If you've spent time working for your family's business, one career columnist thinks that you may have more relevant job skills to tell employers about than you realize.

Writing in the Everett (Washington) Daily Herald, jobs columnist Eve Nicholas observes that "people from family-based companies usually have a breadth of experience that is extremely valuable in the corporate world."

That said, she acknowledges that, for unknown reasons, such workers can often have a hard time making the jump from the family business to the broader workplace, in part because some employers actually screen out people who worked at family businesses.

Her own opinion is that these job-hunters tend to "sell themselves short" to employers by not putting enough energy and detail, such as keywords, into their resumes - and to revise your resume immediately before sending any of the old ones out.

If you've worked for a family business, you may also find that you're more ideally suited to entrepreneurship. If this is the case, don't let the recession stop you from exploring your options and setting out on your own. After all, a number of successful businesses, including Microsoft, got their own start during economic downturns.