Millions of people will come up with resolutions for the New Year, but many of them will not realize how important it is to have resolutions for a solid job search. Finding new ways to save money or lose weight are always good, but if you are looking for a new job, you need to relaunch the search in 2015. Here, we will discuss the top three ways to kickstart your job search in the New Year.

Update Your Resume and Portfolio

The first tip on our list for kickstarting your job search in the New Year is a very important one. You must absolutely update your resume and portfolio. Make sure that all of the jobs you have held in the past are listed correctly. You should edit how you write job descriptions for those positions as well. Use keywords associated to those jobs so that your resume, if posted online, will come up in software searches used by companies or recruiters. Also, make sure your portfolio is up-to-date with your most recent work.

Have a Strong Course of Action

Your job search in the New Year must have a course of action if you want it to be successful. This means that you cannot sloppily search for jobs or simply look at job ads because you came across them. Put together a plan for your search. The plan must include a set of goals to reach at different times, being able to manage your time, using your network and only searching for jobs within your career niche. Your plan should also include you searching for a new job outside of the normal job boards. Use LinkedIn, Facebook and other social sites to find job postings.

Expand Your Professional Network

Business professionals should always try to expand their network because of how much it can help their career, but this is especially important when searching for a job. While you are out of work, this is the perfect time to expand your professional network. Find new connections on LinkedIn, attend career fairs, and even attend professional events within your industry so you can meet new people. You should also alert your network to the fact that you are searching for a job in the New Year so they can be on the lookout for anything that might come across their desk.

The New Year brings with it a lot of hope and promise for the business world. It gives job seekers renewed hope that they will be able to find a new job or their first job right out of school. The best way to be successful in a job search is to use the three tips outlined above for better results.