Don’t Give Up The Job Search Just Because The Holidays Are Near

Job Search

I’ve been talking with job seekers lately who ask whether they should job search right now or wait until after the New Year.

The holidays are upon us and many worry it isn’t a good time.๐ŸŽ…

But–there are many benefits to continuing on with your job search.

๐ŸŽ„ ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐š๐ง๐ฒ ๐›๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ž๐ญ๐ฌ. Companies have new budgets in place to entice and hire #candidates. They are still #hiring and actively looking.

๐ŸŽ„ ๐Œ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ฆ๐š๐ฅ ๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ž๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง. Your competition is less since many people decide to hold off until the new year. Plus, you will impress companies with your dedication and commitment.

๐ŸŽ„ ๐Œ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ž. Things are winding down at your company due to the holidays and end of the year, so you have more time to focus on #job search

๐ŸŽ„ ๐๐ž๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐ข๐ง ๐ ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐จ๐๐ฌ. People are generally in better moods around the holidays. More time off, seeing family and friends (via remotely this year, unfortunately), shopping, and reflection. It’s a perfect time to reach out and start a #conversation.

I asked career professionals on LinkedIn what their thoughts were on the subject. Read what they have to say:

Hannah Morgan, Job Search Strategist, Career Sherpa:ย  November and December are great months for conversations and you are so right, many companies are either trying to fill roles that are still vacant now or line up candidates to hire Jan. 1. Don’t put on the brakes!

Ed Han, Talent Acquisition Geek, Recruiter:ย  As a corporate recruiter: let me reassure your readers & followers that if the job posting is up, I AM READING APPLICATIONS.
Scheduling interviews may take longer, but if it’s open, that hiring manager has funds earmarked towards that hire and is anxious to use them, because they’ll get asked if they really need the position or not by their boss, or their boss’s boss.

Nicole Reyes, Sn. Technical Recruiter: I’ve noticed that many hiring managers want new hires to start in January of the new year, which means they’re willing to schedule interviews with candidates this time of year. It’s worth your time to search for a position during this period, even if the search is a bit slower because people will be out of the office more with the holidays.

Greg Roche, Career Transition Coach: Take your holiday card list and see who you can connect with in person. Send them a card too, but use this list as a way to get back in touch with people who are important to you, but likely haven’t talked to in a while. This helps you practice connecting and you never know where it might lead Erin.

Andrea Yacub Macek, Top Job Expert to Follow, Career Coach:ย  The best time to network, market, and job search is when you are ready to do so in your season of life. If you need to take a break, do so, and if you want to continue networking or job search, do so; there are always benefits. These are some significant reasons you askedย Erin Kennedyย to continue instead of stop.

Meg Applegate, Resume Writer, Hinge Resume: The holidays are a great time to check in with your network. Start conversations now, even if after the new year is your goal. You never know what can come of it,

Sarah Johnston, Executive Resume Writer, LinkedIn Branding: Great reminder, Erin Kennedy. Some managers have โ€œuse it or lose itโ€ budgets and have positions that need to be filled before the end of the year.

Adrienne Tom, Executive Resume Writer: If a company really needs an employee, it doesn’t matter what time of year it is — they will be looking. Which means, you should be too.

Bottom line: Don’t give up. Keep looking. This is a GREAT time of year to look for a job. ๐ŸŽ„

 

 

 

A Simple Tool To Compare Salaries by State

Salary

a simple tool to compare salaries by state
When you are looking at a job change there are lots of variables complicating your task. One of the challenges is getting an idea of how far your current salary would stretch in another state. Living costs can be quite different and the same dollar amount may translate into the equivalent of a nice raise — or an unwelcome pay cut.
Rasmussen College has a nice tool for comparing your options.ย Salary by State: Where Can You Really Earn The Most?ย is part of their Career Research Hub and this looks like it can be useful for more than a graduating senior.

Get An Idea Of Your Living Costs

The way the Salary by State tool works is simple. First, you select your occupation from the drop down menu at the top of the page. Then, you can choose up to 5 states to compare the average salaries in that career and the average salary adjusted for the cost of living. Here are the numbers for an executive in a random selection of states:

  • Connecticut: $211,850 becomes $193,647 when adjusted for cost of living
  • Pennsylvania: $180,950 becomes $183,333 when adjusted for cost of living
  • Minnesota: $160,750 becomes $164,872 when adjusted for cost of living
  • South Carolina: $141,290 becomes $155,777 when adjusted for cost of living
  • West Virginia: $96,280 becomes $108,668 when adjusted for cost of living

Those are some big variations for the same basic position of an executive, and it makes relocating a bit more adventurous because of the changes. A tool like this calculator is a good way to get an idea about what you could expect. It’s important to include any benefits offered by a potential employer in your calculations, too. Before you change jobs, make sure you are looking at all the data, including adjustments for location.