During the holidays we often think of the staffing needs in the retail and hospitality industries, but are there changes in other industries? The answer to this is yes! This can be one of the best times of year for job seekers to ramp up their efforts to find new employment, as much of their competition will take “a break” during the holidays assuming companies are not hiring and are instead focused on their holiday parties, which is absolutely not the case. Companies may actually become more eager to employ as the pool of applicants shrinks during this time of year.
In addition to job seekers being at an advantage because of a smaller job pool, many companies are scrambling to spend their allotted budgets for the year before December 31st. Another factor is that hiring managers may be easier to reach this time of year as the likelihood that they are traveling is less. Andrius Montvila, who is one of the founders of A&A Search adds, “We have seen over the past five years that companies tend to ramp up hiring right before the holidays. Our business has picked up significantly from October up through Christmas in the last several years. One of the main reasons is that a lot of our clients’ budgets run on a calendar year basis. They would like to use the funds that have been allotted to them to sew up any hiring needs before new budgets come out. I feel it is a great time for job seekers. If they are following an aggressive, dedicated search then this time period can lead to success.”
