2010 is coming to an end...what to do?

We touched on the topic of a Christmas job search a few weeks back but let’s say you’re actively looking for a new job and are not getting any positive results this month. The truth is that a lot of people are busy in December for a variety of reasons and often defer stuff to the new year. Hiring is often one of the things that they defer to the new year and perhaps they just don’t want to conduct interviews over the next few weeks before the holidays knowing that either the people they’re interviewing or other people involved in the hiring process will be away to slow things down anyways.

Having said that I know a friend who is interviewing right now for a high end job and has been told by the hiring company that they have several candidates to consider and they plan on hiring someone in the next few days.

Assuming they’re true to their word and that things get done as they expect, one of the people they’re interviewing – one of whom is currently unemployed…that would be my friend – will end the year on a positive note at least as far as their career is concerned as they will have a new job to go to early in 2011.

So as I’ve mentioned in the past, companies do hire well into late December and I’ve seen people get job offers on Christmas Eve and even New Year’s Eve too.

So let’s say you’re one of those people who is actively searching for a new job and you’re still searching in December while other people have decided to take the month off. Good for you! Hopefully something will come out of it either this month or into the early new year.

What else can do you this month to keep things moving along so that you can improve the chances you start 2011 with a new, better job? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Use up your health benefits: Assuming you have health benefits, use them up before December 31 when they most likely run out and renew on Jan 1. Go to the dentist, get a massage, whatever might help you improve or maintain your health. Plus you might as well as get this stuff out of the way now before you start a new job in early 2011 and might find yourself too busy at work to go. If you’ve got benefits, you might as well use them.

2. Search for new contacts on Twitter and LinkedIn: One of the great things about Internet sites like these two is that you can utilize them outside of work hours…in other words, these sites operate 24/7 every day of the year and you can take a few minutes here and there to make new contacts and meet new people who might positively influence your career. With LinkedIn, you have to watch out for trying to link up with people you don’t actually know unless you have a paid account but I’ve received numerous link requests from people I’ve never even heard of before. Assuming they have a professional profile, I usually don’t have a problem linking up with them. Who knows, they might know someone who can help you out or who is looking for someone like you. If you don’t have a professional (i.e. work related) Twitter or LinkedIn account, I’d certainly suggest signing up.

3. Check out a new website called Quora: If you click on the link, you’ll be taken to my new profile on Quora which I just created so you can see what it looks like. It’s a website created by a number of former Facebook execs that focuses on questions and answers. Someone asks a question and the Quora community answers the question. The answer can be updated with the goal of having the answer page providing the best possible answer to that question. From what I’ve seen many of the questions tend to focus on professional topics so you can sign up for a free account, follow people, have them follow you and contribute to the conversation by answering questions about things you know about. Chances are that as the site grows, you’ll have opportunities to be introduced to new people and you might even find that when people search the Net for an answer to a question, your response shows up in the search results.

4. Update your resume: Assuming you’re not updating it regularly anyways, this is a great time – especially if you have time off work during the holidays – to spend a bit of time dusting off the resume and updating it and making improvements to it. If you’re searching for different types of jobs, creating several versions for each job type is another thing you should look at doing to ensure each one targets the job in question specifically.

I just read that Toys R Us plans to hire about 45,000 employees for the holidays which will result in its US work force being doubled. This comes on the heels on a report from CEOs of large US companies suggesting that they aren’t as optimistic about upcoming sales or new staffing requirements which suggests that job creation could be muted for the time being at least.

As I mentioned in my last post on Wednesday, with the holiday season approaching, many retailers and other businesses that see a rise during that time of the year – restaurants, caterers to name a few more – increase their workforce in the weeks and months leading up to Christmas in anticipation of the increased business that this holiday season tends to produce.

The Christmas season also tends to be the yardstick by which the retail sector measures its success for the year as many retailers count on this time of the year to make or break their year. Given the last 2 years or so, many of them probably haven’t even been able to count on this holiday season to improve what might already be a fairly bleak economic outlook for their businesses.

In the case of Toys R Us, the increased seasonal employment that they have planned is more than what they’d hired during the 3 years which does sound positive and tends to lead to positive thoughts regarding holiday sales.

This tends to be counter to evidence produced by the Conference Board that suggests that consumer and business confidence is now at its lowest point since February. With unemployment holding at around 10% and with no evidence that job creation is coming to any extent, what does this mean for the average job searcher?

It means that there seems to be very little optimism that things are actually getting better, and in fact the opposite might be true. So as we spoke about on Monday, searching for a new job is still something you should pursue if you feel the time is right. You just need to pick your spots, do your research first to ensure you are going to a worse situation and ensure that if and when you do make a move, it’s to a better place and for the right reasons.

The days after Christmas can often be slow days in the office especially if people have taken the rest of the year off and aren’t getting back until the new year.

If you’re a job searcher or are thinking of looking for a new job, today, tomorrow and the day after can be great days to touch base with hiring managers and short of that with staff who work in companies you’re interested to work for since chances are many of them are working short hours and in many cases are working casually until January 2 hits.

People are on vacation mode even if they’re not on vacation.

It’s a good time to speak with people who work in companies that interest you because chances are many don’t have a lot to do right now and given the happy time of year we’re in, are possibly more likely to speak with you and tell you about their job and the company, information you can use to figure out if you’d really like to work there.

You might be surprised how open people can be when you simply call them up and ask them questions and ask for their advice. In general terms, people like to talk about themselves and when asked politely, most people will at least try to lift a finger and help you out.

I’ve called into companies and spoken to people who wouldn’t know who I was if they ran me over in their car. I’ve told them about a job I had available, and asked them who they knew who might be interested in the job. I’ve left voice messages like this and had people call me back to refer me to someone. People do like to help when asked politely.

Again, this is a good time of year, people in many companies are working short hours, getting ready for New Year’s so it’s a good time to get their attention.

Plus, once January 1 hits and everyone is pretending to fulfill their new year’s resolutions, that’s when everyone else who has decided to look for a new job will start bombarding these same hiring managers with phone calls and emails. Beat them to the punch.

Best wishes during this holiday season to all my readers and your families.

Have a good one.

One of the biggest myths in job searching is that “no one hires in December” or that hiring comes to a complete halt during certain time of the year ie. summer, Christmas, early new year.

Certainly things can slow down during these times as people are on holiday mode, offices shut down for days at a time, and people might work shorter hours. This doesn’t mean people aren’t hiring though.

Take this time of the year right now: Who tends to have their best sales results during November and December with the holiday season coming up?

Here are a few:

1. Catering companies and restaurants: Think of all the holiday parties and lunches that companies and individuals go to and all of this adds up to a lot of business for caterers and restaurateurs which also means more staff is often required. Some of them might be hiring.

2. Retailers: Could this be more obvious? How many retailers make it or break it during the Christmas season? How many retailers in your area are hiring because they need the staff for the Christmas rush?

3. Entertainment and other related employers: DJs, comedians, photographers, singers and other entertainers often find themselves busier during December, possibly they’re hiring. If you have the skills, you might even find a way to do this work yourself! Short of that, maybe your local mall needs to hire a Santa or an elf?!

Are you looking for a new job, a temporary job or are you just looking to earn some extra money? Think about the types of companies mentioned above and see if any of them might offer you an opportunity to make some more money when these companies tend to be hiring. Your best bet is to get started looking now in October and not wait until the last minute.

And remember that the Christmas season isn’t the only time of year that some companies in other industries hire because their busy season might occur at a different time.

Granted, the economy is still iffy and many companies might be holding off hiring people and you’re probably going to be competing with more people for fewer jobs.

In that case, you might consider a temporary job that doesn’t involve you getting paid:

Not for profit: Soup kitchens and other not for profit organizations often need help at this time of the year especially for those of us who live in the north and who get cold, snowy winters and when being homeless is especially tough. You might not get paid with money but it might help someone else’s life and it might also help you realize that your life is pretty good afterall.