
If you’re like me, you may not be ready to accept the fact that the holiday season is just around the corner. But regardless, it’s coming! In the meantime, what do you plan to do about your job search? Typically, candidates will dial their search down a bit to focus on other things. But here are some reasons you may wish to consider staying active and doing a holiday season job search.
Holiday season job search: Is anyone actually hiring?
So it’s true that some employers don’t hire this time of year. In some cases, it could be the end of the fiscal year, so hiring is on hold. In other situations, there could be key people out of the office, so they wait until January.
But with that said, there are still employers seeking top talent, even during the holidays! For situations where key people are out on vacation, maybe they’re starting now anyway because they want to develop a pool of resumes. Then upon return, they can hit the ground running with candidate screens and scheduling interviews. Or maybe they can’t have someone new start until the new fiscal year, but that doesn’t mean they can’t get the candidate pipeline started up now.
Hiring top talent takes time
Employers know this now. They realize it could take weeks and weeks to get through the screening, interviewing, and hiring process. So for that reason, they get the ball rolling right away instead of waiting for the New Year.
Wait, there are candidate benefits to a holiday season job search?
Remember what I just said earlier about candidates dialing things back during the holidays? It’s for real. In fact, we’re already seeing signs that candidates are gearing up for the holidays and are less focused on finding work.
This means that for the available jobs, there is likely going to be a lower volume of incoming applications. Put simply, you have less competition. The holiday season job search can be your perfect chance to really stand out from the crowd. Don’t have 100% of the experience for the role you’re trying to transition into? Maybe that won’t matter! If the candidates who have all the bells and whistles are hitting the snooze button on their job search, this could be your time to shine. So especially if your job search involves a career change, a holiday season job search could give you a bit of a boost.
Apply now before the New Year surge
Last, there’s another really good reason to keep the ball rolling. Once the New Year arrives, it’s a time when many are focused on new beginnings. We typically see a huge influx of new applications during that time (New year, new job). Avoid getting lost in that crowd; keep the applications flowing! Gain traction for January while everyone else is just getting started.
Adam Lafield, Recruiter & Marketing Specialist