DO YOU THINK DECEMBER ISN’T A GREAT TIME FOR CAREER PROGRESSION? THINK AGAIN.

It can be a common misconception that December is a poor time for job hunting. Companies tend to wrap up their work; Christmas parties get in the way of achievements; and staff go on leave. 

But contrary to popular belief, December can actually be the best time to make your next career move. Particularly this year, as Australia has fared a lot better during the pandemic than other countries, and businesses are beginning to regain confidence with their growth plans – meaning they are hiring.

In fact, the end of the year is the perfect time to put yourself in the forefront of headhunters’ minds as firms are on the lookout for the right people for new leadership positions in the new year. So don’t miss the boat – make sure you don’t lose out on any lucrative opportunities by putting off potential career moves until January or February. 

Place yourself ahead of the competition

Candidates may not be job searching in December, but employers are!

Many job hunters believe companies won’t hire towards the end of the year, which means there isn’t as much competition as there normally would be. 

Take advantage of this open door and jump in with both feet, as by the time January swings around, things will start to get a lot more competitive. Many people will be frantically upping the search at the beginning of 2021, but getting in now means you’re more likely to be noticed. 

End-of-year budgets need to be spent

Another myth is that companies no longer have any recruiting budget by the time December rolls around – but this isn’t often true. 

Many large corporates plan their hiring budget to be spent over 12 months, and quite often they run their finances in line with the July - June financial year. The good news is often they need to spend what was allocated to secure the same budget for the following year, so the urgency and opportunity is certainly there!

For those on calendar year budgets, recruitment agents are often in a rush to secure new hires before midnight on the 31st of December. Which leads me to my next point…

There’s often urgency involved in December hires

Many employees moving on to new positions often decide to stay in their role until the end of year holidays, and hand in their resignations toward the end of the year pending their notice period conditions. This leaves managers searching to fill senior level positions just before they go off on holiday themselves, creating a sense of urgency. 

Managers know that if they have new team members joining at the beginning of the year, it will be great to have them start fresh as the whole team comes back from the Christmas break. If you can secure an interview in the next two weeks, you can sometimes be fast tracked due to this sense of urgency, and you, in turn, can resign before the break allowing your employer to benefit from the large candidate pool in the new year. 

December isn’t necessarily a wind-down period

Most corporates don’t pull up to a complete stop just because it’s Christmas. Given the year we’ve had, many firms will be working around the public holidays to capitalise on revenue opportunities and make up for missed opportunities during COVID. In fact, we have currently have vacancies for directorship and partner roles across business advisory, audit and tax areas in Melbourne and Sydney. 

If you need assistance in finding the right role for you, send me a direct message and we will do all we can to support you in securing your new role in the new year. There’s still time to make it an even merrier Christmas!