New Year’s Employment Resolutions that Work

With all of the recent talk about the fiscal cliff in the United States, many people who are currently unemployed are getting increasingly determined to blast into 2013, making it their #1 New Year’s resolution to find an awesome job in the early months of the new year. The truth is, people who are currently unemployed have a reason to be more aggressive about the job search, as there is a high potential for them to see their unemployment benefits run out at the end of 2012 unless an extension is passed.

Without an extension for unemployment benefits beyond the 26 week maximum, unemployed United States residents will be forced to begin amping up their job search efforts. Naturally, many people have already realized that there is a chance that their unemployment compensation will end soon, and these are the people who have made finding a job in 2013 their #1 New Year’s resolution.

Another reason that there will be an even bigger spike than most years in the number of job seekers next year is because, in addition to the millions of unemployed Americans, many people are questioning their current job satisfaction. In order to make the most out of your employment resolution, make the following tips work to your advantage:

• Hire a professional resume writer. It won’t cost you much to have your resume professionally reinvented, and the $50-$100 is a great investment. Some career sites even have free or very affordable resume services.
• Get socially savvy. Stay on top of all of your social media profiles and make new, beneficial connections daily. You never know who knows of a job opening that might be just right for you.
• Search cities with the strongest economies. Big cities that have major hospitals, universities, and manufacturers usually have the most job opportunities.
• Amp up your creativity. Part of this goes hand-in-hand with hiring a professional resume writer. Make sure that you stand out from all of the other people looking for jobs right alongside you. In these tough economic times, you’ve got to make an impression and do something to get noticed.
• Get and look smarter. Go mobile, staying connected as much as you can. Research has shown that having a smart phone can actually have a significant impact on your success in the job market by letting you be more connected more of the time, decreasing your response time to job offers and requests for interviews and putting your time to better use. Also, always dress the part, because as everyone knows, employers are crazy about a sharp dressed man (or woman).
• Focus on niche jobs. Customizing your job search is really the most important thing you can do to up your chances of landing a job. Figure out a skill you have that will help employers solve a problem, and then shift your job search in the appropriate direction.
• Work with a life coach. Sometimes, the root of your employment status can be traced to your unhappiness in other areas of your life. Get these sorted out, and your job search will likely improve quickly.
• Drop the excuses. Many life coaches are saying that unemployed people need to drop all excuses about why they have not found a job yet. Get real with yourself and make it happen.
• Move, it move it. Be prepared to pick up and relocate to a new area of the country, or world for that matter.
• Hone your interview skills. There isn’t much point to customizing your job search and hiring a professional resume writer if your interview skills stink. Practice, practice, practice, and try to get the feedback of one of your friends or family members on what you can change about your interview responses to make a better impression.
• Expose yourself. Make as many contacts as possible on every social media site and job search board every day. Expose yourself to many people in as many real life social settings as possible, too. Job openings do exist – you just have to know where to look.
• Be alert. Set up email alerts for as many job searches as possible and check your email several times a day so that you are always up to date on every job opening that pops up.
• Follow-up. Employers may forget about you after the interview, so be sure to follow up in a professional (but not pushy) manner with everyone you interview with.

Making it your New Year’s resolution to find appropriate employment is a fantastic decision! In 2013, follow the above tips, and your job outlook will be looking fine in no time.
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Careerminds provides scalable, strategic solutions to organizations seeking affordable, web-based outplacement services. Using a Web 2.0 e-learning platform that delivers affordable, online career transition services, Careerminds provides a high-tech and high-touch blend of on-demand career transition education supported by senior-level career consultants to help displaced workers reenter the workforce quickly.