The holiday season is a great time to move forward on your job searching efforts. Use these following tactics to help you along the way.
- Time Management. Be careful to use your time wisely during the holidays. There is lots of time that can get lost, but lots of time to move your job hunting efforts ahead. Leverage the holidays in your favour by taking advantage of this time in ways that most people take for granted. This is an excellent time to attract positive attention with many opportunities for social interactions.
- Freshen up your Social Media profiles. LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook are wonderful for networking. It’s hard to find the time to polish up on your profiles. Use the common slow down in business during the holiday season to update your profiles and reach out to new contacts. It is likely that most people will be closely connected to their social profiles during the holidays when stir-crazy sets in and long family hours lose appeal. This could be a great time to connect with business contacts.
- Party Professionally. When you go out to holiday parties be sure to refine your elevator pitch, go easy on the booze, dress appropriately and be sure to carry your business cards with you. You never know who you will meet. Don’t get stuck in an embarrassing situation.
- Dress Right. Even though some offices have dress down periods during the holiday season don’t be tempted to dress casually during holiday season interviews. Remember, you get one chance to make a first impression. It shows respect to dress up.
- Be Patient. You may have had a great interview but don’t forget that it’s the time of year when people take vacation. The organization you interviewed with might have someone in a high level position that is away and this person could be critical in completing the search. In a holiday job hunt, the process often continues after the holidays.
This time of year can always seem to be fast paced and out of control. A great way to manage this is to make a schedule and stick to it. This will keep you focused during your job hunt. Make sure that you are making the most of your time by being aware of your activities. Make them all worthwhile and supportive to your hunt. The holidays are a great time to get noticed and stand out from the crowd!
Georgia Nord is a Toronto based recruiter and has been responsible for hiring, developing, and retaining top talent in Marketing Services; specializing in a variety of industry verticals including, Research, CPG Sales & Marketing roles with a strong focus in Food (branded & control label), Category Management & Trade Marketing. IQ PARTNERS is Canada’s leading Executive Search & Recruitment firm. We help companies hire better, hire less and retain more. We specialize in Marketing, Communications, Consumer Goods & Services, Retail, Sales, Technology, Finance, HR & Operations and operate at the mid-to-senior management level.
