Is it the economy? Time to attain job skills for life.

Our downward spiraling economy and the increasing number of failing businesses got me thinking about people who are out of work or facing potential layoffs. I've been in that position once or twice in my life, so I understand how overwhelming it can feel to have to drag out the resume yet again and go through interviews. One of the qualities Microsoft values in employees is the ability to deal with this sort of ambiguity - to adapt, to change, to do something you may never have done before. It's the nature of our business - you experiment, you learn, you start something new. Repeat.

Which brings me back to all the people out there who may be in the process of reinventing themselves. It seems computers are ubiquitous in many jobs these days. I'm curious about a few things.

• How many of you have enhanced your resume to claim computer skills you had to learn on the fly after you got the job? 
• What Office programs do you use the most and what tricks have you learned that make you more efficient?
• Would it help to have a cheat sheet, for example, of the top 10 Excel skills you should know for almost any office job?
• What are the most useful tips you've picked up in your job? (Anything counts -from using the sort feature in Excel to formatting a document.)
• Did you learn on your own, or did someone you work with show you a special shortcut or trick that has made things easier for you?

I bring up Excel because, much to my surprise, this is the Office program I have used most often in all of the jobs I've held here at Microsoft. Prior to working here, I would have guessed Word would be the number one program, but truth is, I rarely use it. PowerPoint is probably number two, although Outlook dominates my life since our corporate culture is very email centric.

Our site is full of great information, even podcasts and training courses, but it's sometimes overwhelming to people who just want to learn one or two key skills that would give them a leg up on the competition.

• Besides just downloading a template and updating your resume, where do you feel you could use some help polishing those skills that will help you move on and move up to the next best thing?

We can't teach you how to cope with the stress of losing a job, but we can help you feel more confident about your Office skills. And confidence is priceless.

We look forward to reading your comments.

-- Nancy