5 Reasons to Continue Job Hunting over the Holidays

By Beth Braccio Hering


Job seekers who put their searches on hold during December may miss out on valuable opportunities unique to this month. Get rid of the outdated notion that nothing worthy happens in the hiring world between Thanksgiving and New Year and take advantage of the following:

1.  New openings
The end of the year is a prime time for retirements and internal promotions, which create vacancies that need to be filled. Likewise, some companies begin a new budget cycle in January – providing managers with money to hire staff. Smart businesses want to settle their staffing needs now so that they can proceed full steam ahead when the calendar turns.

2.  Less competition
The applicant pool often shrinks during the month of December as job searchers become engrossed in holiday plans or assume hirers will be out of the office. Fewer résumés coming in means yours has a better chance of being noticed.

3.  No-pressure networking
Tired of always feeling like you’re “bugging” people in your network? Christine Bolzan, founder of Graduate Career Coaching, notes that an easy and highly effective way to reach individuals and stay on their minds without asking for anything is to send holiday greetings.
“Reaching out to your contacts only when there is a current opening at a target company is too late. You’ve missed the boat, and in this tight job market, timing is everything. During the holiday season, there are so very many ways to make contacts and touch base with individuals who will subsequently have you in mind when hiring resumes in January. A nice card sent via U.S. Postal Service (NOT e-mail) with a handwritten, personalized message inside is the perfect ‘ping’ to those in your network,” Bolzan says.

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