Job Hunting: Why you shouldn’t leave it until after Christmas
The average recruitment process is 6 weeks from initial application to your first day, which leads us nicely to the Christmas holidays.
This in turn means you’ll be returning from the holidays into your new job role, rather than being reminded of all the reasons why you were looking to leave in the first place.
It’s the norm to mentally ‘check out’ of job hunting in the lead up to Christmas and think about it again in the new year, but here’s our reasons why you should push through and continue the hunt before the Christmas holidays.
1. New Year Fresh Start
In your new role, you most likely now will either start in the new year, taking any remaining holiday with your end date. Or you may have a few days to meet your new team before heading off for the holidays. Either way it leads you nicely into a fresh start for the new year, no sinking feeling when Monday comes back around as you’re off to a new workplace.
2. There’s Time to Tie-off Loose Ends
Whether in your previous work place or in your personal life, the arrival of the Christmas period gives you a moment to finish off any remaining work, give a detailed handover and get yourself mentally in the right frame of mind for your new role. No rushing around trying to get ready for your first day.
3. Less Competition
It’s common for people to wait until the new year to look for a new role, which means there’s less competition for that job you’re interested in! That’s why it’s an ideal time to get on Indeed and see what openings there are at the moment. Any big names you’ve been keen to work for? Take your time, make lots of notes and remember to write down any jobs you apply for, even better, save the URL.
4. More Job Opportunities
Surprisingly this is a great period to look for a new role as there are more opportunities than expected. Lots of people take holiday on top of their notice period which means they don’t plan to return after christmas and leave earlier than expected. This means employers push through the recruitment process to make sure there's little to no interim between you and your predecessor.
5. Better Negotiation Potential
With employers wanting to meet final budgets and deadlines, as well as needing to fulfil a recruitment gap, they’re going to want to get you in the door asap. Which means there is an opportunity there for you to get the package that suits you best, flexible/hybrid working, benefits, pay etc.
Where to Start?
Firstly you want to understand what career you want, what are your goals for next year? Then look on indeed and other job platforms for that particular role. If you need additional qualifications, are there any short courses or training that you can start now?
Whatever your career goals and job interests, Christmas and the new year is not a reason to stop your job hunt, if anything is a reason to start.
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