If you are struggling to find some fresh workplace ideas, here are items from three recently published books that might help:

— Making yourself stand out: In “The 7 Keys to a Dream Job” (iUniverse), author Dilip G. Saraf includes an anecdote from a woman named Carolyn who had experience working in marketing communications, but decided she wanted to shift into interior decorating, even though she had little formal training.

Instead of following the masses and looking for a job at a place such as Home Depot, where some salespeople offer customers decorating advice, she decided to go after a major Madison Avenue designer who was giving a lecture at a nearby university. As the designer concluded her talk, she said that people looking for internships at her new local studio should e-mail her their resumes.

“Carolyn did the reverse: She sent a letter, with intent to serve as an intern, personally addressed to the diva by FedEx, with her marketing communications resume,” Saraf writes. “The hundreds of e-mails remained unopened as the FedEx letter was delivered to the diva herself and she signed for it the next day.”

The decorator was opening a studio in a day or so, and the FedEx item stood out because it came by a different route. She called Carolyn, interviewed her and offered the internship.

My two cents: Often what Carolyn did would backfire because the employer would jump to the conclusion that she couldn’t follow simple directions. If anything, the employer might be angry with her, and I certainly wouldn’t suggest following her strategy if you have a reasonable chance at getting the job (or internship).

But if you’re a candidate like Carolyn whose resume would almost certainly be screened out because you don’t have the background that would catch a resume screener’s attention, sometimes it’s worth taking risks to make yourself stand out.

In most instances, that FedEx approach would be a waste of time and money. But if you’re a longshot, a gamble might be your only chance. In Carolyn’s case, it happened to pay off.

— Rotten work: If you’re feeling sorry for yourself and how miserable your job seems to be, you can always pick up a copy of Justin Racz’s book “50 Jobs Worse Than Yours” (Bloomsbury). It includes several fairly predictable jobs, such as driver’s ed instructor, restaurant bathroom attendant and Afghani travel agent, but others are more intriguing, such as chick sexer, Ratemyvomit.com photo editor and maggot wrangler.

Take the chick sexer — and, no, Racz is not making this job up, crazy as it might sound. Chick sexers earn $400 to $700 a day, plus expenses, according to the book. Racz explains that determining the sex of chicks is far more difficult than it sounds because 15 percent of females have a penis.

“The sign of a good sexer is his or her ability to distinguish the sex of females with penises,” Racz writes. “It requires keen observation, concentration and a steady hand.”

— Words of inspiration: Let’s wrap up with a little motivation. Here are four quotations taken from “The 101 Greatest Business Principles of All Time” (Warner Business Books), edited by Leslie Pockell with Adrienne Avila:

“Teach me and I’ll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I’ll understand” — Chinese proverb.

“The difference between a boss and a leader: A boss says, ‘Go!’ A leader says, ‘Let’s go!’ ” — E.M. Kelly.

“First-rate people hire first-rate people; second-rate people hire third-rate people” — Leo Rosten.

“Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell ’em, ‘Certainly, I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it” — Theodore Roosevelt.
Those first three quotations pretty much explain why so many bosses fail. Good bosses do know how to delegate, certainly, but they also know how to inspire. To do that, you have to surround workers with top people and get them involved with making decisions.

Certainly the boss may have to insist on a decision, but at least explain it. Poor communication can make a logical decision seem inane to your underlings.