When economic times are good, most people with common skills usually don't have much trouble finding and keeping a job. But in an economic downturn, it's far more important to be strategic about your career choices. Things are going to be very uneven in the job market, with some skills remaining in desperately short supply, and other skills enduring massive layoffs.

When you have had a terrific day at work, what happened? What sparked joy for you? Did you solve a problem, delight a customer, help a co-worker, launch a new initiative, or finally succeed in your evil plan for global world domination? (Hey, we don’t judge.) What sparked joy for you?

Almost everyone I know is really, really busy. It's hard to find time to think, so tasks that can be done without much thinking end up getting most of our attention. Things that require deep thought, like hiring, just slow us down. So we set them aside for later, saying "I need to think about that some more."