Evaluating Career Opportunities Redux

I wrote this piece early last year, but I thought that in light of the economy (and what I hope are signs of it turning around?), it would be a good time to link again. I really feel that you need to start to think about a career change well before it's time to jump. And though some of you are staying in a position because of the security it offers, the market will be blurbling with new opportunities sooner than you think. And perhaps your change will be overdue.

I know that there are many others of you out there that are looking to re-enter the work-force pronto.  And while the number of open positions have been declining in the market, when they start opening back up, I think it will be dramatic. Companies will move to fill roles that they struggled to do without, they will reward their top performers with promotions (subsequently creating new openings), they will ramp up production once consumer confidence has returned and unemployment has dropped. I'm no economic Nostradamus, but this all seems pretty logical, right?

More open positions mean higher demands on talent, and more choices. And that's goodness. All I am saying is it's a good time to start thinking about what comes next.