You’ve probably made countless New Year’s resolutions in your lifetime. The ones you’ve followed through on, though, you can likely count on one hand.

Most of us start off the year with the best of intentions, promising ourselves things like, “I’m going to go back to school,” “I’m going to beat unemployment and find full-time work,” or “I’m going to get out of this thankless job once and for all,” only to find ourselves defeated a few months later.

There’s a reason we often give up on the goals we set for ourselves each year — a lot of times, they’re hard goals to achieve. Returning to school is no easy task, and neither is finding a new job in an employment market that experts believe will continue to recover at a gradual pace over the next 12 months.

But that doesn’t mean you should just throw in the proverbial towel on 2012. Achieving your career goal this year might be as simple as breaking down your resolution into smaller objectives. If you want a new job in 2012, resolve to try job-search strategies — like social networking or joining a professional group — that you haven’t tried, or make it a goal to write targeted, job-specific cover letters for each position you apply to.

Another way to take a step toward job-search success this year? Apply to these 15 companies, all of which are hiring new employees in 2012.

1. AmeriLife
Industry: Insurance
Number of openings: 80
Sample job titles: Mortgage protection specialist (experience not required), sales consultant, sales representative, sales manager trainee, financial services representative, insurance sales representative
Location: Fla., Ga., N.C., S.C., Tenn.

2. Apex
Industry: IT
Number of openings: 5000+
Sample job titles: Java, .net, ERP, EMR, project manager, business analyst, desktop/helpdesk support, epic, systems, network engineer, SQL, QA
Location: Nationwide

3. Astellas Pharma US, Inc.
Industry: Pharmaceutical, health care
Number of openings: 106
Sample job titles: Senior medical director, regional sales manager, pharmaceutical sales, associate director, senior scientist
Location: Chicago; Los Angeles; New York; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.

4. Catholic Healthcare West
Industry: IT and health care
Number of openings: 340
Sample job titles: Applications operations, applications developers, IT business analyst, project manager
Location: Phoenix; San Francisco; Sacramento; Pasadena, Calif.

5. Charming Shoppes Inc. (Lane Bryant, Lane Bryant Outlets, Fashion Bug, Figis, etc.)
Industry: Retail, clothing
Number of openings: 50+
Sample job titles: Payroll analysts, merchandise planners, replenishment analysts, product developers, director level IT positions
Location: Columbus, Ohio; Philadelphia

6. Greatwide Logistics
Industry: Transportation
Number of openings: 100+
Sample job titles: CDL A driver, carrier procurement/carrier management manager, logistics/transportation supervisor, call center reps — fleet logistics/part-time
Location: Nationwide

7. Griswold Home Care
Industry: Home care, senior care, assisted living
Number of openings: 4,500
Sample job titles: Caregiver, care coordinator, executive director of care, director of national accounts, marketing and communications manager
Location: Nationwide

8. Mansfield Oil Company
Industry: Oil and gas
Number of openings: 70+
Sample job titles: LTL logistics analyst, business development specialist – MGES, operations manager
Location: Nationwide and Canada

9. Mattress Firm, Inc.
Industry: Retail
Number of openings: 200+
Sample job titles: Sales manager in training, sales associate, store manager, assistant store manager, operations manager, warehouse associates
Location: Nationwide

10. M Force Staffing
Industry: Staffing, IT, engineering
Number of openings: 90
Sample job titles: Engineer technician, .net developer, quality assurance lead, java developer, die cast engineer
Location: Nationwide

11. Plymouth Auctioneering
Industry: Sales/fine art/entertainment
Number of openings: 55
Sample job titles: International fine art sales consultant, art auction sales associate
Location: Onboard luxury cruise ships

12. Portfolio Recovery Associates
Industry: Credit/loan/collections
Number of openings: 50+
Sample job titles: Acquisitions manager, help desk analyst, account representative — collections, business analyst
Location: Ala., Ill., Kan., Nev., Tenn., Va.

13. SoftLayer Technologies, Inc.
Industry: Internet
Number of openings: 65+
Sample job titles: Customer support administrator, systems administrator, software engineer, web developer
Locations: Calif., Texas, Va., Wa.

14. State Farm
Industry: Insurance
Number of openings: 455
Sample job titles: Insurance and financial services agent
Location: Calif., Ill., Ind., Mich., Penn., Texas

15. Town Sports International (New York Sports Club, Boston Sports Club, Philadelphia Sports Club, Washington Sports Club)
Industry: Fitness
Number of openings: 200
Sample job titles: Personal trainers, membership sales consultants, fitness managers, general managers, assistant general managers
Location: Conn., D.C., Mass., Md., N.J., N.Y., Penn., R.I., Va.