Keep Your Job Search Going During The Holidays!

It’s been a tough year for job seekers, and as we hit the holiday stretch, the one-word affirmation that everyone should be saying is: persevere. Since spring, hiring has been at its lowest level in a decade, and the complex factors contributing to the “freeze” are unpredictable. There are no easy solutions, and recruitment tends to slow down between October and December. However, this slowdown is also an opportunity. Remember: persevere, persevere, persevere!

1. Maximize your time between now and Thanksgiving. Flood the zone with applications – right now!. Many people will take their foot off the pedal and pull over until January. Don’t be that person. When there’s lighter job-seeker traffic, you have more visibility and more opportunities to get in the door.
2. Create an action plan from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve. Except for retail, the job market will inevitably slow to a crawl during the holidays. That doesn’t mean recruiters and hiring managers don’t have a lot to do. They do, but they also have a moment to take a breath. That’s the time for you to load the cannon and start firing. If you were proactive in the run-up to Thanksgiving, follow up afterward in as aggressive yet professional a way as possible. Make your final target list and get your applications in.
3. Don’t wait. Yes, the holidays are awesome. And the egg nog, turkey, and ham are great! But stay focused! Job-related activities should be your top priority. It’s easy to get distracted during the holidays. Don’t succumb to the temptation to wait, and that includes something as simple as getting back to someone in a timely fashion. If you’re contacted about a potential interview, drop everything to respond and make yourself immediately available. Anything that can be scheduled before the new year is to your advantage, and the people on the other end will appreciate your flexibility when it makes their life easier (do not underestimate this superpower).
4. Every person and every meeting counts. Yes, your primary focus should be applying for jobs for which you are qualified, but don’t stop there. Strategic networking during holidays can pay higher dividends than other time periods. People have more flexible schedules during the end-of-year slowdown and many individuals are already in schmooze mode. Meeting up with people in your professional network, scheduling “informational interviews,” attending virtual or IRL job fairs, are all ways to keep your momentum moving forward, and you never know when or where lightning will strike.
5. Assume hiring takes place the entire time. Actual hiring may indeed dip during the last stretch of the year, especially if a business’s fiscal year is the same as the calendar year. Open positions may be in the budgeting phase, and recruitment will not start in earnest until January. However, that doesn’t mean hiring has stopped altogether. Mission-critical jobs are always being filled, and if you lay the groundwork before the holidays, you can position yourself to be a frontrunner in the new year.
6. Don’t overlook seasonal work or volunteering. Even if it’s temporary, having somewhere to go and bringing in some income, will work wonders on any stress and anxiety you may be experiencing. It will also give you something new to put in your cover letter and resume. Recruiters like candidates who are active and proactive.
7. Use your student career center. Hiring for recent grads is egregiously bad right now. An extra resource that you should consider leveraging is your college/university career center. Even if you’ve long graduated, they often can, and will, help you in whatever way they can. Career centers are for alumni as well. Remember, happily employed alumni=happy donors.

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.