Here’s the difference.

When you only wonder: “Where are the jobs?” you’re focused on staying merely employed.

But when focused on discovering new ways to apply your talents and interests to the megatrends shaping the world, that’s thinking about staying employable for the future.

Doing the latter will keep you relevant which means you’re less likely to be in that constant state of asking: “Where’s my next job?”

Yes, this takes time and research. And yes, the work world will keep changing–probably mostly due to technology. But it will lead to enlightening discovery that then leads you to, well, a way to stay employable the rest of your career.

It’s a matter of looking at trends and asking questions that focus on what work will be needed as a result of those trends.

In an article in The Futurist, managing editor Cynthia Wagner talks about three approaches to help do that. They include “retrofitting.”

This is when you add new skills to an existing job or incorporate new trends and social changes into a current job.

An example might be the successful plumber referenced in a recent New York Times Magazine article on the new economic rules. Such a plumber “who has mastered all the new water-flow sensor technology and pipe-fitting innovations…can make more than $100,000 a year, while other plumbers who just know the basics, could make less than $20,000.”

To examine how to “retrofit” your career, ask yourself:

• How do technological trends and social changes apply to my career?
• What new skills and knowledge can I add to my line of work to support those?
• Can Iincorporate new trends into my current work, and if so, how?

Wagner also points to “blending careers.”

This is when you make a connection among two or more separate areas. You can do this by combining skills or functions from different jobs or industries to create new specialties.

As one example, she cites the blending of work in human and environmental health. This has resulted in the emerging field of environmental health nursing, where professionals treat patients exposed to toxins.

A broader look at this field includes occupational and environmental health nursing, a specialty that has evolvedinto “a health care industry that includes health promotion, case management, environmental health, counseling, legal and regulatory compliance and detection of workplace hazards,” says Pat McKay, occupational health nurse.

One of my clients with 15 years sales experience and a personal interest in Crohn’s disease is another example. He had developed exceptional skills as a persuasive communicator and excellentpresenter. He blended these skills with his interest and became a medical educator specializing in Crohn’s disease.

Ask yourself: What skills, interests and talents do I have that I can blend into a new specialty and fit a growing need?

The third approach is good old problem solving by looking at problems people will face and coming up with new roles and functions to help solve them.

Take the problems the communications age has brought including privacy and security. As a result, one growing area is digital footprint management.

As issues such as privacy, terrorism and overall rage in society become more prominent, new problems around security in cyberspace, immigration, security preparedness and food safety will evolve.

Ask yourself: As trends develop and new problems arise as a result, what services will be needed to support customers and businesses? Which ones interest me?

Start asking these questions sooner than later—and often.

How could what happened to them happen to you? Your downfall may not make headlines. But your lack of good communication skills could stall your career or land you out on the street.

No matter your job title, it’s the skill that allows you to work well with co-workers and clients. To lead and inspire others to get things done. Whether you work for yourself or someone else, “good communication skills” is in every job description.

So how are yours? Hint: Just because you can talk doesn’t mean you communicate well.

“Most people feel they have above-average communication skills and average presentation skills,” says Kurt W. Mortensen, author of “The Laws of Charisma.”

The reality is most people are lucky to have average communication skills and below-average presentation skills, he says.

What did in Charlie Sheen? His public meltdown.

He “lost control and went on a rampage not once, twice, but for a significant portion of 2011,” say Ben and Kelly Decker in the Decker Communications list of the 10 worst communicators in 2011.

Sheen, #3 on the list, is a “painfully clear example of how erratic communication can destroy a reputation, and perhaps a career.”

Rupert and James Murdoch, #4, communicated elusively and “went on the defensive in the wake of their cell phone hacking scandal” associated with their News Corporation companies.

When Hewlett Packard cited reasons for firing CEO Apotheker, #9, they said, “Communications were horrible.”

Known for “not communicating a clear vision for HP” and “not getting the consensus and buy-in of his executive board,” he also failed to communicate clearly with staff and customers, say the Deckers.

On their top ten best communicators in 2011 we have Steve Jobs, whom they describe as the “rare one who creates and develops vision, communicates it clearly and colorfully and then leads to completion.” He also didn’t rely on PowerPoint to make his point, speaking from the heart, “well-rehearsed, but real—authentic, and always with a message.”

There’s Lady Gaga, who although she “projects a character that’s pretty out there,” when she speaks, she’s articulate, poised, confident and sincere and personifies originality. She can “own a stage” with her “goosebump-inducing cadence when delivering a speech.”

They also like Christine Legarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, named one of the most powerful people by Forbes. She speaks with clarity andcandidness, knows the facts yet summarizes key points, is knowledgeable, measured and speaks with firmness and grace.

When it comes to your own fine-tuning, take a look at one maddening communication habit you probably do without even knowing: the usage of vocal fillers.

These are “Um”,  “uh,” “ya know” and the one that makes me so crazy I write about it every

year–“like” or “I’m like.”

They “can destroy your presentation, annoy people, hurt your credibility and make listeners tense,” says author Mortensen.

Such non-words are worse than sloppy, says Ben Decker. “They are lazy and distracting.”

Often used because people don’t want silence, they “let comfort be their guide when it comes to communications,” he says, heading straight for the “Ums,” “uhs” and “likes.”

To improve, record yourself and ask others to count how many repetitive, irritating non-words you say per minute. But most of all, replace non-words with pauses.

As you’re about to say, “And I’m like,” just stop.

“Then go on. Miracles will happen over time,” he says.

And I could finally stop writing about it. Until then, that’s your assignment for 2012.

Before you craft a single sentence, here’s the one and only guideline you will need to ask to know whether to keep or leave something off your resume:

Does this information position me the way I want to be seen?

If the information isn’t relevant, doesn’t support your new career objective or help build a case for how you want an employer to see you, leave it off.

Yes, that means you may not list every job you’ve had. It could even mean leaving off the first 10 years of your work life.

But what if, under no circumstances, do you want to leave gaps? Here are a few solutions.

First, in a broad summary statement early on, reference the fact that you have 10 years, for example, in public relations.

When it comes to listing experience, write a phrase that explains what you were doing from 1995 to 2002 that plays it down: “Prior positions include…” then list those jobs.

Or, let’s say you’re making a change from database analyst to sales, and while in transition you’ve had several jobs unrelated to either role. Try this sentence: “Other positions include temporary administrative jobs.”

For whatever reason, it might be important to show that you worked during a period, but the details aren’t relevant to what you want to do next. So again, de-emphasize it, listing the jobs without going into detail.

Keep this goal fixed in your mind as you’re writing the other sections of your resume: To help the reader understand your potential to be successful in this new career. Show the reader you not only have past experience, but also relevant, transferrable skills, newly acquired knowledge–if you gotten more education–and the passion that qualifies you for this new career.

Be sure to:

• Make a point to state your transferable skills so the reader can make the leap.

• Include relevant volunteer experience that enhances your credentials and demonstrates your interest.

• List relevant achievements from your past that illustrate how you made a difference and can do so in this new career.

For example, one of my clients was a nurse who wanted to show that she had skills, knowledge and hands-on experience in communications, the area she wanted to work in. So she included this achievement:

“Assisted in development of a documentary film that was viewed by 9 million students and contributed to a significant reduction in traumatic injuries.”

This client with a nonprofit background, wanted to show his strategic-marketing and planning skills. He listed this achievement:

“Developed and implemented a communications strategy that resulted in the passage of a $90-million tax levy.”

This person—who had been in highly technical roles–wanted to be a trainer. She used this achievement on her new resume:

“Trained team of designers on Macintosh operating procedures that significantly enhanced graphic presentations.”

Be careful not to cross the line between persuasive marketing and lying. Lying would be misrepresenting number of years you’ve done something, exaggerating or taking credit for something you didn’t do.

When writing any kind of resume—career changer or not—I don’t believe I a lot of rules. Except one: Never lie.

But when it comes to creating the best marketing document to help potential employers see you’ve got what it takes to be successful in this new career, the rule is: Don’t tell all, do tell what’s relevant.

But good—and maybe surprising–news: Some older workers are pleased as punch with their younger superiors, even giddyabout their mutual admiration and respect for each others’ differences. And visa versa.

This younger boss/older worker phenomena is gaining steam as older employees work longer. A 2011 Pitney Bowes survey says 20 percent of midlevel corporate employees report to a younger boss. A 2010 Career Builder survey showed that four out of ten workers over 35 work for a younger boss.

If you’re in one of these potentially cantankerous relationships, perhaps a look at how some of them work so well will help.

Steven Lowell, 38, community manager for Voice 123, told me if I was looking for people who hate their younger bosses, don’t talk to him.

His boss, Leo Lopez, 27, used to report to him, which could make things even weirder. But it’s not.

The switch happened when the company was going through a change and Lowell told him “I want you to take my job.”

“It was a dare of sorts to motivate. Maybe I was surprised at how much he rose to the challenge to leap from my position completely and become my boss,” says Lowell.

But he quickly learned of Lopez’s skill and says their relationship works because they have no problem being completely honest with each other and “we do not take things personally.”

Since he’s in New York and Lopez is based in Bogotá, Colombia, they speak a lot on Skype and visit each other. The age difference becomes apparent to Lowell when the younger Lopez presents ideas and “I realize that I am getting older and may not be on the pulse of what many consider mainstream.”

On the other hand, Lowell’s longer “life experience allows for me to let him know ‘why people do what they do.’”

Kathleen Berzon, 43 and director of public relations at The Fresh Diet in Miama, reports to CEO Zalmi Duchman, age 31.

“We both have things to learn from one another,” says Berzon.

“He is more willing to take risks in business. It’s refreshing and should not be mistaken as naivety.”

Differences show up in communication style. He typically communicates via email only. “I’m still inclined to not only email but pick up the phone as well. I had to grow accustomed to his ‘text style’ format of emails.”

“Ours is a mutual respect that is not based on how many more Presidents I’ve witnessed in the White House.”

Sue, 53, works for an 18-year old boss at a marketing company. “I assumed he knew what he was doing or the company would not have made him a manager,” she says.

“He trained me and did a great job explaining, then tactfully pointing out ways I could improve. I’ve worked with a lot of different types of managers and very few take that time to actually say ‘thank you’ at the end of the work day or compliment you at all. He does both, and in this respect, he is one of the best supervisors I’ve worked with.”

She observes that when it comes to younger bosses, “young people often have an energy, enthusiasm and drive to prove themselves that makes up for any lack of experience.”

Regardless of age, when it comes to the relationship between manager and employee, the old fashioned concept of appreciation for the other person still works like magic.

As one man who has spent much of his career researching this four-letter phenomena says, luck has the power “to transform the improbable into the possible” and to make the difference between “reward and ruin, happiness and despair.”

According to psychologist Richard Wiseman and his research, lucky people create, notice and act on chance opportunities and transform bad luck into good fortune. Heaven knows, this can come in handy in one’s career.

How does this work? Lucky people, says the author of The Luck Factor: Changing Your Luck, Changing Your Life, tend to be calmer and more relaxed than most and therefore are open to what’s around them and more likely to notice chance opportunities.

And because they are more relaxed, when lucky people meet others, they’re tuned into opportunities.

“Lucky people see what is there, rather than trying to find what they want to see” and as a result, are “more receptive to any opportunities that arise naturally,” he says.

Lucky people also build and maintain a strong “network of luck,” he says. They tend to be more extroverted, which “significantly increases the likelihood of having a chance encounter in three ways—meeting a large number of people, being a ‘social magnet,’ and keeping in contact with people.”

And of course, the more people you meet, the greater chances you have of running into someone who can have a positive effect on your career.

Lucky people are also open to new experiences, says Wiseman. They like variety and trying new things. This greater openness can lead to more chance opportunities.

Lucky people expect the best for the future which helps them fulfill their ambitions. If something bad happens, lucky people see it as short-lived and don’t dwell on it. They are convinced that any ill fortune will work out for the best in the long-run.

Unlucky people are convinced any good luck they have will only last for a short time, to be “quickly followed by their regular dose of bad luck.”

Typically they also don’t speak about “trying to discover why they had not been successful in the past” with a reluctance to learn from their mistakes.

But lucky people treat their failures as a chance to learn and then focus on exploring other ways of solving a problem.

Lucky people expect their interactions with others to be lucky and successful. Unlucky folks “believe that they are destined to meet people who are far more downbeat, sad and boring.”

These expectations of course, then affect how others respond to you. “Throughout the business world, expectations have the power to become self-fulfilling prophecies,” says Wiseman.

It is not just dumb luck to be lucky. It’s a way of thinking. If you’re not feeling so lucky, one technique he suggests to help change your thinking is the use of a luck diary.

At the end of every day, you write down the positive and lucky things that happened.

That builds up and what you’re doing “is adding on, each day,” he explains in a Fast Company article. So you “look back and it’s five days’ worth of positive events and now it’s day six. After doing that for a month, it’s difficult not to be thinking about the good things that are happening.”

With any luck, that can’t help but rub off on you and your career.