The months leading up to the festive season can be busy. You’re trying to wrap up projects before the new year, set new goals, attend seasonal gatherings, and, of course, snag a few days off to spend time with your family. Add searching for a job on top of all of this and it can become even more overwhelming.
As such, you have every reason to want to shut your laptop, chuck on your comfy clothes, and sit in front of the TV for a few days. But I’m here to tell you why you should not give up this winter.
In fact, here are five reasons that you shouldn’t press pause on your job search—even during the holidays.
You can utilize your time off
Now, I’m not saying that you don’t deserve a break, especially if it’s been a busy year. However, if you’ve got a few days off, it gives you the perfect opportunity to dedicate some time to the job search.
Sure, you don’t have to spend your entire day scanning through job descriptions, but setting aside a few hours, perhaps in the morning or between celebrations, can help you to get ahead.
This time can also be a great opportunity to update your résumé and increase your chances of landing your perfect role.
You can leverage end-of-year hiring efforts
Any leader worth their salt will have thought about their recruitment needs for the upcoming year, rather than leaving this until January.
Therefore, now is the perfect opportunity for you to work with those organized companies that are already recruiting and onboarding new staff as quickly and efficiently as they can.
While others will be distracted with their festive celebrations, you’ll be taking advantage of the end-of-year hiring efforts of those proactive organizations. This can help you secure a new job faster and avoid the January job rush.
You can exploit budget deadlines
As well as making the most of these end-of-year hiring efforts, continuing your job search during December can help you exploit those who are on tight budget deadlines.
Lots of companies will be reviewing their annual budget and as the year reaches an end, those with money left in their budget are keen to use this as effectively as possible before it is gone.
In many cases, this leads to a wave of hiring, onboarding, and training to avoid budget cuts the following year, as well as to ensure they make the most of every dollar.
So don’t miss out on this opportunity to not only land a new role but potentially some additional training that can help to strengthen your skill set and possibly even a pay raise.
You can network
The festive season gives you plenty of opportunities to network, both online and in person. If you’re attending any Christmas parties, industry events, or even just catching up with some old work friends, these can be ideal chances to get your name out there and let people know you’re available to hire.
Alternatively, you can use this opportunity to connect with relevant people online using professional sites like LinkedIn.
Utilize your downtime as effectively as possible, connecting (or reconnecting) with other professionals in your field and getting your name out there as much as possible.
Plus, during the holidays, many people feel extra joyful. You can exploit this cheer and catch them while they’re in a good mood, when they’re more likely to pass on your information or tell you about relevant vacancies they have.
You can get ahead of the competition
Last but not least, continuing your job search during the holidays could help you to beat out the competition. Lots of professionals will wait until the New Year to start looking for a job. That is why we often see a January recruitment rush.
However, applying for jobs in December can open you up to more opportunities for the reasons we’ve outlined above. Plus, it shows potential employers that you’re proactive, and that’s always going to work in your favor.
So this festive season, don’t let these opportunities pass you by. Use your days off wisely to update your résumé, perfect your cover letter, and take advantage of organized companies already looking for new hires.
This can help you to get ahead of the competition, so you can start the New Year with a bang—and a new job.
