Working In A Winter Wonderland: Why December Is The Right Time For A Job Search
You may have heard that December is a terrible time to begin a job search. This is a very commonly held belief. Like many widely held beliefs, however, this idea is completely incorrect.
People often assume that employers simply won’t be interested in bringing on new staff so late in the year. As a result, many jobseekers tend to put their efforts on hold for the Holidays could prove to be a huge mistake!
The idea that employment opportunities are harder to find in December is a common misconception.
In reality, companies often find themselves urgently scrambling to fill empty positions during the holiday season. In many ways, December is actually a great time to begin (or continue) a job hunt. One related article in Forbes went so far as to suggest that December is, in fact, the best time to find a job.
If you wait until January to start your job search, you could miss out on some great opportunities!
But what makes December such a great time to start your job search?
There are four major factors that work in your favor when you’re looking for work over the winter holidays. You’ll find each of these factors explained below.
What Makes Winter The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year For A Job Search?
1. There is less competition
The misconception that December is a bad time to find a job has been around for a while—long enough to become part of our culture’s cannon of conventional wisdom. In fact, the idea is so widespread that some job seekers simply give up! Many of them don’t even try to find work again until January.
This unofficial seasonal hiatus can work to your advantage. With so many candidates taking themselves out of the running, there’ll be significantly less competition for each open position.
2. Employers have more time (and more money)
Two things tend to happen to large companies at the end of a calendar year. The first is that, with much of the year’s business already concluded, hiring managers and recruiters will have more spare time than usual—time they could use to review potential employment candidates!
Second, businesses will often start December off with their annual expenses well below their allotted budget—leaving them with a budget surplus.
Most sizable corporations practice baseline budgeting (sometimes called “use-it-or-lose-it budgeting”). In baseline budgeting, an unused surplus in the budget is deducted from the budget for the following year. In order to avoid having their budgets reduced in the future, managers need to spend any remaining budget surpluses before the end of the year.
The combined result of these two factors is that many corporate managers spend December with too much time and too much money. This means that they’ll be far more likely to actually read your resume and far less cautious about adding employees to the payroll.
3. There are more “valid” job listings
In December, you’ll see far more valid job postings—meaning job postings that are backed by a genuine vacancy that an employer is looking to fill.
The reality is, why post a job, if there is no immediate need. It could be that they’re considering replacing a current employee, but they want to make sure they’ve got a better candidate first. Or they could be trying to assess the general demand for workers with a certain skill set.
The new job postings listed each December tend to have a higher rate of valid job postings.
Most of the December listings are only posted because the company has an urgent need to fill a position quickly. And, the more urgently an employer needs to fill a spot, the easier it will be for you to secure a job offer.
4. Starting a job search in December is the best way to get a job in January!
Perhaps the biggest advantage of applying for jobs in December (as opposed to waiting until January) is the head start you’ll get!
Searching for a job takes time. Often, applications you submit at the beginning of December won’t even be reviewed until well into January. That’s why it’s important to get your application submitted as soon as possible!
MORE: 5 New Tips For Job Seekers in 2022
How To Optimize Your Winter Work Search
Once you’ve wadded through the countless employment ads and found a posting that interests you like, it’s time to apply for a position!
When applying for a new position, your best resource is an outstanding resume. But building an excellent resume isn’t as simple as it sounds—there are countless tricks and tactics that can drastically impact your chances of securing a job offer.
For instance, you’ll want to make sure that your resume is tailored to the specific job that you’re applying for and that it is paired with a unique cover letter. You’ll also want to make sure that your resume highlights those skills which would make you a good fit for the position in question.
These tips should help you form the foundation of a great resume. In order to maximize your chances of landing a job, though, you might need a little bit of help—luckily, there are professionals (like the ones here at RazorEdge) that can help steer you around the curves!
Once you’ve perfected an incredible resume, you’ll be ready to begin your December job search!