By Dan Mitchell, MLM Blog Correspondent

This from Richard Baum, the Seattle Career Coach for The Examiner:

Monday, June 1, was the Bellevue career fair hosted by National Career
Fairs at the Bellevue Red Lion Inn. Several hundred job seekers visited
25 vendor booths looking for the missing link. I was there extolling
the virtues of career coaching and reviewing resume samples brought in
by anxious folks hoping to turn them into jobs.

I have noticed several things at the various recent career fairs I have
attended. First, the composition of the exhibitors has become skewed
not just toward sales, but even more towards MLM. Second, the education
level of attendees is rising as are average ages, as well. Third,
resumes continue to suck. So I am going to camp on these subjects for a
while and explore some causes and some remedies.

Sell, sell, sell!

Sales has long been the
easiest entry into just about any field. Sales positions generally come
with either a very low, or zero, base rate with most compensation
coming in the form of commissions based on sales. Most if not all the
financial risk is carried by the sales person so companies are willing
to take almost anyone, give them some training and send them out into
the world.

A good salesperson can make a nice income, a great
salesperson make a great income and advance to management. The
independence and autonomy of sales appeal to many individuals who chafe
at the restraints of office jobs. Many of the captains of industry
started in sales and used their skills to advance their careers and
guide corporations to global success.

Real estate was once the
job of choice for entrepreneurs looking for a way out of the cube farm.
Many women turned to real estate as a way to equalize the financial
tables, often starting their new career after their children reached
school age. But real estate has booms and busts and some pretty hefty
financial burdens that can break you before you have a chance to get
the sales ball rolling.

Enter Multi Level Marketing, or MLM. MLM
has been billed as the poor person’s way to own their own business
without having to invest an arm and a leg. All you have to do is tell
your friends and family about the miraculous new discovery in health,
fitness, financial services, and watch the money roll in. Especially
when they start telling their friends and you get all those residual
checks from your “downline.” In fact, in no time at all you’ll be
retired while the checks just keep coming.