DEAR JOYCE: My boss's eyes were watery when he had to lay off 10 guys, including me, earlier this year. After six hard months of looking for a decent job that wouldn't force me to relocate at age 61, I remembered a tip you once suggested to job hunters whose health insurance was covered by their spouse's policy.

You said to leverage that fact by telling the employer that you wouldn't need health benefits and why. Although I'm a widower, the health care point gave me an inspiration. I changed the opening portion of my resume, adding a bullet to my profile that says:

"Benefits bargain: VA health system -- served in U.S. Marine Corps. Plus robust health."

Today I was hired for a white-collar job at a wonderful small company within easy commuting distance of my home. The company's owner, who interviewed me, volunteered that in addition to my related work history, carrying my own health benefits was one of two reasons I was selected from dozens of qualified applicants. Thanks for a tip that helped me get gainful employment! -- H.H.

Thanks for sharing. As an overhaul of the health care system is debated in Congress, many small businesses are reporting the steepest rise in insurance premiums they've seen in recent years. Dollar figures vary, but according to the New York Times, increases per small-business employee are expected to leap to $5,500 per next year, from $4,800 this year and $4,500 last year.

That's news you can use. Many small employers are fighting for survival in this economy, and anything you can do to save them money while providing excellent performance will be noticed -- and perhaps applauded all the way to a job offer.

Curious about the other reason H.H. was hired? I was, so I called him. "It was the judgment and work ethic represented by my age," he said. "I guess the owner saw me as a contrast to the person who held the position before me -- a young woman he fired for wasting too much time tweeting on the job."

DEAR JOYCE: My grandmother, who emigrated here from the former Soviet Union nearly two decades ago, is very intelligent. At 60, she's finished being a nanny for her family and now wants to get an interesting outside job. But what and where? Grams speaks and writes several languages. Ideas? -- K.C.

With training in health terminology and related patient issues, Grams may have the foundation skills to become a medical interpreter.

Medical interpreters -- who are bilingual or multilingual in any mix of languages -- are paid to make sure that non-English-speaking patients understand what doctors are telling them. And to tell doctors where it hurts. Continued...