If someone has been job searching during 2012 without success, chances are a new job is what they would most prefer to have in their stocking come Christmas morning, rather than the latest smartphone or designer bag. Of course, we all know that no matter how many letters they may write to Santa, this is one present he probably can’t provide. Getting a job is our own responsibility and ours alone.
Although there are sometimes 101 things to do at Christmas, if you’re really serious about getting a new job, taking some time out over the festive period to reassess and refocus your job search can be one of the best things of all to do.
To help you out a little, we’ve outlined a few basic tips for Job Searching over Christmas.

Reflect and Review
Christmas is a time of reflection after all, so why not look back on what you’ve done to try and get a job over the past year. Where have you been looking? What CV have you been sending out? Have you had any interviews? Have you asked for feedback afterwards about why you weren’t selected? Why not spend some time reviewing all you have done and then evaluating what has gone well and what hasn’t. If your job search methods, or even tools ( i.e. your CV) aren’t proving to be successful, consider what you can do to change them. Learning from what you have done is the best thing of all if you are going to try and make improvements going forward.

Use Networking Opportunities
Generally you may be socializing more over Christmas and perhaps catching up with friends and family you never really see all year. Some of them may not even be aware that you are actively job seeking. Make sure that you make the most of any networking opportunities that arise that may have a positive impact on your job search in the New Year. After all, many jobs never get advertised at all and end up getting filled because “someone knows someone”.  Who knows what opportunities you may discover simply by chatting over a glass of mulled wine or whatever your tipple of choice may be!

Look at your Online Profile
More and more employers these days are vetting candidates way before the interview stage by simply doing a quick online search on them. It would be worthwhile over Christmas to do exactly
that on yourself. If your search reveals some things that are, shall we say, less than savoury, could that perhaps be a contributory factor towards you never getting an interview? Update, amend, delete or make private, whatever is necessary to improve your online status. If you are not currently using professional social networks like LinkedIn, perhaps you ought now to start. Create professional profiles where you can so that any searches undertaken by prospective employers show you in the best light possible.

Decide what you want to do
If you’ve spent most of 2012 looking for jobs in a business sector that just isn’t recruiting or in a regional economic blackspot, perhaps it’s time to reconsider your options for the year ahead. Why not spend some time researching other sectors where your skills and experience may be in demand, or consider other locations to look for a job. Whilst of course we are not necessarily suggesting that everyone jobseeking ought to relocate or move away, if there are few jobs in their own areas, perhaps for some people it might be an option to consider. If that seems too daunting a prospect, why not simply look at what other areas you could reasonably commute to and add them to your job search agenda for the coming year.

Prepare for the year ahead
Why wait until January 1st to determine your New Years’ Resolutions, particularly if finding a job is high on your agenda? Use some of your free time over Christmas to create a proper plan – a job search strategy, if you like. Plan out the places you are going to look for a job, how and when you are going to job search and also of course spend some time updating your CV. You may think your CV is the best it can possibly be – however for most of us, there’s always a little room for improvement. And remember, a little time spent doing this now will mean you can really hit the ground running, come the New Year.

We hope that some of these tips may prove useful – we’d love to hear any others though. Why not share your own Christmas job searching tips via the comments section below.

And one more thing…Merry Christmas!