December – The Month of Opportunity

There’s a lot going on during the holiday season. You’re busy buying gifts, making plans to visit loved ones or arranging to take time off. Perhaps all of the above. It may be that the last thing on your mind right now is hunting for a new job – after all, wouldn’t it be better to leave that for the New Year once the ‘December madness’ has settled down? Maybe not. Let us tell you why the end of the year might just be the right time for you to make a fresh start. 

Why should I be looking for work now?

Last year around this time, we released a blog titled ‘December, The Best Time to Hire‘. This blog encouraged companies and employers to continue hiring throughout December for several key reasons. If you’re an employer considering hiring this month, check out that blog here.

One of the most salient points in that blog post was that we experienced a 60% increase in applications in December of 2017 compared to the following January. This a trend that appears to be continuing, and there may be good reasons for this. Take a look at this data supplied by LinkedIn.

This graph shows us a couple of things. Note that this is showing job changes, not applications submitted.

• Firstly, people typically don’t change jobs in December but when it comes to January, there’s a huge spike of people switching roles. The reason for this is because job seekers are increasingly setting the ‘wheels in motion’ at the end of the year. In terms of approaching a recruitment consultancy such as Technical Recruitment Solutions, you’d do well to make contact in December and let us start setting you up with opportunities if you’re looking to change jobs early next year.
• January is clearly a busy month for recruiters. If you’re only putting yourself out there in January, there’s going to be a lot of other job seekers that we have to help as well so the process could take longer. Getting in early lets us put your name in front of companies before the January rush and therefore means you’re going to be among the first that our clients consider when they return from their holiday breaks.

Data aside, why else might I want to start speaking to recruiters now?

The main reason why you’d want to be job searching now is that the holiday season draws the focus of many people in December – meaning you’ll face less competition!

Seeing as the end of the year is when people often think about moving jobs, a lot of vacancies do open up around this time. Some sites online will tell you that recruitment offices tend to get quieter towards the end of the year, but don’t take this at face value for every firm. The phones here are very much still in constant use.

Following on from the point above, many organisations with these end-of-year vacancies tend to want to fill them in time for the New Year. If a recruiter knows a company that’s looking to fill a recently vacated position in December, you may find that the process moves very quickly.

Don’t think for a second that you can’t find a job this close to the holiday season – you’d be surprised how many employers are coming to us asking for assistance.

Okay, I’m sold. If I’m after a technical role, what do I do now?

We’re working solidly leading up to Christmas, so if you’d like us to help you find your next opportunity then we can have a chat this month and get the ball rolling. You have a few options;

• Email us at wellington@trs.co.nz and tell us what you’re after and make sure to include a CV and cover letter.
• Using the CV Drop page on our website will achieve the above as well, letting us pass your CV on to the relevant team.
• Check out our current vacancies here, and apply for the one that best suits you. Our specialist consultants will be in touch.
• You can also call us directly on 0800 171 000 and discuss your requirements with a consultant, any time between 8.30am and 5pm weekdays.

Happy December from all of us here at Technical Recruitment Solutions, and all the best for the last month of the year!

Article by Dario Luca, Marketing Coordinator