Ten Reasons to Amp Up Your Job Search During Holiday Season

iStock | Larysa Pashkevich

The holidays are almost over but it is not too late to finish strong. There is still a window of opportunity for proactive job seekers willing to dedicate a little, but significant, time to the administration of finding a job. Here are 10 scientifically (maybe?) proven reasons to keep looking in December:

1.     While it’s easy to be lazy every day of the year, it’s especially easy to be lazy during the holidays! Chances are most of your immediate competition isn’t thinking about their job search. They are on vacation or at holiday parties, and most are certainly double-fisting spiked eggnog and coquitos before walking into a wall. Take advantage of other people’s laziness. Now is the time to jump to the front of the line.

2.     There is truth to the perception that office workloads tend lighten up in December (excepting retail) – especially between Christmas and New Year’s Day. That includes hiring managers and recruiters. Think of driving around on Christmas Day, or, even better, during the height of “shelter-at-home.” The streets are empty. Now is the time you may be able to get through to the recruiter or hiring manager.                         

3.     The holidays are a giving season. It’s the one time of year that we feel celebrate our good fortune and help others who may not be as well off. That is the essence of the holiday spirit and it’s not silly to believe that, not unlike The Grinch, hiring managers and recruiters have small hearts that can grow up to three times. Now is the time to see if you can parlay some of that good old-fashioned holiday spirit into a new job.  

4.     Hiring managers are terrified of being understaffed. Some may try and orchestrate an end-of-the-year hiring surge to fill open positions before the new calendar and fiscal year. Now is the time to exploit the fears of strangers who are in a position to employ you.

5.     There is so much extra activity during the holidays that aberrations in normal routines go unnoticed. It’s also Covid/flu/RSV season. Everybody assumes everything is related to the holidays or one of the many options we have in our malady buffet. If you are employed but trying to jump ship, a December job interview won’t stand out to your boss. Now is the time to sneak away.

6.     Nothing takes the edge off looking for a new job than endless holiday feasting. Ever hear of Kugel? Don’t ask questions, just start eating it by the gallon. There is no bottom when it comes to holiday treats. Whether it’s a gingerbread house or a chocolate dreidel, food euphoria can power your job search. Now is the time to gain weight and write cover letters.

7.     Whether you like it or not, you are in shopping mode. Shop. Shop. Shop. However, there is only so much shopping you can do. At some point, the parking lot is full and it’s time to retreat home to nurse your consumer wounds. As long as you’re in shopping mode, though, you may as well shop for a new job – and it’s free. Now is the time to shop ‘till you drop until you find the perfect gift for yourself -  a new job.

8.     Take off your Santa hat and put on your tax deduction hat, which really can be anything from a beret to a sombrero. Any hat will do as long as you say it’s a tax deduction hat. If there is anything, anything at all, you need to help you with your job search (e.g., portfolio) you should buy it before the holidays end. It may be tax deductible (we’re not accountants – talk to your CPA for advice).

9.     Under your tree, you might find a iPhone 14, a pair of Air Jordans, and a Robux gift card. Please note what you didn’t find – a new job. Now is the time to follow potential job leads.

10.  One of the most effective (yet unproven and unsupported by any type of data or anecdotal evidence) ways of landing a new job is wearing an ugly Christmas sweater while mining the job boards. Additional fabricated data analysis shows that ugly Christmas sweaters increase the chances of getting a job interview by 25% - 30%, which is almost always followed by a job offer that includes a parking spot (Source: Absolutely nothing reliable). Now is the time to wear an ugly Christmas sweater every day.

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Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching is a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

In College And Looking For Real-World Experience? Consider Co-Op Programs

iStock.com | monkeybusinessimages

It’s a well-established fact that internships are an excellent way for students (or workers of any age and circumstance) to invest in their professional future. Students who work internships throughout their collegiate years are better positioned to land and master their first post-graduate professional job. Internships provide real-world work experience, prized business contacts, and potential references that may ease your transition from school to professional.

There is, however, a more robust and immersive approach to experiential education and academic studies – the co-op. Like internships, co-op jobs provide work experience to students while they earn their degrees. Unlike internships, co-op programs put work and academics on equal footing. There are colleges whose academic structure and curriculum are rooted in the co-op model. For example, Boston’s Northeastern University (among other leading universities) organizes its semesters to accommodate a robust co-op curriculum.

So, what are the differences between internships and co-op programs?

The philosophy behind internships is simple. You concentrate on an academic goal – graduating - and supplement your studies by working short-term jobs in your specialty, primarily during the summer. The co-op route is more complex. Co-op programs integrate academic curriculums with extended job experiences. You have the opportunity to go deeper into your role than an internship affords – co-ops often last a whole semester, or longer.

The main differences are:

1.     Your relationship with your school. If you want to work an internship, your school’s career center is a great way to get help, and referrals and references from professors are always welcome. No academic time needs to be sacrificed. If you’re at a school with a co-op structure or programs, you will spend just as much time away from your school as you will in it.

2.     Schedule. Internships are worked during the interludes of the academic year. Co-op jobs can last up to six months.

3.     Immersion. Given the difference in internship vs. co-op structures and schedules, it is worth noting how vastly different these educational experiences are. Internships are voluntary additions to academic work that do not interfere with the academic schedule. Co-op schools/programs require equal commitment between work and studying, and operate outside the rhythms of most colleges and universities.

Co-op programs have their advantages:

• Because you spend so much time “at work” you should learn more than you would at an internship. It is also fair to say that the businesses offering co-op jobs have high expectations of their employees and will put you to work at much more than fetching coffee. Not only will you have extended and invaluable real-world work experience, but it will also be at a higher level. Your skill sets will sharpen.

• You have time to develop in-depth relationships with your co-workers, which can be called by another name – mentorship. Mentorship and guidance are included part and parcel of the co-op package.

• You increase your chances of getting a permanent job post-graduation. Let’s say you make only one major ally during your co-op job that will go to the mat for you when the time comes to get your first “real” job, you have a major advantage over most graduates.

• Working in the trenches changes your approach to your academic studies. Your time in the "working world” will make you a more discriminating scholar. For one thing, you may appreciate being in a classroom in a way you would otherwise lack, and your studies will be viewed through the kaleidoscope of your co-op work experience.

• There’s potential to earn more money. Co-op jobs tend to pay more and for a longer period of time.

Co-op programs also have their disadvantages.

• Extended work experiences may mean that it could take longer to finish your degree, which requires the resources to sustain long-term academic expenses and the commitment to finish your studies regardless of the required time.

• Many people may find the schedule to be challenging if not unsustainable. On paper, it looks great but transitioning between extended periods in the classroom and at work may be difficult. Not everyone can conform to the unique demands of a co-op program.

• Extended absence from your studies may interrupt your momentum. You may be excelling in your coursework and the switch to work takes you out of that groove. Conversely, you could be just hitting your stride at your co-op job when it ends and you’re back in the classroom.

• The challenges and expenses of earning a college degree are already significant and stressful. The pressures of work never sleep. Choosing to do both in equal measure requires a formidable constitution.

Internships and co-ops share the fundamental belief that students benefit from academics and work in tandem, and prepare them for their future in a way that academics alone cannot achieve. Do your research. The opportunities are out there.

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Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

Hit The Gas! Why The Holidays Are Prime Time for Spring Graduates And Internship Seekers

iStock | AndreyPopov

Even though it’s the season for family and celebration, it’s important to resist the temptation to pause your job search during the holidays. For recent or proactive soon-to-be graduates pursuing their first professional job, that advice is even more important. 

It is true that the last quarter of the year is different from January to September. It is the busiest time of the year for many businesses (e.g., retail), finance departments crunch year-end numbers, and normal workflows are disrupted by holidays, holiday events, and vacations. The completely understandable perception is that companies sideline their recruitment efforts during the holidays, but that perception is wrong.

However, for recent and soon-to-be graduates, now is the perfect time to launch your job search for a multitude of reasons specific to your circumstances. Here’s why:

1. It takes time to get a good resume ready. Your resume is more than a list of what you’ve done. Your resume should focus on your achievements and experience, but it should also tell the story of who you are. Give yourself the time to consider how you want to market yourself and craft a resume that will help land that first big job.

2. College career fairs start in January for April-May graduates or summer internships. January is prime time for college career fairs. This is because employers take their time evaluating young candidates for coveted internships and employment. College fairs are an excellent way to make connections with employers you’re interested in, but they aren’t a hire-on-the-spot kind of thing.

3. Employers recruit in the early spring. As in January (well, it’s still winter, but it’s considered the spring semester). Employers who are interested in hiring recent graduates launch recruitment efforts in the spring – near graduation. This is because recruiting employees is expensive and requires a great deal of time and effort. At the very latest, you should have a solid resume and strategy in place by January.

4. Preparation is an advantage. The top students and graduates who know exactly what they want to do will have a leg up in the job search game. It follows that, in theory, a top student who knows exactly what they want to do will have the easiest path. However, you can be a top student and still wait until the last minute to initiate a proper job search. If you start preparing now, you will have a leg up on your peers when robust recruitment efforts rev up in the spring.

5. 5Internships. There is no better way to establish professional relationships than a humble internship. If you worked any internships during your college career, you have contacts and experience that others do not. An expanded network of professional contacts made working an internship (or two!) is another great advantage when seeking permanent full-time employment post-graduation.

If you play your hand well, you use the holidays to work on your resume, attend a career fair in January and make some great connections, follow up with the most promising leads and any other contacts you may have at least once before April, and position yourself to submit your resume directly to a recruiter or hiring manager for a job you know you want.

Imagine both scenarios. You’ve zeroed in on what you believe is the perfect job for you. You spend two hours laboring through the many steps of submitting a cover letter and resume online and after you hit “submit”, your candidacy disappears into a digital void and you wait. And wait. And wait. Or you email your cover letter and resume to the recruiter or hiring manager because you kept in touch with their company’s representative after meeting and talking with them on campus.

If one of those paths seems easier than the other that’s because it is, and it’s more effective. Circumventing online job application systems, job boards, etc. is a significant way to increase your chances of getting an interview. This is a point of emphasis. There is a tangible payoff for developing connections early with potential employers and preparing for your job search in advance (e.g., resume, LinkedIn profile).

Also, if you graduated early (i.e., December), don’t pause until the new year. See if you can make some headway while everybody else sits on the sidelines for a month. If you’re heading into your final semester, don’t pause until the new year, be ready for the new year.

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Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.