ACCORDING TO THE BUREAU OF Labor Statistics year-end report, 2020 ended with 9.8 million fewer jobs than before the pandemic and an unemployment rate of 6.8 percent—much improved from the all-time high of 14.7 percent in April, but a still worrying number with new strains of COVID-19 popping up and the pandemic continuing to wreak havoc on the economy. Four-time Pulitzer Prize-nominee and best-selling author Fawn Germer tackles strategies for getting back to work after a job loss or work gap and renewing your career in her new book, Coming Back: How to Win the Job You Want When You’ve Lost the Job You Need (St. Martin’s Press, January). At a time when employment is precarious for so many, Germer’s practical advice for staying relevant is welcome. In this excerpt, she discusses how to get started on the job hunt, the importance of upskilling and how to help