Leaving Behind the Muddy Tracks of 2009—Here Comes 2010

All the hard-learned lessons and trials of 2009 may be caked to your boots, but it’s time to leave the muddy tracks behind you. We’re entering a new year and a new decade. On Sunday, December 20, the Washington Post’s Kiplinger Personal Finance column started off with: “In 2010, look for a sign of prosperity that we haven’t seen in years. It reads ‘Now Hiring.’”

What shape this hopeful turn takes and how many new jobs will open up, and when, remain to be seen, but 2010 holds promise for opportunities for the more than 7 million who lost their jobs in 2009. The Post added a caveat to its cheery employment outlook—that a “full recovery is far off”—but that’s nothing new. Economic recoveries are never fast, and they tend to be different from region to region, depending on what makes local economies tick.

Whether the new job opportunities turn out to be permanent or temporary, full-time or part-time, freelance or contracted, they will be competitive. Salaries may not match what they were in 2008, but it is better to be back in the market at a somewhat reduced income level than living on memories. As the economy grows, your salary will also rise again, but you have to be part of it for that to happen.

If you are unemployed—possibly since months ago or even longer—or underemployed, now is the time to recharge your job hunting batteries. Make sure your resume is current, get back in touch with your network, connect with agencies, refresh your online profile, and be ahead of the rest of the contenders for the jobs that do open up.

Good-bye mud. Hello new decade. Happy New Year!

One Tomato at a Time will resume two posts a week on January 5.