So, tomorrow’s Thanksgiving… Yum! But don’t think I’m going to let you coast through the next five weeks on your job search. Contrary to what you may think, the start of the holiday season does not signal your job search efforts headed to the back burner. In some aspects, the holiday season is a plus for job seekers. It’s a naturally festive, sociable time with a greater than average number of networking opportunities built in to the calendar. Take advantage of them!
Checking out of your job search until after New Year’s is a mistake – first, for missing potentially great opportunities to get introductions and shake the right hands, but also, from the perspective of momentum and morale. Tabling your search for such a long period of time is going to require ramping back up the first week or two of January. Think about it: in addition to downtime for the entire month of December, you’re looking at a good six-week break. Can you afford that?
A great article by The Career Coach Eli Amdur in the newspaper recently reminded me of a post I wrote on the same topic last year – proving that industry professionals agree time and time again: remain committed to your career and job search efforts during the holidays. Your efforts will pay off!