You might think it’s a waste of time to continue with your job search during the holidays, but it’s actually a great time to stand out amongst others who decide to procrastinate until after the New Year. You’ll find less competition between candidates and recruiters may be less busy to give you more time. Below are some ideas to keep you busy with job hunting during the holiday season and give you an edge over other candidates:
1. Take advantage of the season by reaching out to your network
Wishing those you know a happy holiday season is a great way to reconnect with former coworkers and your general network. Send holiday emails or cards with a positive note on how you are still pursuing a job or searching. This might provide you with potential leads. While you want to avoid asking for a favor, demonstrating interest in their lives and spreading holiday cheer is a good way to maintain your relationships.
2. Consider attending holiday events to build your network
While COVID might still be keeping people at home, you can still try to network via virtual holiday events. Check out those business associations or organizations to see if they might be hosting a holiday gathering or charity event. Be prepared to talk about your industry’s issues or concerns. If there’s an attendee list posted online go through it and see if there’s anyone in particular you wish to converse with. Do some research on LinkedIn to see what they are doing so you can be prepared.
3. Update your resume
If you discover fewer jobs than you want to apply for than consider spending the downtime looking over your resume. You can never read over your resume or consider changes too many times. Check it over for typos and potential updates. Also read it carefully to ensure the use of metrics, active verbs and demonstrations of success. You might find a better way of saying or rewording a section to make it stand out better or sound clearer.
4. Clean up your social media presence
Read over your LinkedIn profile and comb through your Facebook posts. You might consider rewriting your profile or you might discover a photo that’s better deleted. You might consider creating some posts for Twitter or Instagram to get your social media presence raised. While some of the folks you want to communicate with might be on vacation, chances are they’re still checking Twitter or other accounts. Read over what your followers are up to and send responses. Today many jobs require a social media presence so sending holiday greetings and good wishes might be a way to up your visibility.
5. Organize your search
Chances are you might have cover letters scattered about on your desktop or outdated notes. Organize your desktop documents into folders, as well as save any important emails. Take the time to go through your applications and emails. Organize everything in a spreadsheet. Note every job you’ve applied for, any correspondence or interviews, lessons learned, where it is in the process, and any follow up items to complete, as well as contact information. If you’ve kept any online applications, make sure they are organized together so you can quickly access details, such as addresses, contact names, and phone numbers.