Christmas Job Seeker Tips

‘Tis the season to be jolly… ‘tis also the season when the clever Christmas job seeker can get ahead of their competition.

You see, whilst they are eating, drinking, and generally being merry, you can being doing all within your power to nab yourself an exciting new job in January.

The general feeling amongst job seekers that we have spoken to is that the Christmas and New Year period is ‘dead time’ in terms of finding a job.  ‘No one is at work!’ we hear them say, as they justify 2 weeks off from their job search, not realising that now is precisely the time when they should be working hard to maximise your chances of getting a job in the New Year!

Here are 5 thoughts on why this is a great time of year to accelerate your job search, and some tips on how to best spend your time.

Take Stock

In life generally the end of the year is quite often a time for reflection, and this is equally the case when it comes to your job search.  Now is the time to take stock of your efforts, assess what you are doing wrong, and make changes to your strategy as needed.

This is an especially useful measure to take if you have been working hard towards finding a job for quite a while, without much success. Sometimes being so close to your own situation prevents you from being able to take an objective and critical viewpoint, and the Christmas period gives you an excellent opportunity to rectify this situation.

Rewrite Your CV

Many job seekers fall into the trap of creating a CV and then not reviewing its content, at least not until they have an additional example of work experience to put into it.  In truth your CV is something that should be constantly evolving, rather than remaining totally static in the hope that it will demonstrate that you fulfil the criteria for every job that you apply for.

We advise tailoring your CV specifically for each application you make, using a standard template as your starting point and making the whole thing relevant to the skills and experiences requested by the employer.  However if this template is flawed, incomplete, or insufficiently detailed it can sully your chances of getting an interview over and over again.

The Christmas period offers a great opportunity to review your CV, to go back to square one and begin making improvements.  That way when it comes to making new applications the following year, you can be confident that you have an excellent starting point from which to work.

Network

We are not suggesting that you go to a Christmas party armed with your CV and qualification certificates, but all of the social gatherings taking place over the Christmas period give a nice opportunity to reconnect with acquaintances and do some gentle research into opportunities which might be coming up in the New Year.

Friends and family in particular are a good source of information, but make sure to let them know that you are actively looking for work and that they might keep ‘an ear to the ground’ on the off chance that they might hear of something suitable.

Check out some of these posts on the topic of job networking for more information on how to maximum your efforts;

5 Ways to Improve your Job Networking

How to Handle Job Networking

Networking Tips for your Job Search

Plan Plan Plan

A new year offers a fresh start, and if your job search has gone a bit stale in recent times you should use any spare time that you have over the Christmas break to reinvigorate your efforts with some strategic planning.  Try to identify why your job search has been unsuccessful and make preparations for how you are going to deal with this in the New Year.  Job searching is in itself a skill; it needs practice and self-evaluation if you are going to get better at it.  This requires proper planning and preparation.

A major part of the planning process should be improving your organizational skills.  For some people organization is something that comes naturally, but for others it can be something of an uphill struggle, but it is certainly worth the effort.  Being well organised will keep your job search on track over the coming weeks ensuring that you fulfil the tasks that you have set for yourself and that you are making the most of the time that you have