It is a new year and your resolution is a whopper: you want a new job. Great, but prepare to work your tail off. Not only are jobs a wee bit scarce, but most people do not understand the amount of effort required nor the tactics required to successfully land that dream job. The good news is that with the right effort and know-how, you could soon be upgrading your cubicle.

Let’s start with the issue of time. You need to be dedicated. This means the task of job hunting becomes a regular daily task. If you are currently unemployed, this begins first thing in the morning. If you are currently employed, commit to using your nights at home and your lunch hour at work (or other great moments of escape). That is the easy part. Here is the killer. How much time should you spend on the job search? That depends on how quickly you wish to find a new job. Stated more motivationally: how quickly do you wish to leave your current job? If the goal is six weeks or less, you should be spending 15 hours per week, minimum. If the goal is closer to six months, you should be spending at least 10 hours per week. Any less than 10 hours per week and you are not serious about finding a new job.

On to successful job hunting tactics. Begin by using a spreadsheet to track every single job search-related task. What is the task, when is it due, etc. If you map out the specific sequence of tasks before you, your odds of success increase dramatically. Use the spreadsheet to organize the following must-do job hunting best practices:

• Polish your resume. If you have been with the same organization for a long time, your resume will be out of date. Do not focus on specific tasks as much as specific skills you have honed and can leverage in other jobs with other organizations. Avoid organizational specific jargon. Try to quantify your accomplishments in terms of time saved, costs saved, clients gained, revenues generated, etc.

• Let someone else polish your resume. After you have knocked off the dust, send it to at least three trusted professional friends. Tell them to play the role of a hiring manager. Ask them what your resume "says" to them. Ask them what signals it sends.

• Master your "elevator pitch." The elevator pitch is your highly concise and compelling explanation of what you are looking for and why you are awesome (approximately 15-20 seconds). Don’t be shy. You use it when speaking to nearly anyone who you involve in your job search – not simply contacts at companies where you apply or interview.

• Post online. Depending on the nature of the job you are seeking, the popular online job sites might be worth your time. Some question how useful they can be for a variety of reasons. Who cares. They are free and when you are hunting for a job you cover all of your bases.

• Contact headhunters. If you do not know any, call your most successful friends in business, they will know a few. Headhunters vary in quality like any other professional, so a solid referral is best. There is no downside with headhunters, you do not pay them, employers do.

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