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The holiday season is just around the corner. To many people, that means bells
ringing, carolers singing and job openings waning. However, the holiday season
offers some rare career opportunities that are not available the rest of the
year. The real problem is that many job seekers cannot identify these
opportunities.
This month's newsletter explains the need-to-know-facts of performing a job
search during the holidays. With a keen eye, you can take advantage of the
opportunities that every one else misses by paying attention to the following:
Networking at holiday parties
Sending holiday cards with a purpose
Working around vacation schedules
Beating the holiday blues
1. NETWORKING AT HOLIDAY PARTIES
The holidays bring more than a seemingly eternal string of parties. With these
social outings come a string of fantastic networking
opportunities. You can meet a wide array of people in many diverse fields.
Even if you don't feel like attending a party,
the opportunity is too great to pass up. To get the most out
of the occasion, keep these points in mind:
BE CONSERVATIVE. You are trying to impress potential employers and colleagues.
The party may not be an interview, but some restraint
must be exercised. Avoid revealing or questionable clothing and limit
your alcohol consumption.
BE CASUAL. Being overly aggressive about getting employment information will
turn people away. You may be at the party to find a
job, but everyone else came to unwind. As you meet new people, the
topic of employment will eventually come up, and you can casually mention
your job search.
BE PREPARED. As a job hunter, you should always have business cards with you.
Anyone you might talk to about work will meet a
plethora of people over the course of the night. Giving them a business card
gives them a reminder of who you are.
2. SENDING HOLIDAY CARDS WITH A PURPOSE
It may seem a bit cheesy, but holiday cards are a fantastic and easy way to get
the attention of an employer or recruiter. There is a
good chance you will be sending cards to friends and family already, so
there is not very much extra work to do.
While the process is not complicated, it involves a little more effort than
shoving a card into an envelope, there are a few things to keep in mind:
Avoid holiday specific cards. As a matter of professionally courtesy and respect
for religious diversity, use generic cards with
messages like "Happy Holidays", "Season's Greetings" or "Happy New Year".
Use a simple message inside your card, such as "Looking forward to seeing you in
the New Year", "Happy to see you this holiday season"
or "Best Wishes".
Do not send cards to people you have not corresponded with. The real
advantage of sending a holiday card is that it serves
as an unimposing reminder to people with whom you have interviewed or discussed
work. A stranger will toss the card in the trash.
3. WORKING AROUND VACATION SCHEDULES
The biggest obstacle that a job hunter will face during the holiday season is
timing. People go on vacations, schedules become
tight, and open time slots vanish. This does not mean that people have
stopped hiring.
To have any success, you will have to fight the hands of time. This means
leaving yourself available and flexible. Consider
these points:
The early bird catches the worm. If you contact a recruiter earlier in the
holiday season, they will have more available time
periods in their schedule.
Since the holiday schedule is so chaotic, recruiters have time slots appear and
disappear all the time. You never know when a
recruiter may unexpectedly be available so be prepared for a call at anytime.
Hold back on a vacation. If other job seekers
are not available during the holidays and you are, you stand
a much better shot at landing a job.
4. BEATING THE HOLIDAY BLUES
Regardless of financial position, people often get depressed and/or lonely
during the holiday season. Being in between jobs
cannot help the situation. In such a time, it is very easy to lose site of goals
or suffer more serious psychological problems.
Tips on how to search for a job during the holidays are probably not going help
you fight off clinical depression, but they can help
you to kick those holiday blues out the door.
Try to remember:
Create a holiday schedule. Schedules allow you to allocate time for constructive
job hunting activities and set aside time for
relaxation or holiday celebrations. This way you can be productive and enjoy
yourself.
'Tis the season to give. During the holiday season, a tremendous number of
volunteer opportunities appear. Helping others can
give you a sense of pride and even put a smile on your face. Furthermore,
volunteering gives you more experience to put on your resume and
opportunities to network with other people. At the
very least, you will be contributing to your community.
Conclusion
Many people fall into the illusion that career opportunities do not exist during
the winter holidays, but this simply is not true. Some
recruiters have even admitted that December is their busiest time of the
year. This does not mean you are guaranteed to land a job, but it also
does not mean that you should take a break from your
search. With these tips and a bit of luck, you may just get the one thing you
want the most this holiday season.
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