What's Hot

All I want for Christmas is . . . A JOB!

December 15, 2009 Many think holiday time is the worst time to find or change jobs – au contraire, my friend – it IS indeed possible to make some progress on your job search or to land a job for the new year. Understandably, there are a lot of extra activities this time of year – from parties to shopping to shoveling – and most people who are job hunting currently will say, “Wow, that job looks perfect, but I’m just too busy right now to go for it.” This means less competition for you. The smart one who continues to plow ahead with job search activities is the one who benefits. The truth is, statistically, the number of job openings posted does not decrease in December compared to other months during the year. I recently read encouraging news from Dan Moran in his article on timesunion.com that many are “surprised to learn that the holiday season is also a popular time for people to give their notice and move on, to get a fresh start in a new job for the New Year. The result – more job opportunities for others.”
 
With a new year, comes new budgets (more than 50% of businesses run on a fiscal calendar year, and they need to determine headcount/hiring needs, money, growth scale, etc. for the start of a new year). Companies need to think proactively – and positively – about hiring needs. You may have heard that companies need to spend down any money left in their budget for the year, so again, ads run and candidate searches, interviews, and hiring does happen in December. You’ll want to strike while the iron is hot between the December to early January timeframe to catch the next hiring wave when it comes to life in mid-to-late January.
 
Altruism comes to mind more often around the holidays, so you might want to review company websites or those of charitable organizations for events that you can volunteer your assistance to. You never know who you can meet and network with at these events -- it’s your chance to impress them as a charitable person and a potential job candidate. I’ve often encouraged those wishing to work for WGBH to check out their Volunteer section (any time of the year) and help out with the various events they have – that way, they will be getting known to the staff, impressing them as a reliable, helpful person, and they can find out who the decision-makers are in various departments. You can also list this experience on your resume in the Volunteerism section (which would be seen as a plus during the resume-screening and interview process).
 
Lastly, remember that this is the perfect time to reach out to those you may have lost contact with for a bit and wish them a happy New Year. It’s a great segue for further (job-related) conversations in 2010 – particularly if you are graduating soon and are excited to use your new skills. Also, in reference to my last blog, put those holiday parties to good use and network with people you do and don’t know!
 
Happy Holidays, everyone, and cheers to a productive 2010!
 

Leave a Comment

Name (required):

Email (required):

Website (optional):

Comments (required):

Please help us fight Spam by typing what you see into the box below: