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Why It Pays to Keep the Job Search Going During the Holiday Season

Conventional wisdom might suggest to pause your job search during the holiday season. After all, bosses and employees are less focused on business and hiring during this time, right? Actually the contrary is true: December is a great time to reach out to employers…and it might actually give you a leg up over the competition! Learn why it pays to keep job hunting over the holidays:

Fewer Job Seekers 

Since many job seekers take time off to celebrate the holidays (assuming employers aren’t looking), you’ll encounter less competition when applying for jobs. Employers continue interviewing through the end of the year, so it pays to send out applications. Even if an employer isn’t hiring, take the time to make an initial connection.

Be a Line-Jumper 

For many companies, their fiscal calendar works around the traditional calendar. That means a company’s budgets resets on January 1. If you send your application in now, you’ll be ahead of those who will pick up their job search mid-January.

By applying over the holiday season, you jump to the head of the line with employers who want to onboard their new employees at the start of the year. By applying in December (or November!) you’re ready to start working when the job opens.

Employers Need to Hire Quickly 

Employers report there is a shortage of applicants for open positions around the holidays. Companies that need to fill positions quickly are apt to move forward on qualified applicants who touched base at that time. And of course, employers like to hire at the end of the year to spend down the budget they have, in order to boost the budget next year.

Continuing your search – even ramping it up during the holidays can make all the difference to starting your new year as a new employee. You can do this!

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Seasonal Jobs…or Seasonal to Permanent!

If you’re looking for extra cash for the holidays, a seasonal job is the obvious choice. Seasonal job opportunities pop up a few times a year, and one of those times is here now. Because winter is right around the corner, I thought I’d share a few jobs that are commonly (and currently, as of the day I wrote this) available:

Brick/Mortar Retail – clerks and cashiers, personal shoppers, Santa or his elves, customer service, delivery, receiving

Online Retail – telesales, customer service, delivery

Warehouse – inventory, shipping, receiving, assembling, delivery

Catering/Banquet halls – servers, sales, event photographer

Call Centers – outbound sales, inbound tech support and customer service

Ski/Winter Resorts – hospitality, sales, housekeeping

Kids’ Winter Camps – counselor, housekeeping, food service

Office – phone reps, mail/marketing fulfillment, sales

Side Gigs (usually freelance/self-employed) – House cleaning, personal gift shopper, holiday decoration installer, driver, tutor

Employers start interviewing for these positions in the fall, so there’s no time to lose. The search for a seasonal job is much different than finding permanent employment, in that employers generally hire their seasonal staff during or right after a first interview. Keep an eye out for job fairs at distribution centers, warehouses and office complexes in your area in October and November.

Sometimes, these seasonal jobs can turn into longer-term roles or even become permanent! If you want to try to make that happen, here are three ways to do that:

1) Stand out for the right reasons: Let your boss see you going the extra mile. Pick up that overlooked, crumpled litter that was meant for the trash can, instead of stepping over it like everyone else. Smile and greet every customer, and offer to help even if it isn’t your department. Help other employees when you have extra time. Approach your work with a positive, whatever-it-takes attitude.

2) Think about the company’s needs after the season is over: Think like a permanent employee, not someone who will be gone in a few weeks. Are there problems you can solve, or have you caught wind of long-term projects that might be well-suited to your skills? Offer your experience in ways that expand your usefulness to the company.

3) Let Your Intentions Be Known: A week or two into this new job (not on your first day!), talk to your boss. Let her know that you enjoy the company and the work, and that if a permanent role opens, you’d like to apply. Your boss isn’t a mind-reader, and she’s extra busy during holiday seasons. She may see you as a great short-term employee without even thinking about the long game. It’s your job to plant that seed.

If you need help ‘right-sizing’ your resume for a seasonal job, get in touch with the experts at ResuMAYDAY. Remember, these jobs go quickly so you don’t have a moment to lose!

 

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3 Summer Job Search Tips

If you have contacted the ResuMAYDAY office in the past two years, there’s a good chance that you’ve spoken to my lovely assistant, Sz’Moyne. Her favorite part of the job is talking with job seekers and helping them solve their problems whenever and however she can. And it’s with that positive attitude that she approached me with a few ideas to share with our clients about their summer job searches. So without further ado, I’d like to introduce a new segment to the ResuMAYDAY blog: From the Desk of Sz’Moyne Arnwine…

3 Summer Job Search Tips:
Now that summer is here, most job seekers will think that it’s a good idea to place their search on hold until the fall. While it’s true that some companies don’t extend offers until the fall, keep in mind that they interview before the offers…in summer. Here are three reasons not to believe that myth that it’s a waste of time to launch a job search in the summer:

1. Going to a pool party or summer event? You never know when you will run into a hiring manager or an industry professional at a picnic or other summer event. Make sure you have perfected your elevator speech, and drop a few business cards in your beach bag. If you find yourself with some summer free time, spend a few minutes making sure your LinkedIn profile is updated with your current career goal, all the right keywords and a good-looking profile picture. Summer is also a great time to conduct informational interviews with others who also have down time. Remember to think strategically, and act opportunistically.

2. Sometimes no news is good news. We have all been there before. You apply to a position but you don’t hear anything back right away so you assume that you aren’t qualified. Guess what? All bets are off when summer schedules take over. With summer in full swing, HR may be working with a reduced staff or the decision maker may be out of the office. Expect that it’s going to take a little longer to hear from someone. Be patient and don’t assume the worst.

3. Set small, obtainable goals that work with your schedule. Yes, it’s summer. You’ve earned some downtime, so go for it! Just be sure that you are setting aside time to fit in a few job search activities. Set a schedule of days and times that you can commit to your search. If you don’t do this, a week off can quickly turn into a month. Before you know it, the entire season can be behind you, with no job search progress to show for it. Small, obtainable goals will help keep you on track.

In conclusion, be proactive and take advantage of the season. Summer downtime and parties provide great opportunities to network and add momentum to your search. Be prepared! You never know what’s around the corner!

Sz’Moyne Arnwine is the Client Relations Manager at ResuMAYDAY. She loves learning about job search and business strategies, and generously shares them with the ResuMAYDAY community.

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A word or two (or 412) about Interview Techniques

Interviewing well is such an important skill. You could have a great resume but if you can’t close the deal in the interview, your resume really doesn’t matter. So I wanted to take a moment to share some insights with you.

Generally, there are two types of interview questions: Traditional and Behavioral.
Traditional = What is your 5 year plan? What are your weaknesses? Why should we hire an external candidate like you, rather than promoting from within?
Behavioral = Tell me about a time that you failed while on the job. Tell me an unpopular management decision you made and how your team handled it. Tell me about a time that you had to manage conflict between two or more colleagues.

Job seekers have a much better chance of selling their skills and talents to an employer when behavioral questions are asked. Behavioral questions enable the candidate to bring the interviewer (figuratively) into the candidate’s previous work experience to show how they handled a specific workplace event. Traditional questions prompt canned, outdated and predictable answers. This isn’t the right way for an employer to find their next superstar! My advice to employers is ask behavioral-based questions in their interviews. My advice for job seekers is when an employer asks a traditional-based question, answer in a behavioral-based manner.

Example:
Q: “Why should we hire you, an external candidate, rather than promoting from within?”
A: “Well, I think a lot of candidates at this point may say that an outside person will bring a fresh perspective. I don’t agree with that; your employees don’t exist in a vacuum or a protective bubble. So while I don’t know the internal candidates who might be campaigning for a promotion, I can tell you that I have learned everything I can about your company and that I have a strategic plan that can get this department’s sales team to break the $1MM threshold. I’ve done it before for companies who don’t have as strong as an infrastructure as you do. Here’s my plan…”

What you’re doing is bending the conversation to your advantage, without sounding condescending to the interviewer. Afterwards, the interviewer will probably pat him or herself on the back for conducting such a great interview! But you and I will know the credit really goes to you…and the job offer probably will, too.

If you’re a job seeker and you want to improve your interview techniques, give us a call and we’ll set up an interview skills session. We even offer a FREE interview skills assessment!

If you’re an employer, reach out to us to learn more about behavioral interviews and how this technique will vastly improve your hiring results.

630-901-3595 / (888) 556-2776

info@ResuMAYDAY.com

Serving global clients from our HQ in the Chicago suburbs.

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