7 New Year Resolutions For Job Seekers

Happy New Year from everyone at Renaix – we trust you had a good festive period and have been able to recoup ahead of Q1.

It’s New Year, New Me season – every year the halls of Renaix are filled with the sounds of thousands of professionals eagerly looking for a new career path to walk.

But we also know it’s the seasons where resolutions are swiftly dropped as the day-to-day grind gets back up to full swing. So here are some pointers for creating a New Year’s resolution list you can actually keep, and that will help you on your job-seeking journey!

Build a Network and Find a Mentor

Job seeking is more than navigating digital job advert sources, pinging off emails to long-shot applications or “rage quitting” roles…although it cannot be ignored that those techniques do work!

Quality job seeking relies on connections – real, tangible, meaningful connections between you and someone who can offer you the career path you want. So make 2023 the year you network, and defy the digital, faceless job-seeking safety net for tactile, real relationship building.

An important component of that is finding or establishing contact with a mentor. Trust us when we say those sorts of connections to recruiters/HR teams bear better fruit. Indeed has a good guide on finding a mentor that any professional can use.

Review Your CV

This is an easy one – revamping your CV shouldn’t take too long, but could make all the difference when it comes to grabbing the eye of your ideal recruiter or HR lead.

If in doubt, lean on resources to guide your way – our own Composing A Well-Written CV resource page is stacked with advice on how to craft a game-changing resume, but there are a multitude of online resources you can bounce off too – try these pieces by Indeed, My Perfect CV, and Michael Page for starters.

Take Opportunity When It Comes

Job seeking can be a lesson in patience – but it can also be a lesson in spontaneity.

There are dozens of ways opportunity can find you – from digital channels to analogue word of mouth – and companies are scrambling to find the best-in-class talent who can help bolster their ranks ahead of a recession and further inflationary pressures.

So our advice is to keep your eyes open and make 2023 a year where you say YES to opportunity – your job-seeking door should always be open.

Perfect Your Personal Brand

A self-care sibling to your CV revamp should be taking a broad stroke edit to your “personal brand” – in effect, ask yourself if the image you present online really represents who you are in 2023, and are you speaking the language a prospective hirer wants to hear?

Randstad and Entrepreneur have some easy-to-follow guidance on building a head-turning personal brand.

Tidy Office, Tidy Mind

A spring clean is vital for mentally organising your workspace and, by extension, your career management and job-seeking approach.

So take some time to clear up any post-Xmas clutter, align your office space with your mental approach to job seeking (positivity, taking opportunity when it comes and always being prepared), and remember that a tidy space is a tidy mind.

Be Specific!

You cannot afford to approach a job search from a position of “hit and hope” or “throw it at the wall and see what sticks”. The real power behind being specific with your job search is in the alignment of your working values and ideal working culture with a company of your choice. Don’t be afraid of being limited in your applications – our advice is to define a shortlist of employers that meet your cultural as well as career needs, and target them hard!

Plus from a technical aspect, the modern Applicant Tracking System will reward those who are specific with their approach, especially regarding language on your CV.

Finally, Be Kind to Yourself

2023 is panning out to be a uniquely challenging year – the tech winter is poised to continue, investment is stalling, inflation is still making itself felt and the cost of living is throwing a pall of negativity over multiple markets.

Job seeking in this sort of environment can be stressful, so be kind to yourself – prioritising mental health and wellness gives you a healthy foundation to find the next stage in your career, and the last thing new employers want is a burnt-out new hire who’s exhausted themselves.

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