Holiday Job Searching: Do it or not?
Have you or your clients bought into the myth that it’s fruitless to continue searching for a new job during the holiday season? It is a myth! In the 21 years I’ve worked in career development, I’ve seen some very exciting jobs and contracts come through between Thanksgiving and New Years. Sometimes the week between Christmas and New Years is when companies must fill their openings (or commit their coaching/training dollars, in the case of the coach’s business prospecting) or they lose their budget dollars.
Now is the time to keep our eyes on the goal, perhaps shifting strategy slightly but continuing nevertheless. Those that give up or go on vacation during the last two weeks of the year often lose out on key opportunities! Now I’m not saying not to take a break if that’s what you really want and need…but don’t do it because you don’t think there are opportunities out there!
Susan Heathfield recently wrote an article, “Holiday Job Searching” about this topic:
http://www.tiny.cc/dfq9E
And for “A Recruiter’s View: 5 Myths About Holiday Job Searching,” by Sinara Stull O’Donnell see
http://www.tiny.cc/pzo0C
Her myths are:
1. Nobody hires in Dec. (check out all the reasons this is untrue!)
2. You won’t find the job you really want in Dec.
3. Nothing ever happens after Dec. 15 so you might as well leave town
4. Even if an employer has an opening, the hiring manager won’t have time to meet with you
5. You’ll have a better chance if you wait till the first of the year
So how do you use the holidays for an effective search? Check out “Holiday Job Searching” by Alison Doyle here:
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/networking/a/holiday.htm
Sending holiday cards to prospective employers (especially if you’ve already interviewed with them) can be a thoughtful and attention-getting strategy that works wonders in helping a candidate stand out from the crowd. And I would add another: to the extent that your search involves “snail” mailing resumes or targeted letters, skip that strategy in favor of email or phone contact – the mail is too bogged down at this time of year for important mail to get through at normal pace. Or try something innovative and Fedex or UPS your document to the hiring manager for personal delivery!
Happy hunting!
Visit www.marciabench.com Visit Career Coach Institute
posted by Marcia Bench @ 6:36 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Recruiting and job search during December does slow down, the main reasons I see are more people on vacation and lesser people at office does mean a break in interviews and approvals by management. I feel that December maybe the right time to get your resume packaged well and gettting ready for the peak hiring time in January in February when the new schedules for new projects are being analyzed and new positions should be filled in.
Searching on the web I did find another interesting article on the recruting cycle - might interest thoes reading this post : http://featuredreports.monster.com/newyear/recruitment_cycle/
However aptly noted in this article:
"Although December hiring is at low levels in many industries, recruiters are determined to fill the year's remaining openings by December 31, and the supply of applicants dwindles as Christmas and the new year approach."
So the need and requirement is there always - all year round. But getting there at the right time also makes a lot of difference..
-Shweta Khare
http://www.careerbright.com
Blog: http://careerbright.blogspot.com
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