6 Reasons to Hustle Your Job Search During the Holidays
Many career transitioners slow the search when the December hits. With the hecticness of holiday shopping, parties, and countless other excuses, it can be a challenge to keep your search for a new job moving forward at the same pace—especially if you’ve been on the market for a while. There’s a lot of reasons why you should ramp up your search with the holidays instead of slowing it down. Here are six advantages to hustling in your job search during the holidays, plus some strategies to make sure your holiday job search is a success:[bctt tweet="6 Reasons to Hustle in Your #JobSearch During the Holidays, by @zimmerbugg"]
Why you should job search during the holidays:
1) New year, new budget—
Many companies reassign budgets at the onset of the new year. Job openings that might have been on hold until new budgets are established are raring to be filled. In anticipation of this fresh budget, hiring managers will start put their feelers out new recruits during the holidays so that these people will be ready to join their teams in January.[bctt tweet="Many #hiring managers will ramp up their search for new recruits for the #newyear"]
2) Holiday parties—
All of the research agrees—your network is your #1 vehicle to a new job (70% of jobs are found this way, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics). Use holiday get togethers as an opportunity to let your friends and family know exactly what you’re looking for. These are the people who care about you most, and who’re the most likely to be invested in your well-being. You don't want to make every conversation about your job search, but have a 30-second pitch ready to explains what you’re looking for. Even if no one at the event is able to make an immediate connection for you, your search will be top-of-mind for them if an opportunity to help does arise.[bctt tweet="#Network is your no.1 vehicle to a new job. Share what you're looking for! "]
3) More holiday parties—
The power of your network doesn’t stop with people related to you, and the holiday season offers a wealth of festive holiday networking opportunities. Mix and mingle and meet new people. As you job search during the holidays, attend at least one party you’ve never gone to before by keeping an ear out and scanning Meetup or Twitter for local industry or charity events. Check out these 10 Tips for Networking Your Way to a Job You Love to polish your networking skills before the big event.
4) It's a time to rekindle lost connections—
You have an easy ice-breaker (no winter pun intended). If you’ve lost touch with old connections that might be able to be of help in your search, the holidays are a great excuse to dust off your rolodex and reach out with season’s greetings.
5) Volunteering opportunities galore—
Last week, we unpacked some of the research behind the many ways that volunteering can grow your career. Among this, people who volunteer have a 27% higher likelihood of finding employment after being out of work than non-volunteers. Volunteering is also ranked among the top networking methods. With so many organizations needing help during the holidays, volunteering provides a range of opportunities to meet new people and try new things. And, at the very least, it’s likely to give your spirits a lift.[bctt tweet="People who #volunteer have a 27% higher likelihood of finding employment."]
6) Start the new year off right—
There’s less competition during the holidays, as fewer job seekers are looking. This can give you an edge. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to move forward into the new year with a new career adventure. And, even if your search doesn’t end in a job offer just yet, it’s harder to get going again once you lose your momentum. Pumping the gas now will ensure you’re well-positioned when the new year rolls around and other job seekers have to re-start their searches.[bctt tweet="There's less competition on the #jobmarket during the holidays—this can give you an edge."]