. It makes you look like a slave. It makes you look like you have no boundaries. I do it all the time, but I don't agree with it. If I were wiser, I would take my packed lunch to the lovely courtyard across the street, or to the indoor tables in a neighboring building. I would get a break, and then I'd come back with a clearer mind. I'll do it tomorrow.

7. Enjoy your commute. Read the news if you like. Bring a book if that's what you'd prefer. Listen to a George Winston album. Find a little pleasure on your way to work every morning.

(Click this link to check out all 10 of the tips.)

OK, so I'm writing this post while breaking rule No. 6, but still...

Anyway, I've seen people who are miserable in their jobs and seem like they honestly don't even want to like them. Sometimes taking a fresh approach to your tired routine can do wonders.

What about you? Have you ever felt your job was stagnating and tried to do something about it -- short of looking for a new job?

Were you able to take a fresh approach by changing how you act, think, or perform your daily routines? What worked, and what didn't? Share your thoughts in our discussion forum.

This is one of the things we wanted to know when we solicited résumés from Boston.com readers and sent a select few to hiring managers, HR experts, and recruiters across greater Boston.

Some of the things we learned: First impressions are key, however you will probably make different first impressions on different hiring managers. And is there really a perfect résumé? Well, it depends -- there are definitely some basic things most employers like to see, such as clear, concise, specific accomplishments in bullet-point format. But on the whole, there seemed to be enough divergance in opinion on any number of résumé features to dispel the notion of a perfect résumé.

Take the following feedback on one job seeker's résumé as an example:

10. Overall, how does the résumé flow from section to section?

Tom Egan of Veritude: For better flow from section to section, I would definitely change the order of the candidate's credentials presenting her summary of qualifications first, followed by her knowledge base (technical skills). I would then immediately follow that with her professional experience and move her education, specialized certifications, and specialized training to the end of the résumé .

Randy Stevens of RL Stevens and Associates, Inc.: The résumé leaves a reader begging for answers to what makes THIS candidate different or special from all others. There are too many thick and long paragraphs, and it makes the reader skim through it.

Radhika Rana of the Professional Staffing Group (PSG): The flow of the résumé from section to section is smooth and very easy to read. It's not a jumpy résumé, so there's no hopping around from page to page. It's a smooth read all the way through the end.

Check out the rest of the "Rate my résumé" feature. It's a meaty piece, and will take a while to go through all six résumé critiques, but it contains a lot of insight into how hiring managers view résumés, what their most common pet peeves are, and how getting called in for a job interview can really just depend on the type of person your résumé first encounters.

People are looking for green sources of power for their homes, wind turbines are in demand like never before, car manufacturers can't roll out hybrids fast enough, and now supermarkets are doing all they can to cut down their carbon footprint.

The knowledge that comes to light every day of ways to green up our lives has also reached the workplace. Maybe there is more of an awareness on recycling paper, or maybe your office building is turning out more lights at night to conserve energy.

Even the most standard of office appliances is not immune. Yes, there are ways to make your office printer more environmentally friendly.

TallyGenicom, a provider of business-class printers, offers the following five tips to help companies green their printing operations:

Remanufactured cartridges – Purchasing remanufactured print cartridges not only saves an organization almost 40 percent off of OEM pricing, but it also reduces the number of non-biodegradable plastic print cartridges heading to landfills. Remanufactured cartridges go through vigorous inspection, disassembly, cleaning and refilling to ensure high-quality products that are just as good as new cartridges.

Paper stock recycling – Recycling and purchasing recycled paper products for your company's printing needs can have a dramatic impact on the environment. According to recent figures, one ton of paper from recycled pulp saves 17 trees, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 7,000 gallons of water, 4,200 kilowatt hours, 390 gallons of oil, and eliminates 60 pounds of air pollutants.

Duplexing – According to the Clean Air Council, U.S. businesses use approximately 21 million tons of paper every year, which is equivalent to approximately 175 pounds of paper for each American. Duplexing, or double-sided printing, could effectively slash paper waste in nearly half.

Pre-printed forms – Historically, every time an organization changed its telephone number, company logo or office address, several reams of pre-printed stationary would become obsolete instantly and then thrown away. Electronic forms allow businesses to eliminate significant costs associated with the development, purchase and storage of expensive pre-printed and multi-part forms. Technology is currently available that allows data associated with general use forms to be pre-loaded electronically into a laser printer and automatically merged with existing print data streams to help eliminate paper waste.

Printer fleet optimization – The historical move over the last 10 to 15 years toward multifunction machines and away from departmental printing has brought with it a high level of inefficiency – using a laser printer to print shipping labels, for example, is akin to using a shotgun to kill a termite. Companies need to reassess individual printing needs for the front-office, back-office, warehouse and logistics, and partner with a trusted printer provider to deploy tools specifically designed for the particular job, location or business process. This means, for example, using specialized thermal printers with lower power requirements than laser printers for shipping label printing.

Has your office stepped up its efforts to be more environmentally friendly? Is telecommuting more acceptable now? Do you recycle a lot more paper? Turn out more lights in rooms that aren't in use?

What steps has your company taken to be more green? Share your thoughts in our discussion forum.

I've worked in some places where a baseball cap, jeans, and sandals were not only accepted, but expected. I've also worked in offices where you stood out like a sore thumb if you didn't have a tie on.

You never really know what the allowable attire is until you have a few days in the office. Now, for pretty much every job, going to a job interview in anything less than your Sunday best is not advised... you want to suit up for that first impression. You should always dress much better for the interview than you would if you're working there day to day.

But what about after the interview, after you get that job, when you are given your cubicle or workspace and want to blend in with the rest of your co-workers? I've found it's probably best to overdress the first week and then slide into the status quo once you get a better feel for the style of the office.

Because in almost every office there are rules. Most of the time they're unspoken, but you know they exist. For example, most jobs probably don't have to say that it's inappropriate to come to work dressed only in a smock (see video at right). It's just one of those things that don't have to be said.

However, many other times the rules are a lot more murky, and you may not know you've made a workplace fashion faux-pas until it's too late. Shorts in the summer? Come on, man, this is a respectable accounting firm! A sweater vest? Geez, Louise, how can you paint in that thing? An orange pant-suit? Betty, we own a cranberry bog, not an orange juice press!

So, what is the dress code -- spoken or unspoken -- at your job? What do most people wear to work? What would be considered "crossing the line?" Do you have any examples of someone who made a horrible wardrobe mistake at your job?

Share your workplace wardrobe do's and don'ts in our discussion forum.

A recent study done for staffing firm Robert Half International Inc. and CareerBuilder.com shows that both job seekers and employers are getting no satisfaction in the current hiring climate, the Associated Press reports. Job seekers can't find jobs. Employers can't find qualified candidates. They both rate the current job market around a 3.5 out of 5 in terms of difficulty, according to the survey.

It's not bad for everyone, however. The report shows that there is a dearth of qualified candidates in the technology and accounting fields, giving the few qualified workers in those industries a huge advantage in negotiating pay raises, benefits, and all the other perks that come with being a sought-after employee. From the AP story:

The survey, called The Employment Dynamics and Growth Expectations Report, found 59 percent of hiring managers cite a shortage of qualified workers as their biggest recruiting challenge. At least a quarter of the applicants who contact them are not qualified, six out of 10 employers told surveyors, while 31 percent said more than half are not qualified.

....

If they find qualified workers, 65 percent of hiring managers said they are willing to negotiate salary, while 19 percent are very willing. On the employee side, 63 percent of those surveyed said they were more likely to try to negotiate a better compensation package with a new employer than they were last year, compared with 58 percent last year.

And it's not just salary that's important. Nearly three-quarters of employees surveyed said the availability of flexible schedules may cause them to choose one job over another, the survey said.

Flexible schedules were also on the top of the list of measures employers are willing to take to retain employees, along with funding for additional training, increasing salaries and offering telecommuting options.

So it's not all bad out there for skilled workers. But what if you're not one of the lucky few 'qualified' workers that companies fall all over themselves to hire? How does the current job market affect your thinking about your work situation?

A survey earlier this year from staffing firm Randstad claims to show that during a bad economy, employees become more grateful for their jobs. According to the company's World of Work survey (pdf), when employees become nervous about the ecomony, that actually become happier with their jobs.

Now, whether they become more satisfied, or just less likely to let their frustrations out, I guess we can't know for sure. But it stands to reason that when the job market is tight, dissatisfied employees are less likely to voluntarily leave their jobs. And if they are less likely to leave, they are probably more likely to convince themselves that their situation isn't as bad as it could be.

Can't get no satisfaction? Well, then, try working in a faltering economy. It cures all your ills!

How about you? Does a bad economy make you happier with your job? Are you browsing for new jobs less than you used to? How has the economy changed your outlook on your career?

Share your thoughts in our discussion forum.

In the piece, van der Pool cites a study that shows 37 percent of Americans have been bullied at work, and 72 percent of those bullies are bosses. The survey also showed women are more likely to be bullied.

One example van der Pool gives of "bullying" treatment involved a boss who would call employees at home and tell them what a bad job they were doing at work.

So, have you ever experienced an overly aggressive management style, or felt you were bullied at work?

Share your workplace bullying stories in our discussion thread.

However, some people just sign up with a recruiter and don't do anything else – they just wait for the phone call with the magical job offer on the other end of the line. When it doesn't happen, they get frustrated.

Is just handing over your resume to a recruiter and expecting a job offer realistic? Probably not. Unless your resume is the king of all resumes, you will likely have to work to set yourself apart and give a recruiter something to work with. That's where managing the relationship comes in.

Tom Egan of staffing firm Veritude offers tips for getting the most out of a recruiter. And guess what? It takes work. Just sitting on the couch and waiting for a call is not going to cut it. Here are some of Mr. Egan's suggestions:

Make an effort to build a rapport with your recruiter

Developing a professional relationship with a recruiter provides you with an opportunity to promote yourself above and beyond what can be communicated through a resume. After your initial phone screening, ask if there is a good time to come into the office and meet the recruiter in person. Face-to-face interaction will allow you to expound upon your relevant experience/qualifications and allow your personal brand to shine through - making it easier for the recruiter to identify the right personality or culture fit for you, and to "sell" you to a potential employer.

Don't expect the recruiter to do everything for you

Doing your own due diligence pays off. Research the industry, the company, and the requirements/expectations of the position itself prior to meeting the hiring manager. While you won't land every job you interview for, if recruiters receive positive feedback from hiring managers regarding your preparation for and performance during an interview, they will continue to dedicate time and effort to helping you find that perfect position.

For the full list of tips, click here.

Have you ever used a recruiter/staffing agency to find a job? Are there any tips for using a staffing agency that worked – or didn't work – for you? Share your thoughts in our discussion thread.

PayScale.com, a Seattle company that compiles salary data, has a new report that breaks down the earning potential for a variety of undergraduate degrees and colleges across the country.

The report looked at the median salary for "Starting Employees" (Defined as full-time workers with 5.5 years or less) and "Mid-Career Employees" (Full-time workers with 10 or more years experience).

The degrees that offer the highest median salaries are not surprising: They're mostly related to engineering, science, and other technical pursuits. Here are the top 10 "degrees that pay you back," ranked by the mid-career median salaries:

Undergraduate Major	Starting Median Salary	Mid-Career Median Salary
1) Chemical Engineering	$63,200	$107,000
2) Computer Engineering	$61,400	$105,000
3) Electrical Engineering	$60,900	$103,000
4) Aerospace Engineering	$57,700	$101,000
5) Economics	$50,100	$98,600
6) Physics	$50,300	$97,300
7) Computer Science	$55,900	$95,500
8) Industrial Engineering	$57,700	$94,700
9) Mechanical Engineering	$57,900	$93,600
10) Math	$45,400	$92,400

Some other rankings I found interesting: Philosophy ranked 17th (Starting: $39,900; Mid-career: $81,200), IT ranked 24th (Starting: $49,100; Mid-career: $74,800), Film ranked 29th (Starting: $37,900; Mid-career: $68,500), and Jounalism ranked 31st (Starting: $35,600; Mid-career: $66,700).

As for what schools have graduates making the most money mid-career, Dartmough College in Hanover, N.H., topped all US schools with a mid-career median salary of $134,000 for undergrads.

Other interesting tidbits from the report: Harvard graduates were shown to frequently enter non-profit positions, major state universities provide high value with median salaries of graduates in the top 5 in their states, and small liberal arts colleges provided graduates with median salaries competitive with major private research schools.

But back to the original point of this post: If you are racking up college debt and want to pay it off as quickly as possible once you enter the workforce, what colleges offer your best bet? We used the PayScale.com report to compile a list of top 10 New England schools that offer the highest median salary for "Starting Employees." Check it out here.

Are you worried about paying off your student loans once you graduate and enter the workforce? Are you currently using a strategy to tackle your student debt? Share your thoughts in our forums.

Another "no-no" dealt with that pesky "reply all" button:

"My favorite was once seeing a group e-mail with about 60 e-mails talking about how the group needs to have less replies, less 'thanks' and 'great,'" says Anna Post, an author and etiquette expert at the Emily Post Institute.

The e-mail continued "with tons of replies of 'thanks' and 'great.' 'You're right.' I was laughing so hard," she says.

This is especially irksome to Peter Martin, an associate editor at Esquire magazine.

"I hate when people reply all, especially when they don't know everyone on the e-mail list," he says. "You're not that funny. This is the more aggressive version of writing 'hilarious' RSVPs for E-vites."

Post advises to never reply all — unless of course it's really needed.

"If you're adding something substantial to the conversation, then a reply all is worth it or if you need to confirm the information to everyone. Cool, neat-o, thanks — those are not necessary," Post says. "Invariably, it's someone who writes something they shouldn't who hits reply all and that's a whole other mess."

That "mess" happened in one Maryland office when a co-worker hit reply all and made a racial slur and sexual comments. She was moved to another position.

Ouch.

Well, at least that Maryland office worker is not alone in placing her digital foot in her digital mouth. Everyone seems to have a story of accidentally "cc-ing" the wrong person in an office e-mail, or sending a "reply all" message that was intended solely for the person who sent the original message.

Do you have any office e-mail pet peeves or horror stories?

Share your favorite office e-mail mishaps in our forum.

Also vote in our survey on the most annoying e-mail behavior.

Finally, check out our past gallery on Boston.com readers sharing their office place pet peeves.