Holiday sale! 5 reasons to identify and accept your new calling while pay is highest

Our current employment market has swung back in favor of employees. These swings occur periodically over a year in favor of the employee and then back to benefit the employer.

December adds more advantages to career seekers. There are 5 reasons to interview and accept a position NOW.

1. The media reports that employers have raised compensation to attract more and better qualified professionals. The same is true of hourly workers.
2. In my recruiting experience, December is the best month to find and accept a new position. Why?
3. Candidates have less competition because they feel managers are not interviewing now (very wrong) so they decide to wait until January.
4. Companies’ budgets are set for the new year. Managers know what openings they will be allowed to fill and when in the budget year they may fill those positions.
5. During the holiday season, more people feel warm and fuzzy — and are more likely to pick up the phone when you call.

Take charge of your career

The best way to take charge of your career is to be a little opportunistic. Take advantage of working on difficult projects. If you feel that your career is becoming stagnant, take the initiative. Meet with your manager to determine if there are more challenging projects for you to tackle. If your manager decides to keep you in your current position without additional challenges, it is time to begin looking for a new position, inside or outside of your current company.

On the other hand, if your manager decides to make your life miserable without any explanation, they are making the decision easy. That is their passive-aggressive way to encourage you to leave. When you turn in your resignation, it will be a great relief to both of you.

Here’s the danger of waiting until after the holidays to begin your search: Professionals who are more serious in their search than you may find the higher paying positions and leave you with the less desirable and lower paying positions. Find the right position now. Accept the company’s offer and agree to a start date the first week of January — and relax the last week of December.

What is the best method to find a new position during the holidays?

One word — network. Find people that you know at companies where you would like to interview. Ask them if they can introduce you to management in their company. If you worked with them in the past, and you had a great working relationship, they will be happy and excited to introduce them to their company.

Look at openings in Indeed and on LinkedIn. Discover the companies that have openings in your area of interest. Then click on the link to their employees who have profiles on LinkedIn. This is one way to unexpectedly find people that you already know at your target company.

The best way to get in touch over the holidays is to call. This is the time of the year when more people are answering the phone because they want to speak with friendly voices. Inform them that you have begun a search for a new career position, Tell them about your background. Include two or three accomplishments and ask them who they feel that you should call next? If you have a substantive conversation, ask them if they would like to introduce you to their contacts personally. 

Bill Humbert with Provocative Thinking Consulting, Inc. is a speaker, talent attraction consultant, career transition consultant and offers training contracts at recruiterguy.com.