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Is the End of the Year a Good Time to Look for a New Job?

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We all get to that point; where you look at the job you’re currently doing and you know you want to do something different. You have bigger goals, you want to upskill, you want to grow in your career. So, you do what so many others do, and you make a New Year’s resolution to achieve this.

The question is whether you need to start doing something to work towards it now, or whether you should wait until the New Year to begin. And it’s a fair question. A few of the things that tend to hold us back include: 

  • We envisage there to be a shortage of roles to choose from at the end of the year
  • Our current roles are busy leading up to the Christmas break, whereas the New Year tends to start off slowly
  • Procrastinating until the New Year when you expect to have more time/inclination to spruce up your CV

My recommendation as a recruitment consultant is that NOW is the best time to start thinking about your next career move. Here’s why: 

  • Recruitment processes often don’t take as long as they used to, so there is frequently a requirement for us as recruitment consultants to find candidates very quickly. If you have already updated your CV and registered with the recruitment agency, we will be able to include you when we receive a quick turnaround recruitment request.
  • Business within a role seems is a constant, so don’t let the end of year busyness stop you from focusing on your next move – otherwise, you could miss out on the perfect window of opportunity.

While upheaving your career might sound like a stressful and time-consuming undertaking, especially in the manic holiday period, preparing yourself for your next move can be broken down into small, realisable chunks.

  • Jot down your achievements since your last role and add them to your CV
  • Review your CV – is it old-fashioned in its presentation or ready to go?
  • Ask someone who has high attention to detail and a good grasp of the English language to proofread your CV
  • Investigate which recruitment consultants specialise in your area of expertise and get in touch
  • Send your updated CV to the consultant you’ve identified and ask for feedback
  • Keep in touch with the consultant to find out if new roles have come up

Traditionally, recruitment consultants have a bit more time pre-Christmas, so are often more open to fitting in general interviews and meetings with relevant candidates that they feel they will be able to help in the future. This way, even if they can’t find anything for you in the leadup to Christmas, they will be ready to promote you to their clients in the New Year.

So, no more procrastination. In fact, get started on the first step by jotting down those achievements now, while they are fresh in your mind! Once you have sorted the above, should you not land that role pre-Christmas, you will be able to relax over the holiday period, knowing that everything is in place for a new start in 2021.

You’ll then be able to focus on the rejuvenation of soul, body and mind for the New Year, rather than stressing about whether you’re going to meet that New Year’s resolution.

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