Can You Afford to Hibernate?

Contrary to common belief, the start of the Holiday season does not end all hiring until mid-January the next year.

I recently asked a friend how her husband’s career search was coming. She stated ”We have given up, and we’re waiting until the new year to start the search. Nothing happens during the holidays.”

What! What what!! I would have said triple what but I think there is a trademark on that.

I told her that hiring does not stop at the end of the year. In fact, some of my busiest weeks are in December. I am currently seeing an uptick in openings.

Last year, I had a candidate who found a position specifically for the Holiday season. She did such a great job for them during this time that they decided to keep her on board and she is still there one year later.

I can go on and on about people I know who have achieved career zen in the Holiday season when other people picked up their toys and went home.

Here are my insights of what may occur in the job market during the month of December. I will make my remarks specific to IT as most of the positions I deal with are in the Technology realm.

1. Projects slated to get completed this year may be behind schedule and need a person to help them finish it before the end of the year. (I received two of these jobs this week.) I had a client hire a contractor from me, and are now making her a full-time offer.
2. An organization has a Developer or DBA opening during the year and they have to fill the position by the end of the year or else they will lose the slot in their organization.
3. IT talent is very competitive. Even now I am seeing great candidates receive multiple offers. Companies are looking for a jump in the company next year and are working to secure top candidates before early next year.
4. The company has had some attrition and they now need to back fill the position.
5. The company is looking to upgrade their talent as they feel they can get some additional experience or knowledge from the marketplace. (I have two of these types of positions right now).

Unless you are a polar bear and can hibernate through the winter, now is a great time to be out there marketing yourself. I can’t guarantee you will find a job, but you will be miles in front of the candidates who take the month of December off.

Tell me your thoughts.

Matt Cheek is an Account Manager with MATRIX Resources with 5+ years of overall experience. He specializes with small to medium size businesses in the areas of Staffing and Recruiting, Outsourced Web Development, and Business Intelligence. You can read Matt’s blog at themattcheek.wordpress.com.

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