If you work in the human resources industry, your New Year’s resolution may be quite simple: to recruit higher-quality employees for your company. In order to make this New Year’s resolution a reality, however, you may want to make several specific New Year’s resolutions that will help you achieve your ultimate goal. To that end, here are 5 specific New Year’s resolutions that you might want to consider making.

New Year’s Resolutions for Human Resources Managers #1: Improve Job Ads

Your human resources department may not be getting the results it wants simply because your job ads are failing to reach the right type of job candidates. Therefore, your New Year’s resolution should involve taking steps to improve the content of your job ads. This includes making sure the information is up-to-date and that your organization is being representing accurately. You should also make certain the layout of your ads is consistent and that it is presented in a manner that is easy to scan. Including bulleted lists and keeping the required skills and preferred skills clearly separated are two ways to help you attract the best job candidates possible. When it comes down to it, you should think of your job ads as a type of marketing document. As such, you should use the same tone and voice with your job ads as you will use when actually talking to your potential job candidates on the phone.

New Year’s Resolutions for Human Resources Managers #2: Fine Tune Your Searches

If your company has core positions that it is regularly looking to fill, you will want to focus on conducting searchers for these candidates while new positions are being established. Focusing on these positions involves building relationships with qualified job-seekers while regularly fine tuning your searches in order to keep the cream of the crop at the top of your list.

New Year’s Resolutions for Human Resources Managers #3: Think Outside the Box

Another one of your New Year’s resolutions should be to think outside of the box when developing strategies for finding quality job candidates. For example, you might look for ways to improve your relationship with the military, with local colleges or other resources where you may be able to tap into a pool of qualified candidates. You should also consider improving your communication strategies. Using text messaging or IM, for example, ay help you reach more job candidates while building a stronger relationship with those who are already in your pool.

New Year’s Resolutions for Human Resources Managers #4: Become Familiar with Market Data

In order to more successfully market your company to the most qualified candidates, another New Year’s resolution you should make is to become more familiar with market data. In other words, your New Year’s resolution should be to take the time to earn more about the competition. You can do this by reading press releases, visiting the Websites of your competitors and conducting general Internet searches of the competition. By doing so, you can learn more about what they are offering to potential employees so you can compare their packages to what you are offering.

Not only will checking out the competition help you determine the differences between what you are offering and what the competition has to offer, it will also give you a better idea of which characteristics of your company you should emphasize in your job ads. What makes your company different or better than the competition? If your company has recently made headlines, be sure to share this information with potential candidates. If you have a pool of candidates you are currently communicating with, include helpful links with your communications that will help differentiate your company from the competition.

New Year’s Resolutions for Human Resources Managers #5: Establish Strong Networking Skills

Networking is key to finding the best job candidates and keeping them interested in your company. Therefore, another one of your New Year’s resolutions should be to strengthen your networking skills.

Although networking may seem time consuming, devoting just 30 minutes per day to networking can go a long way toward fostering strong relationships with potential job candidates. To strengthen your network, make certain your networking profiles are up-to-date, search for old candidates and colleagues to add to your networking circle and look for applicable groups that you can join on Internet networking sites. Spending time on Websites such as the Electronic Recruiting Exchange and the Society for Human Resource Management can also help you build the professional network you need to find the best job candidates possible.