The reality in today’s job market is that opportunity is not limited to seasons — it is limited only by your beliefs.
It is easy to understand how holiday job-search perceptions have developed over the years. The holidays bring the extra stress that comes with family gatherings, holiday travel and the time spent on holiday festivities.
If you looked behind the hiring scenes you probably would see the opposite of the holiday-hiring myths. What you probably would find is a hiring decision maker thinking about his or her needs for the next quarter or perhaps the manager who sees how you handle stress as you work a part-time holiday job.
The point is, employers never stop looking for good employees and during the holiday season — when most job seekers are buying into the myth and waiting until the new year to look for a job — those who continued their job search increase their chances of being noticed.
If you are involved in a job search, chances are you have encountered some of the holiday season job-search myths. They can create doubt; they can even cause you to delay your search until after the new year. That’s a big mistake.
Here are some of the common holiday-season job-search myths:
• Hiring decision makers are too busy to think about their hiring needs and are waiting until next year to start the process.
• Everyone takes vacation this time of year, and key managers are difficult to reach.
• You’re overqualified for seasonal jobs.
• The holidays are a good time to take a break in your job search.
• Employers are not posting job positions during the holidays.
Breaking Through the Myths
Who says nobody is hiring? Here’s what’s really happening: December is a great time of year for departments to be planning for early January, and interviewing in December gives you a leg up on the competition.
How do you know no one is looking to hire anyone? You strengthen this myth by not getting out and meeting people, so in a way, it’s true. You make this myth fact through your actions. When networking, try this: Don’t bring up hiring issues. Instead, bring up goal issues for the coming year. Everyone is always in the mood to talk about being proactive, and moving forward creates positive conversations.
Employers never post all their jobs, and waiting for them is just holding you up. Keep holding this myth close, and you can join the 75 percent of people who will start their job search in January. That way the competition will be greater and your task more time consuming.
Everyone is not on vacation, in fact senior management staff often enjoy the slower pace this time of year brings and have more time to focus. Not everyone leaves for vacation. In addition, people usually are in a good mood.
Successful job searching through the holidays requires that you make a plan and stick with it!
