Yes, the economy is tough and employers are taking longer and sitting on
decisions about the jobs they do have available. That is no reason
to put your job search on hold. Except for the time between
Christmas to New Year’s, employers are working and may have more time
available.
“Don’t view the holiday season as downtime… you don’t want to lose
momentum as you move forward into the new year,” states Betty
Richardson, director of human resources for Avery Dennison in
Painesville. “We’re working full speed ahead through the
holidays.” You should keep taking interviews until Santa arrives.
Companies hire people when they need them.
Kathy Hughes, a district sales manager in the health benefits field,
received a job offer in December and started her new job on December 22,
contrary to the belief that nobody gets hired during the holidays.
Her manager wanted to get her up to speed while things were slower so
she could hit the ground running in January. Kathy interviewed for
a broad spectrum of sales positions in a variety of industries, and
received two job offers.
Here are some strategies for successful holiday job
searching:
Reflect and focus. The holidays offer
an opportunity for career and life introspection. What is
important to you? What are your best strengths and skills?
What are your accomplishments and how have they benefited your
organizations? What is your vision of success? Write a
mission statement geared to future goals, defining where you can make a
positive contribution. Be flexible in how you can broaden and
transfer your skills; the clincher is having the right skill set for the
job. Make an action plan with flexible time frames. During
these trying times,
Count your blessings. Take time to
focus on what is really important and count your blessings. Do
something for others. Volunteering may present an excellent
opportunity for networking.
Become a quick-change artist. Focus on
the present and the future. Change your mindset. Stay
positive and in control by adding structure to your search efforts.
Think broader about where and how your skills will
transfer and fit in today’s market place. Do a complete assessment
of your skills and strengths. Do your homework.
There will always be competition. In
the current tight job market, there is lots of competition. Since
you only need one job, it is best to focus on what you have to offer and
forget about how many resumes the recruiter received. There is
always more than one person applying for a position, so it is best to
not think about how many people are competing with you for the job.
Take the risk and go for it. Be
proactive in managing your career. We would all like to
think that someone is guiding our career, but self-security is the name
of the game. Don’t allow yourself to “get stuck” in a job.
Managing your career for the new year requires taking appropriate risks,
or planning for them when the economy is stronger.
Network, network, network. Networking
will never be an overused principle -- it continues to be the major
method that links people to jobs, as it has been for centuries.
Use every invitation -- both business and pleasure -- as an opportunity
to develop and expand your network over the holidays. There is no
better time to reach a large number of people. Don’t take your
resume to holiday events, but use each situation as an opportunity to
follow up later. Expand your holiday greeting card list; use the
holiday season as a time to get positioned for action early in the new
year.
Maintain your quest for knowledge. Use
your job search as a time to expand your knowledge and get up to speed
with new technology related to your field. Be an avid business
reader. Read job search books like the series by Kate Wendleton.
Use this as an opportunity to learn and grow.
Take advantage of holiday cheer.
Managers strive to screen the tide of job hunters for most of the year,
but they will take more time to meet over the holidays. They are
more into the spirit of the holidays, and there are very few Scrooges in
December. Also, there are fewer business trips this month, making
it easier for you to reach decision makers.
Some companies must hire in December.
Hiring managers try to fill some open positions by year end so they can
begin the new year fully staffed. Also, the pressure to exhaust
this year’s hiring budgets is critical for many managers.
Career resiliency will
involve keeping your skills on the leading edge so that you are always
marketable -- the “new wave” of job security. How can you use your
capabilities more broadly so that they will transfer to other industries
and functions? Keep at it. Don’t put your job search on hold
until the New Year. Enjoy the holidays.
