7 Job Search Tips for the New Year

Like a brand-new day, 2015 is peeping over the horizon, promising changes to come. Now’s a great time to pause in your job search, set new goals, and find ways to keep established goals fresh as you map out where you want your career to go in the new year.

Question: do you have a 2015 career blueprint? And why would you need one, anyway? Well, working without a job-search plan can set you up for a lot of frustration and can stall forward motion in your career. Instead of losing ground trying to figure things out willy-nilly, pause now and set a strategic course that will position you to find healthy flexible work arrangements and determine the best job options for you.

Use these seven strategies to help you embrace new career changes with confidence!

Things change, life changes, and your vision for where your career is headed in the short- and long-term should change as well. Do yourself a great favor by staying nimble. If you have a list of career goals (and if you don't, you should create one), take time now to re-assess, revise, and update based on new-year aspirations.

Go over the list of contacts in your professional network. Is it up to date? Do you need to delete old contacts and add new ones?

A new year is a great time to find ways to grow your network. Consider attending networking events, perusing networking sites, cleaning up your social media profiles, and using social platforms to discover new contacts in your profession.

If you’ve been seeking a healthier work-life balance, a new year offers fantastic opportunities to press ahead with your efforts to find flexible work that fits your renewed career goals.

Work-life balance options can help you take greater control in 2015 of the the professional and personal relationships that matter most to you.

Set numerical goals.

These could involve the number of resumes you plan to send out within a given time frame, the number of informational interviews you set up with professionals in your targeted career field, or even the number of times you meet with people for coffee or at “meet-up” kinds of events.

There’s nothing like learning something new to open up your mind to new ways of thinking and to open your career to new pathways.

Consider courses that offer an opportunity to learn a completely new skill, or try deepening a skill set that you already possess. And don’t forget about honing your “soft skills” to make yourself even more marketable.

Tapping into your entrepreneurial instincts can really rev up your career in the new year and get you thinking in unexpected, inspirational ways. If you’re thinking that 2015 is the time to launch your big idea, or branch off into a freelance business, taking in great tips for mompreneurs and others can get your self-employment juices going.

As great as it is to have a career development plan in mind, leave space to stay open to unanticipated opportunities and unexpected twists and turns that could take your career into a completely new direction. Have a plan, work it, but be ready for wonderful changes in the year ahead!

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Step 1 is find a new job in 2015. But Step 2 is going to be negotiate salary when you're offered the job. And Salary.com can help you get paid fairly what you do.

The first thing you should do is research, so you're able to come to the table armed with the knowledge of what your job is worth. Use our free Salary Wizard below to find out what's a fair salary for your position. You can enter your location, education level, years of experience and more to find out an appropriate salary range before you negotiate.

Good luck.