We are moving into the Christmas / Hanukkah / New Year’s holidays. Many job seekers take the opportunity to put their job searches on hold until January and just try to enjoy the downtime. That is actually a mistake because the end of the year is a great time to reflect on career goals, review current job search campaign efforts, and get a jump on the January employment rush.
Here are three ways to take advantage of the holiday season to strength your chances at finding a great job.
- Continue to review job postings or attempt to make contacts on online social media sites and job boards. Employers and recruiters are often under the gun to fill vacancies before December 31 or are at least actively looking. While your competitors may be getting ready for the holidays and putting aside their job search campaigns, your diligence in continuing the process can pay off. You will have a better chance of being noticed in a vastly diminished pool of applicants and you might attract a prospective employer who does not want to wait until January to hire.
- The end of the year is usually a good time to become introspective in regard to career and personal goals. New Year resolutions are commonplace, but people’s success in fulfilling them is spotty at best. Instead of making resolutions and then realizing 3 or 4 months later that you have not made any progress toward fulfilling them, create a job search campaign plan that is practical, achievable, and measurable. Put your plan in writing and use it to propel your efforts to find a great job into the New Year.
- Take advantage of the various events, parties, dinners, etc. that you will be involving with during the holidays and make every effort to renew contacts with family, friends, and colleagues, while also seeking out new contacts who may be able to help with your job search campaign. These types of contacts can be leveraged after January to identify job leads or obtain suggestions on how to market yourself with prospective employers. Networking is considered to be the leading approach for finding a great job because it can open up the “hidden” job market or positions that are not advertised. In addition, you will develop relationships that will serve you well into the future.
Holidays are a time for good cheer, but they can also be a good time to build a firm foundation for launching or expanding a successful job search campaign or even getting a head start on finding a great new job.