All I Want for Hanukkah Is a Job!

By Kim Slaton, CPRW, Managing Director, JVS Careers

Contrary to what you may think, December is a great time to be job searching. While companies and industries have differing hiring cycles, if there are open positions, they need to be filled. It doesn’t matter if it’s the holiday season or not.

Instead of putting your job search on the back burner, ramp up your efforts even more during the weeks between Thanksgiving and January 1.

Here are some reasons you should continue to send out résumés, set up networking meetings, and prepare for upcoming interviews:

1. There is less competition. Take advantage of the smaller candidate pool. By increasing your efforts over the holidays, when other job seekers are focused on activities other than job hunting, you increase your chances of standing out and landing the job offer!
2. Hiring managers want to maximize their budgets with January hires. Hiring managers are under a lot of pressure to get candidates set up for interviews and hired before everyone in the company goes away for the holiday break. Often times, the first weeks of December are the busiest hiring times so that budget dollars aren’t lost or reallocated elsewhere.
3. You’ll have lots of chances to deliver your “elevator pitch” at all of those holiday gatherings. Attend as many events as you can with the added agenda of setting up networking meetings and sourcing open positions. Because you can never predict who might have a job lead to share, make sure to mention your job search to those you meet.
4. The holiday spirit puts people in better moods. Now is the time to leverage that good will. Everyone is a little happier with the constant parade of gifts, treats and parties. In addition, managers and HR professionals have often just received end-of-year bonuses. In general, people tend to make themselves more accessible and are more generous with their time during this jolly time.

Granted, it’s not easy staying motivated through a job search in today’s competitive job market. Success during the holidays takes perseverance, and the ability to deal with situational blues and financial fears. Rely on trusted friends and family members for support. You can also find professional job search assistance at JVS Careers, where career consultants are experts at offering support and strategies for staying strong, winning job interviews and landing new job offers. Don’t let the holiday hiring myth get in the way of your next career move.

Check out the JVS Careers Job Listings.

Kim Slaton, CPRW, JVS Careers Managing Director, is a Senior Career Consultant with more than 12 years of experience advising people in transition about how to prepare a successful marketing strategy for today’s competitive job market. Kim is a Certified Professional Résumé Writer and a certified practitioner of the Myers-Briggs® personality assessment tool. In addition, Kim has contributed to and reviewed several college career course textbooks. Kim’s focus is on building relationships with her clients by getting to know them and learning about what empowers and motivates them to achieve. Partnering with clients from all backgrounds and industries, Kim provides focused and effective methods for navigating various life transitions. This includes college graduates, young professionals, mid-career professionals, executive level clients and retirees seeking encore careers.