The Most In-Demand Jobs | New Year, New Must-Reads For Your Career | How To Stick To Your New Year’s Resolutions

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Good morning, everyone: Welp, here we are, back at work amid an omicron surge that has disrupted travel plans, overloaded hospitals and now is – 😱 – shuttering schools. Ready to focus on all your big 2022 work goals? (Good luck – and stay healthy.) This week in Forbes Careers:

—Resolved to change careers this year? Here are the most in-demand jobs.

—The science behind how to stick to your New Year’s resolutions 

—Need some good reads to jumpstart your career goals? Read on for our 📚picks.

Is a new job among your New Year’s resolutions? You’re not alone: Some 41% of employees plan to look for a new job in the first half of 2022, according to a recent survey by the firm Robert Half, up from 32% six months ago.

As I reported last week, the most in-demand jobs for 2021 were really a tale of two trends: Jobs that were decimated in 2020 came roaring back, while jobs such as warehouse logistics workers grew as the pandemic upended consumption habits. Postings for truck drivers (someone has to deliver all those Amazon boxes!) were No. 1. 

The analysis, which was run exclusively for Forbes by ManpowerGroup, showed that recruiters, software engineers and event planners (remember holiday parties?) also saw the biggest growth. Some of that is likely to continue, such as the 107% uptick in demand for data and finance analysts, as companies cope with forecasting where all this crazy uncertainty will take their business. “There’s no easy way to project where you’re going,” says Manpower’s vice president of market intelligence, Raleen Gagnon. “Those roles will continue to be hot.” 

If you’re a professional looking at our list and see a bunch of positions like restaurant servers and retail jobs, fear not: Technology and white-collar hiring tends to be stronger in the first two quarters of the year, says Gagnon, so it’s a great time to get started on your search. Tell me: If you’re searching, are you finding the job market just as hot in your field as it was last year? Are companies more or less open to remote jobs? Happy hunting—and happy new year! 

—Jena McGregor

Work From Home

Forbes contributors on working remotely – and working smarter

The remote workplace helps introverts shine. Here’s how to make sure it works for you.

Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase are the latest companies pushing back their return to office plans.

The stacked squares on Zoom calls may seem equal, but new research explores how leaders still visualize status on remote video calls.

Embrace The Future

Forbes contributors on starting the New Year off on the right foot

Why the “why” behind your New Year’s resolutions is so important to achieving them.

What behavioral science tells us about sticking to our New Year’s resolutions.

Here’s how to break up with your toxic boss in 2022. 

Learn To Lead

Forbes contributors on managing, leading and mentoring others

What business executives can learn about leadership from former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who died last week.

Turn conflict into constructive dialogue with these leadership tools. 

Here are 10 leadership ideas that will help you lead smarter in 2022.

Book Club

The latest reads on work, leadership and careers

Have a New Year’s resolution to make your next career move, and need a guide for getting it done? Want to be a smarter leader or better advocate, or more wisely manage your time? We’ve scanned the publishers’ 2022 catalogs for 10 career and leadership books that look poised to be the most helpful, compelling—or, at least in one instance, the most fun. 

Key quote: With 10 books on our list, it’s hard to pick a favorite. But we’re most intrigued by Dan Pink’s new book, The Power of Regret, and his thesis that the concept of having “no regrets” is nonsense, and we should use this “indispensable emotion” to make better decisions, improve performance and find greater meaning. It's a great reminder as we embark on the year ahead.

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