Is the Great Recession about to end? This has been the dominant meme at least since June, when my local paper, the Anniston Star, ran a front page story by McClatchy's Kevin Hall with the headline, "Economists: Recession Nearing End as Unemployment Dips."

Sad to say, though, that if such news is the basis for optimism, in June or today, then we are in trouble.

Before I explain why, let's review Hall's article. The July job figures turned out to be much less bad than predicted. Job losses for the month were reported at a mere 247,000, which was about 25 percent less than the figure anticipated by forecasters.

That, coupled with optimistic labor market revisions for May and June, led some economists to declare that happy days may finally, if slowly, be getting here again. In this spirit, the British investment bank, Barclays Capital Research, concluded in a report, "June is likely to have been the last month of the US recession."

Behold the damage the recession has wrought on the consumer economy: Retailers and automakers have gone bankrupt, restaurants have closed, and malls have become ghost towns. Most businesses dependent on consumer spending, from clothing to computers to appliances, have felt the pinch.

But some consumer-product companies have benefited from the recession, usually because they sell the kind of stuff that helps people save money. Other companies have capitalized on timely technology or latched on to powerful trends that defy the recession. To identify some of these recession winners, I analyzed data provided by financial research firm Capital IQ, a unit of Standard & Poor's, to see which consumer-products firms have gained revenue and market share since the recession began near the end of 2007. Then I researched earnings reports and other sources to see which products have fueled each company's growth.

For many of these companies, any increase in revenue over the past two years is a nifty accomplishment, since overall sales of household goods have fallen by more than 30 percent, according to Capital IQ. And sales of supposedly recessionproof "staple" items like food, beverages, and personal products have barely risen. So firms that have significantly outpaced the rest of their industry deserve special attention.

Getting laid off is an embarrassing experience -- and not a particularly fun one to relive again and again during interviews. But the way you handle the topic can make or break an opportunity to restart your career and leave the past behind.

To help perfect your approach, we've compiled the following advice for how you should -- and shouldn't -- handle the discussion.

DO be the first one to address your layoff.

One of the first questions a recruiter is likely to ask is, "Can you tell me about yourself?" Reveal your passions and career motivations first, and then take this as an opportunity to explain your recent layoff. "You'll get credit for bringing it up," says Lewis Lin, founder of Seattle Interview Coach and former hiring manager for Microsoft and Google. "You'll get to frame the layoff and explain it on your own terms, as opposed to letting the recruiter ask about it."

DON'T weave a complex story.

You may still feel wounded from your layoff, but don't be too sensitive and over-explain why you were let go. Weaving a complicated story (like you were laid off during a restructuring even though your boss promised your position would be safe, but instead your colleague was chosen to stay because she had a lower salary requirement -- whew!) will raise red flags that there was some deeper meaning behind your termination. Just say, "There was a restructuring and unfortunately my position was eliminated." Then move on to the next question.