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#JobSearch : How To Survive And Thrive During The Holidays And Into The New Year. Great Game Plan for the Holidays!

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The new year is right around the corner. For some Americans, 2023 was challenging, as they had to contend with high inflation and rising costs eating into their paychecks. White-collar professionals face job insecurity due to threats brought on by the ascendancy of artificial intelligence, offshoring jobs to other countries and corporate cost-cutting, which has included numerous rounds of layoffs for companies.

One of the best things about this time of year is the shift in attitude. It’s the season for taking some time off from work, seeing family, taking much-needed trips, or just relaxing and practicing self-care. The holidays can be stressful for others, as you must wrap up all year-end projects while hosting family and friends.

How To Balance Everything

To get off on the right foot, you must start by being organized. Meet with your manager to calibrate the expectations and deliverables required during the holiday season.

Write down a list of priorities. This should include the tasks you’re responsible for, bringing your staff up to date with their work and continuing to loop in your direct supervisor to ensure everyone is on the same page. Planning helps to alleviate any stress and anxiety. Since you will be pulled in different directions, ensure that you have a structure and routine in place so you don’t get off track.

Minimize distractions when working. Turn off notifications, put your phone in another room and try to find a quiet spot to avoid holiday noise or conversations when you need to be productive. Consider listening to focus music and be sure to take breaks intentionally. Schedule microbreaks during work sessions to recharge. Use them to stretch, meditate, take a short walk outside or do an activity you enjoy.

With so many holiday events and tasks, fatigue can easily set in. Counter this by keeping your sleep schedule consistent and trying to get a good night’s sleep.

You must also allow time for self-introspection. Use the slower days this time of year affords you to reflect on your 2023. What goals did you accomplish? What lessons did you learn?

 

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Article continued …

Looking Forward To 2024

To thrive, you must set your intentions for the new year. Establish what your goals are for 2024 and break them into monthly and quarterly benchmarks. Focus on one to three intentions that guide your days. An intention could be a value, desired trait or action pattern.

Define the position or job title you aim to have in 2024. Map the skills and experience you’ll need through courses, projects or volunteering. Take online courses and certifications. Use extra holiday downtime to gain qualifications and high-demand skills for career advancement.

Attend holiday parties or set up video chats over coffee or lunch to build key relationships. Network and connect with colleagues, bosses, clients and industry peers.

To get a headstart, prepare for upcoming projects and priorities in Q1. Sketch out project plans and brainstorm creative direction. Research trends and innovations in your industry by reading trade journals or books and listening to podcasts.

After self-reflection, you may realize that your current job doesn’t fill you with purpose. If you feel like a job switch is in order, update your résumé and LinkedIn profile and audit your digital footprint to ensure you represent yourself respectfully on social media. To position yourself as a thought leader or leading expert in your space, create content by writing blog posts, making short-form videos or starting an industry-focused podcast to get noticed. Reach out to recruiters to learn about new opportunities.

By doing all of these things, you will set an excellent precedent for the new year. The momentum will keep building upon itself, bringing you closer to your professional goals.

 

Forbes.com | December 11, 2023 | Jack Kelly 

#BestofFSCBlog : Over 14K Reads: 5 Reasons To Job Search Over The Holidays. Wait until Jan? Very Bad Idea. MUst REad!

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Many people assume that the holidays are the worst time of year for a job search. Actually, the opposite is true. The holidays may be the best time to look for a new role if you approach it the right way. Why? Because while hiring may slow down over the holiday season, it doesn’t stop. That means you shouldn’t either.

Here are five reasons why it makes sense to look for a job over the holidays.

Less competition

Because there is a misconception that end of the year is a bad time to job search, there tends to be less competition. That’s a good thing if you’re a job seeker. When companies have fewer resumes to sift through, there’s a greater chance that yours will stand out.

 

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Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 30 years in the delivery of corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 of our corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!  

We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity in serving & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

 

Article continued …

Great time to network

The end of the year is a great time to meet as many people as possible in a social setting. Prepare an elevator pitch so you can present yourself in a compelling way. You never know when you might meet someone who can introduce you to a recruiter or hiring manager. It’s also a good time to send a holiday card or online message to valued contacts so you can stay top of mind.

Use your downtime wisely

You will inevitably have a few breaks during the holidays when you can focus on your job search. That’s the perfect opportunity to work on things like your personal brand. For example, look at your LinkedIn profile to see how you can improve it. This is also an excellent time to list your key accomplishments for the year, update your resume and schedule calls with friends and acquaintances you haven’t been in touch with for a while.

Keep the momentum going

If you’ve already jumpstarted your job search, it makes sense to maintain the momentum. Even if you slow down a bit, you can still take small steps to stay on track. If you stop your job search altogether, it will be that much more difficult to get motivated in January. Plus, securing a new job before the start of the year can give you peace of mind.

Companies are still hiring

While some companies slow down on hiring during this time, they don’t stop. In fact, some organizations must complete the hiring process by the end of the year because of budget constraints. Other companies may need to find a new employee who will be in place and ready to begin work in January. This is also a time when many employers hire temporary employees. The good news is that if you make a positive impression, they may keep you on permanently. In addition, the additional income will come in handy during the gift-giving season.

Looking for a new role might not be the first thing on your holiday list, but prioritizing it is a good idea. Even if you only focus on the job search for an hour or two a week, that’s time well spent. If nothing else, you’ll start the new year well-organized with a top-notch personal brand and a resume that positions you for that next incredible opportunity.

Forbes.com | November 27, 2022 | Caroline Castrillon

#BestofFSCBlog : Over 12K Reads! How To Find A Job Between Now And The Beginning Of 2023. Waiting for the First of the Year is a Very Bad Idea. A MUSt REad!

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If you start searching for a job now, you’ll benefit from the needs of companies to quickly hire before the holiday-season slowdown. If you miss this window of opportunity, position yourself to be ahead of the crowd for early next year.

It’s both an exciting and challenging time for job hunters. There are only two months left in 2022. Historically, once it gets close to Thanksgiving Day, the hiring process starts grinding to a halt. It’s one of the few times of the year when Americans collectively agree on something: they ease back on work and focus on family, friends and social activities. After being cooped up at home, people will be more eager than ever to take extended vacations and long weekends.

You want to be a contrarian. This entails some delayed gratification. Stay the course while most other job seekers take a break during the holidays. With fewer people applying for jobs and interviewing, you’ll stand out.

The odds will turn out in your favor if you keep hustling. It’s a numbers game. If you continually submit résumés to target companies, get job leads from your network and contribute content on LinkedIn to get noticed, there is a higher probability of achieving interviews leading toward a job offer.

This may seem crass, but there will always be some bosses who desperately need to hire someone quickly. They’ll lower their requirements, increase compensation and acquiesce to your work style preference, including working from home as an enticement. By being persistent, you could end up in the right place at the right time, leading to a job offer you never thought was possible.

 

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What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, LLc (FSC) is celebrating over 30 years in the delivery of corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 of our corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, UK, & Mexico!  

We here at FSC want to thank each of corporate partners in the opportunity in serving & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment !

 

Article continued …

The Challenges You’ll Face

It becomes harder to secure a new job as vacation schedules and personal days are taken, making the hiring process clunky and inconsistent. The human resources person is away when you are available to interview. When the HR representative returns, the business people you need to meet with are not around. The in and out of workers involved with the hiring process creates a loss of momentum. Other end-of-year corporate priorities start taking precedence over the recruiting and onboarding process.

During the last few months of the year, businesses start focusing on closing their books. They conduct annual reviews, determine who will get a promotion or raise and those slated for layoffs, and commence working on the new budget and headcount allotments for 2023.

Many white-collar professionals receive a bonus and stock in addition to their base salary. During this belt-tightening time, corporate leadership is not inclined to buy out five-figure bonuses and stock options to induce job seekers to leave their current employer. Their rationalization is that it’s prudent to wait until candidates receive their bonuses and new salary numbers.

Once a job hunter knows their numbers, they’ll either immediately begin a job search, due to feeling disrespected over the lackluster total rewards package, or happily remain with their firm because their needs were met.

Sometimes companies have a use-it-or-lose-it budget. Management allocates a specified amount of funds toward hiring new personnel. If the supervisors don’t hire in 2022, the bosses will contend that the open jobs are not mission-critical and will withdraw the job listings. Savvy, experienced managers understand the game and will aggressively look to see if they can hire someone quickly. Otherwise, they’ll lose the budget for next year.

Focusing On Finding A Job In Early January

Despite the clunkiness of November, December and early January, it makes sense for you to keep interviewing. You need to be mentally prepared that most jobs will linger until mid-January 2023. What you hope for is that there will be at least a small number of job openings that managers want to hire eagerly.

Instead of sitting on the sidelines, take action. The holiday season is a great time to rekindle old relationships. Get in touch with former co-workers, college alumni, people in your community, folks you met online and others to build up your network. One of the best ways to find a job is not through responding to a job advertisement, but to have an insider at a company recommend you for the role.

Seek out recruiters who are active in your field. You want them to know all about you. Sell them on your talents, experience, work history, a record of accomplishments, emotional intelligence and communications skills. Since most headhunters work on contingency searches, they only get paid if they successfully place you. Therefore, the recruiter is highly incentivized to extol your virtues and aggressively pitch you to their clients.

Everyone has areas upon which they can improve upon. Find a mentor to help you devise a plan to accelerate your career. They could offer advice and guidance throughout your job search and career. Utilize the services of career coaches and résumé writers. You can find them on LinkedIn. These career experts provide interview tips, ensure that your résumé looks current and sharp, help with role-playing an interview scenario and offer constructive criticism and feedback.

Write out an elevator pitch. Similar to a catchy commercial on TV or radio, you want to be able to offer your value proposition in a tight, upbeat, excited 30-seconds-to-a-minute sales pitch. It’s also akin to when a politician gives their stump speech with the same talking points.

The goal is to clearly and concisely offer what roles you had at your current or prior firm, some of your great achievements and how your background, talents, education and skills perfectly match the job. Talk in an enthusiastic, but not too over-the-top manner.

Additionally, take a look online for frequently asked questions by interviewers. Then, practice answering the standard, “Why do you want this job? Why should I hire you instead of the other applicants? Can you please tell me about yourself? Where do you see yourself in five years?”

 

Forbes.com | November 1, 2022 | Jack Kelly

#JobSearch : Four(4) Holiday Hiring Myths! Shouldn’t Apply for Jobs during the Holidays, Since Companies aren’t Hiring Anyway? Not!

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Have you heard you shouldn’t apply for jobs during the holidays, since companies aren’t hiring anyway? This is one of the most common myths we hear this time of year. Not only is the statement not true, but it’s actually the opposite in some cases. Companies always accept resumes and cover letters because they don’t want to miss out on a quality candidate.

Here are some of the top myths about holiday hiring you may hear, but shouldn’t believe.

Myth #1: Companies Don’t Hire During the Holidays

In most cases, a company is going to hire a candidate if the perfect person walks into their office. The holiday season may be slower from a job seeker’s standpoint, but it rarely has an impact on whether a company is hiring. In fact, some companies prefer to hire at the end of the year because they know the candidates who apply will be serious since they are conducting a job search throughout the holidays. Also, the competition is less because people are thinking like you. So take advantage of that and apply.

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What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Article continued … 

Myth #2: People Are Too Busy to Network

This is actually the opposite during the holidays for most companies. The end of the year rush can be intense for some people, but there’s always time to network and be social. Keep your LinkedIn profile updated and reach out to business connections when you have a chance. This is a great time of year to connect or reconnect, and you never know when it could lead to an opportunity. People also take vacation during this time of year, which means they may have more time to connect with people. 

Myth #3: Jobs Posted During the Holidays Are Temporary

Some jobs are only temporary to get through the holiday rush, but it’s not fair to make this a general statement. And besides, temporary jobs can sometimes end up being a permanent job if you do the job well. You can always ask the employer if you’re concerned with the type of job being offered, but if it’s not specifically stated, you should assume the opening is for a full-time position. 

Myth #4: Budget Constraints Prevent Hiring During the Holidays

Sometimes a company has extra money to invest at the end of the year, but sometimes it doesn’t. You shouldn’t refrain from writing resumes and cover letters just because you think a company won’t hire you during the holidays. Many companies leave room in their budget for an end-of-year hiring so then they have their staff in place to begin the new year.

Professional Resume Services is here to help you develop your LinkedIn profile, craft the perfect resume or cover letter or assist with any aspect of your holiday job search. If you’re planning to look for a new job to start the new year, you shouldn’t delay any further. Feel free to contact us to learn more about holiday hiring myths and why you should update your resume today.

FSC Career Blog Author:  Erin Kennedy, MCD, CMRW, CPRW, CERW, CEMC, is a Certified Professional Resume Writer/Career Consultant, and the President of Professional Resume Services, named one of Forbes “Top 100 Career Websites”. Considered an influencer, she is consistently listed as a “Top Career Expert to Follow” on Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

FSC Career Blog | October 9, 2020