In the heat of the moment, it’s hard to say the right thing to a co-worker from hell. These scripts might help you prepare.

*The Hothead/The Tactless. "Are you open to considering a suggestion?" If s/he says yes, continue, "When possible, when you’re angry at me, instead of saying it right then, might you write it down, and a day later, if you’re still mad, then tell me about it? By then, it will have less steam so I’ll be better able to hear you without getting defensive."

*The Closed-Minded. "You usually disagree with my suggestions. Honestly, would you rather I stopped offering them or do you have any advice on how I might make them more acceptable?"

*The Hypercritical. "You give me many good suggestions. I’m just finding myself a little beaten down, sometimes overwhelmed by them all. Any thoughts as to what we might do?"

*The Complainer. "I know there are problems. (/Insert what The Complainer usually complains about: customers, the workload, other co-workers, the bad product, race, gender, poor economic conditions, whatever.) / But I stay more motivated if I focus on the positive. So, you’d be doing me a big favor if you would raise your concerns to someone who can better handle them or who maybe can even do something about them. Might that be possible?"

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In today's era of relentless corporate downsizing and state hiring freezes, it's easy to think no one is hiring. Well, one entity certainly is: the federal government. According to Kathryn Troutman, author of Ten Steps to a Federal Job, in the next two years alone, the federal government is expected to hire more than 250,000 people!

I can already hear your doubts:

"But aren't most of those jobs in homeland security? I just can't see myself in law enforcement." Troutman says federal hiring is extending far beyond Homeland Security, especially in information technology, administration, middle management, and human resources. Also, the feds are expected to hire hundreds of experts in Asian, Middle Eastern, and other languages.

But I don't want to be a bureaucratic pencil pusher. Yes, some federal jobs are like that...

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Something just happened to me that, unfortunately, has happened to many of this section’s readers: I was fired. The San Francisco Chronicle’s advertising department has decided to replace my column with nationally syndicated material.

So, I thought I’d end by giving you my Top-Six List: my six all-time favorite pieces of career advice.

#6. Don’t focus on finding a so-called dream career. Focus on getting your career non-negotiables met. It’s extraordinarily competitive to land a well-paying job in most so-called dream careers: for example, law, investment banking, acting, art, sports, nonprofit work, fashion, or TV. And once in, dream careers so often turn out to be disappointing. Because so many people want to be in those careers, bosses can demand absurd work hours, be unkind, etc...

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If a job candidate is far enough in the interview process that the human resources professional is ready to ask for references, the candidate is close to being offered the job. For that reason, the references are crucial and have a significant impact on the final hiring decision. Any company that is going to hire you should ask for references, so be ready to give them at least three solid ones.

Choose references who will portray you favorably. When asking people to serve as a reference, choose people who are unquestionably ready to offer a glowing report. If you won't be using them immediately, you should chose people that you would naturally keep in contact with as you move along in your professional life.

You want people who have known you...

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