This time of year offers special opportunities for job seekers. Holiday networking events, for example, can be great chances to meet professionals you might not encounter otherwise. Additionally, some employers are still eager to fill positions before budgets reset or headcount is finalized in the new year, making it a prime time to stand out with a strategic approach.
Here are five ways you can stand out from the competition this holiday season and find a job before the end of the year.
1. Showcase The Right Skills On Your Resume
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When updating your resume, focus on aligning your experience with the specific demands of the industry. Go beyond just listing responsibilities; dig into job descriptions to identify the core skills that consistently appear for your target roles. By tailoring your resume with these keywords, you not only capture the attention of hiring managers but also boost your chances of passing applicant tracking systems (ATS), which are often programmed to scan for these key terms. It's all about keywords!
During the holiday season, hiring managers are often managing tight timelines and high demands, making it crucial for candidates to demonstrate that they’re ready to hit the ground running. Highlighting industry-relevant skills shows you're not only familiar with the landscape but also equipped to make an immediate impact. Be sure to include examples of how you've leveraged these core strengths in previous roles to support team goals or tackle challenges (aka quantify your work experience). The holidays are hectic, so share with the potential employer how you'll be a positive addition to the team by leveraging your strengths and emphasizing your value as a business-of-one.
2. Dress The Part
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Don't underestimate the power of a great first impression. Dress for the interview in professional attire. Even if the job description mentions a casual dress code, such as jeans and a sweatshirt, it’s essential to show respect for the employer by dressing in a way that demonstrates your commitment to making a positive impression. Wearing attire that reflects your professionalism shows you care about how you're perceived and the impression you leave on others.
Not sure what to wear? We recommend dressing conservatively in clothing one level above what the current employees at the company are wearing. You want to look professional, but not like you don't fit in with the workplace culture.
3. Show Your Connection To The Company
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Employers like to hire candidates who have a passion for what they do. Why? Because when people are passionate about their work, that enthusiasm often translates into a higher level of commitment, creativity, and productivity. This intrinsic motivation can lead to consistently strong performance and a positive impact on the team and company as a whole.
In your disruptive cover letter (and during your job interview), demonstrate how and why you admire the company. Highlight what you love most about their products and services. Give examples of how you have personally used them in your own life with success. The more you can show them you understand and respect the business, the more likely you'll impress the hiring manager and move forward in the interview process.
4. Demonstrate Your Value
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It's important to remember that you're a business-of-one, and you're trying to sell the service you provide as a business-of-one to employers (the customers who will be paying you for the service).
To find a job during the holidays, you must adequately demonstrate your value as a business-of-one and highlight your strengths and the specific benefits you bring as a potential employee throughout the hiring process. How do you do this? Well, make sure to quantify your work experience on your resume. Use numbers to showcase your accomplishments. Clearly state how you'll make or save the company money with your employment. Do this, and you'll easily become one of the top candidates for the position.
5. Express Gratitude
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The holidays are busy for everyone. When you're applying for jobs during the holiday season, keep gratitude in mind. This positive mindset not only helps you stay resilient but also shines through in your applications and interviews, leaving a memorable impression on potential employers.
After every job interview, always send a thank-you note. It's just the polite thing to do, and you'll score more points with the hiring manager. Even if you get rejected, or never hear back about a position, make sure you send an email thanking the employer for the opportunity and wish them the best of luck with finding the right job candidate.
Don't be bitter. Be gracious. You never know what will happen in the future. You might want to apply for another job at the company down the line. So, don't let your frustration get the best of you. Remember: If you get rejected, they didn't say, "No, not ever." They just said, "No, not today."
A successful holiday job search depends on a solid strategy. Follow the guidelines above and land a job this holiday season!
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This man treats the job hunt like a full-time occupation. He prepares marketing materials to sell himself, gets on the phone and makes cold calls to set up appointments with prospective clients. Then he goes into the appointment to close the sale. Learn his practical but successful strategy.
My last professional position was a technical sales business development representative. I did the job the outside sales representatives did not want to do which was cold call for new business. I found the job through a combination of local job listing websites, Monster and my networking contacts. Some of my professional contacts told me a particular company was hiring, so I checked it out on a local job hunting site which directed me to the full job listing on Monster. It took me about six months of searching to find the job.
Over the years, my capacity as a hiring manager in previous positions had helped me to develop a professional job hunt process that was thorough and successful. One of the most important things I learned about hunting for a job is to use as many resources as you possibly can.
When I was job hunting I went to job fairs, talked to professional recruiters, used a variety of websites and kept working on developing my professional network. All of that work finally came together in finding the job I wanted, but it was definitely a collaborative effort.
The first piece of advice I would give about job hunting is you should not discount any possible leads. The professional networking contact I knew that helped me to find my job was not even in the hiring company’s industry. He was part of a completely different kind of sales organization, but he had a couple of friends inside the hiring company that helped me to find my job.
Another good piece of advice is always be ready to sell yourself to anyone. When I was job searching, I made up business cards with my name and contact information on the front, and a quick summary of my qualifications on the back. I always had copies of my resume in my car ready to give to anyone. This came in extremely handy when I arrived at my first interview with the company that eventually hired me only to realize that I had forgotten to bring copies of my resume with me. Luckily, my preparations during my job search had me well-stocked on resumes in my glove compartment.
A final piece of advice I would give to people hunting for professional work is to be pleasant to every single person you come into contact with at the hiring company. I remember going through the interview process and being told by my eventual departmental manager that it was the receptionist’s opinion that helped get me the job. I was being considered for the job along with two other very qualified people, but since I was very courteous to the receptionist she said that I had the most professional demeanor and that got me the job.
When you are job hunting, it is almost as if you are committed to your own company 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You are always looking for that one break that will get you hired. It takes an incredible amount of work just to find that one opportunity that turns into a job. The one drawback to this aggressive approach to job searching is it is expensive. Between sending out standard mail resume packages (which you should still do even in the e-mail age), constantly dry cleaning my suits and gas to attend interviews and job hunting events, I was going through my savings at a frightening clip. You may want to add a budget to your job hunting process, which is something I had completely forgotten to do.
JustJobs.com is a job search engine that finds job listings from company career pages, other job boards, newspapers and associations. With one search, they help you find the job with your name on it.Read more » articles by this approved business partner | Click here » if you’re a business Image from Shawn Hempel/Shutterstock
