Are you seriously searching for a new job, but figure you can set aside your job hunt until after the holidays because it’s not an ideal time to land a job?
You’re wrong. Here are the key reasons why:
You have less competition
The festive season is one of the best times to land a new job, or make efforts toward landing first thing in the New Year, mostly because so many job seekers think it’s one of the worst times.
Many job seekers tend to take time off from actively seeking new opportunities to focus on family and holiday travel. So if you job hunt during the holiday season, you’ll have much less competition. Companies tend to receive fewer applications during this period, which improves the odds that a candidate with a strong resume will get called in for an interview.
Hiring does NOT stop during the holiday season
Hiring managers and recruiters don’t wait until the New Year to get the hiring process moving. They are planning ahead in December.
They have budgets and headcounts approved, and can’t afford to wait until next year to get things rolling. If they want new people on board in January, companies know they have to be shortlisting candidates in December (or as early as November).
You have a lot of spare time to search for a new job
Having a few days off is also a great time to pounce on your job search. A four-day weekend combined with access to friends and relatives you don’t get to see very often are the perfect ingredients for a productive job hunt during the holidays.
Check out some job search tips during the holidays below:
Party with a professional purpose
There are more parties in December than during any other time of the year, which means more opportunities to network. During the holidays, events are likely more casual so it may be easier to mention that you are actively seeking new job opportunities.
Holidays are also a great excuse to get back in touch with colleagues who you may not have spoken with in awhile. In that spirit, it is never a bad idea to leverage these parties as networking events and forge new connections with people in your field of interest.
Polish your resume
Some people are thinking about decorating their homes for the holidays, but you should also be thinking about how to polish your resume.
See how you can improve your resume to make it pass the recruiter’s 6-second attention span. You also don’t have spend your entire holidays working on polishing your resume, as there are quick fixes you can implement to make your resume more effective– in 10 minutes or less.
Give yourself a gift – a professionally written resume
This holiday season, consider giving yourself the gift of a professional resume. If you’re just not having much luck with your current document, it’s worth it to take it to a professional resume writer who can really beef up your resume to make it stand out in a sea of other job applications.
If you can afford giving expensive gifts to your loved ones, why not invest in a professionally written resume as key investment in your future.
To illustrate, if you’re working a 38-hour week and your new resume helps you secure a new role that pays $1 more per hour compared to what you’re getting now, over the course of 12 months, this equates to an increase of $1976 gross. What if your salary increased even more? That’s quite a strong return on your investment.
Do you research
Use online and traditional research methods to identify and shortlist companies you’d like to work for – companies with right size, location, mission, values and so on.
Search the Internet for job ads that are of interest, even if you don’t intend to apply for them due to location, level, sector or some other factors. Review these job ads to have a better understanding of the companies you are looking for, and examine you resume and cover letter to make sure you’re included keywords employers are likely yo use.
In Summary…
Don’t take the holidays off when thinking about your future career opportunities. Avoid using the holidays as an excuse to take a step back from job searching. Keep the pace of your job search steady which could be a big differentiator since those with whom you are competing may not.
There is less competition, people are more relaxed, and the job market is as busy as ever during this time of the year.
*This post was originally published 12 December 2018
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For more ideas on how to craft winning resume, visit www.rev-upyourresume.com.au or connect with us through LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
