Earlier this year, it was widely reported that less than half of all employees in the U.S. are satisfied with their jobs. In fact, job satisfaction has hit a 22-year low.

Certainly the recession and subsequent layoffs have increased everyone’s anxiety about keeping their jobs. When layoffs occur, morale typically takes a dive. Even for those who have kept their jobs, growth and accomplishment have been hard to come by, as have bonuses and increases.

I don’t know if your mother ever told you to watch your language, but it’s good advice for us all.

The words that come out of our mouths reflect our worldview, past, present and future. We should choose them carefully.

When I listen to salespeople tell me about what they would like to accomplish, I hear the many different ways that people express their hopes and desires for the future.

Some people are "kinda" "sorta" "thinking about" one possibility or another. Their language reflects ambiguity and lack of commitment. How likely is their desired outcome? Not very. They don’t even seem sure that they really want it anyway.

Many companies today use some sort of personality test or skills assessment for prospective employees. For employers, they can be a useful source of information that provides additional information about a candidate’s fit with the organization.

Few prospective employees enjoy such assessments, however. Sometimes candidates feel as though their entire career is being reduced to a pop quiz. There are a few who detest such assessments so much that they would prefer to refuse to complete such surveys. That would be a mistake, since it would likely rule them out of contention entirely.

Organizations use such survey assessments differently. In some organizations, the results of assessments are open to broader interpretation.

Recently, my daughter and I drove by a BMW dealership.

“What does BMW stand for?” she asked.

“Bayerische Motoren Werke,” I told her (or something close to that). “It’s German.”

“If I worked for them, I would make a sign that said ‘Love Your Ride.'” She fanned her hand in front of her, visualizing it.

“That’s very good. Maybe someday you’ll be in marketing. That’s the kind of thing they do in marketing.”

“No!” She bounced upright in her seat. “I want to sell stuff!”

“Why?” I asked, bemused at her reaction.

“Because it’s fun,” she said.

Having a professional LinkedIn profile is a must if you are seeking a job in medical device sales. You can simultaneously promote your current business and open yourself to new opportunities.

If you want to be found by an enterprising recruiter who may have a great job opportunity for you, you need to make yourself easy to be found. Here are a few ways to do it:

According to the Food & Drug Administration, a medical device is "an instrument, apparatus, implement, machine, contrivance, implant, in vitro reagent, or other similar or related article, including a component part, or accessory which is:

Recruiters sometimes get a bad rap, kind of like salespeople.

We are really here to do our job, just like anyone else. As in any profession, there are good apples and, unfortunately, some who are not.

I do my fair share of cold-calling when I am working on a new position. Many people I contact are open to conversation, others not as much. Breaking through the suspicion of recruiters is important to a worthwhile exchange. When a recruiter calls, keep in mind that your willingness to listen to new opportunities for a few minutes could lead to great things.

I had a blast on #jobhuntchat. It takes place every Monday night on Twitter at 10 EST/9 CST/8 MTN /7 PST. Rich @cornonthejob moderates the questions from job seekers, which are answered in a live Twitter stream. You can tap into this by searching #jobhuntchat.

The topic was Passion & Work. Some of the tweets ended up sounding like bad dating advice, including my own. There are some very knowledgeable folks who join in weekly to share their perspectives. If you have a question, you can @ message @cornonthejob before #jobhuntchat starts. Your question may be chosen for the evening’s discussion.

For other great Twitter phenomena, check out:

Recently, I heard about a top rep who won a multi-six-figure deal … three months after a purchase order had been awarded to the competition. Pretty amazing. Now is that a great salesperson, or what?

In a similar vein, I interviewed a candidate recently who stole a deal after the competitor’s product had already been purchased and shipped. Since the candidate was “late to the dance,” he annoyed the OR supervisor by asking for a trial of his product. He stayed persistent and got the support of the surgeons, and was able to trial his product for a week. The competitive rep caught wind of what was going on, and in the candidate’s words, the trial became a “slugfest” (fortunately, not literally).