The economy is expected to rebound before year-end. This means more opportunities for successful and talented people to either move up within their company, or to look for new challenges elsewhere. Here are ten tips for people planning to change jobs sometime this year:

1. Be certain you are serious about changing jobs. If you are, you are far more likely to find employment if you broaden your search by considering relocation.

2. Research a potential employer. Learn all you can about the position itself, about the company, its market share, its profitability and prospects before accepting an interview.

3. Be prepared for a series of interviews. Many larger companies rarely allow any one person to make a hiring decision. Instead, committees make hiring decisions.

4. Dress conservatively and make certain your overall appearance is professional.

5. Treat everyone you meet at the hiring company with courtesy. It is not uncommon for someone to be involved in the hiring decision that does not appear to the candidate to be even involved in the interview process.

6. Feel free to ask pertinent follow-up questions to questions asked by the interviewers.

7. Be absolutely honest on your résumé, on the job application, and in the interview. Assume and expect that a potential employer will verify every fact listed on your résumé and employment application - and expect to be immediately disqualified if an inconsistency is found.

8. If you want the job, show enthusiasm and ask for it. If you don't feel good about the job or the company or the work environment, don't take the job no matter how good the offer is.

9. Before giving notice to your current employer, make certain that you have a written offer letter in hand from your new employer listing among other things, your job title, pay, benefits, and expected start date.

10. Keep this in mind: Only about one in ten candidates send a thank you letter to the company after an interview. Doing so will set you apart from the majority of your competitors. Keep your note brief, and be sure to use the letter as a marketing tool to focus them on areas where your experience and education best matched the position.