January 11 2016 - When making your New Year's resolutions, you may have thought about improving your health, your family situation, your stress level, or your job situation. If you're ready to land a new job for the New Year, we have some tips for making your job search successful for 2016.

Streamline Your Resumé

Resumés remain a key component of job searches, but their format and content have changed as technology and mobile devices have become the cornerstones of business. For job applicants, this means that there is a good chance your resumé is scanned for about six to ten seconds on a mobile device, so you need to streamline it so that hiring managers can read it quickly in small chunks.

Forbes Contributor Nancy Collamer recommends that you "eliminate filler words, use numbers to quantify your impressive results (such as 'boosted sales 83 percent') and include relevant keywords that appeared in the job posting. Limit your contact information to just one email address (old-fashioned AOL, no; contemporary Gmail, yes), one phone number and your LinkedIn profile URL." Streamlining your resumé is one way to make your job search successful in the New Year.

Network Online

Make technology your friend to make your New Year's job search more successful. LinkedIn should not just be a way for you to collect contacts; rather, it should be a tool you use to communicate with people in your field, former colleagues, and anyone who is connected to the company you are eyeing for your new position.

Maura Judkis, a U.S. News & World Report writer, suggests you clean up your profiles and make sure they are as professional as possible during your job search, because potential employers will be checking into your social media self. Judkis also recommends that you "remember that social networking is like a cocktail party: If you talk only about yourself and your accomplishments, you'll bore people. Start a dialogue." Online networking can be one of the most powerful tools you'll use to make your job search successful in the New Year, as long as you go about it correctly.

Work Full-Time at Finding a Job, and Use All of Your Resources

If you want to make your job search successful in the New Year, you need to treat the search process as a full-time job. Spend as many hours as possible on the job search, and consider scheduling your days as you would in a paid position. And, just as you would with a full-time position, you need to use all of the resources and tools at your disposal. This involves using several different search methods, including online job search tools like LinkedIn and Facebook, speaking with employers directly, attending Open Houses, and applying for jobs that may not be within your field but match your qualifications and skills. Don't be afraid to ask people for help or to use your college or university contacts and career centers to help you make your job search successful in the New Year.

Consider Working From Home

Working from home is quickly becoming more common. In fact, according to the Census Bureau's 2014 American Community Survey, 3.2 million workers work from home. Companies and organizations of all sizes are hiring remote workers, independent contractors, consultants, and telecommuters more regularly as a way of keeping overhead costs down.

It's also easier than ever before to start your own business without ever changing out of your PJs. Whether you choose to a be a pet sitter, freelance writer, or virtual assistant, sharing economy companies have made safety and trust priorities so that it's easy for you to work with clients and vice versa.

The first months of the year bring about countless new possibilities, and if you follow our tips, you may just land that new job before you remember to hang up your new calendar.

About the author

Erica Francis loves working with ReadyJob.org to teach young people how to get started in the job market. In her spare time, she enjoys horseback riding, crocheting, and acting at her town's community theater.

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