In professional services recruitment with all the festivities and Christmas parties, it’s easy to forget that businesses are still operating, additional headcount is still required, and jobs are still needing to be filled. We appreciate that hiring managers may not be as readily available, but that doesn’t mean you should just stop looking for and applying for roles.

Reduced competition

One of the clear advantages of continuing your job hunt during the festive period is that other less well-advised jobseekers may be shelving their job-hunting activities until well into the New Year so there’s definitely reduced competition. But recruitment never stops. So submitting your CV or applying for roles just means there will be fewer people that you’re up against, so make the most of this advantageous time of year.

Keep on applying

As part of your career planning – and if you’ve not got a career plan, check out our career planning article – then you’ll know the kind of role you’re looking for. And you’ll likely also know that in the professional services world, hiring doesn’t happen overnight. There’s a recruitment process to follow that will probably include at least one interview stage, and maybe more complex interviews, presentations or skills/aptitude testing. Therefore the sooner you apply for a role and enter into the recruitment process, the sooner you’ll be working through each stage of your application. So, keep on applying if you see a role that interests you.

Contact your recruitment consultant

Good recruitment consultants will be contactable throughout the festive period. As we’ve said, recruitment never stops. So as you’re continuing with your job hunt, make sure you keep in touch with your recruitment consultant. They’ll be able to tell you about the latest roles that they’ve taken on, or update you on the status of your application(s). Your consultant will also be able to chase hiring managers and clients and provide them with updates about the people that are available and interested in their roles.

Make sure you’re available for interview

We know it’s the festive period and we’re not suggesting that you should be 100% focused on your job hunting, but do remember that if you are invited to interview, it’s right that you should make yourself available to attend. And by attending, we don’t mean going to a late Christmas party the night before and being hungover when you turn up to the interview. We mean avoiding these interview mistakes and being adequately prepared for the interview, and taking the interview process seriously.

Hit the ground running in the New Year

As we’ve said, the recruitment process never stops and hiring managers are still looking to fill roles in their organisations even in December and early January. The process will follow a predetermined path with multiple stages, so the sooner you begin the process, the sooner you can make your way through it. This means finding and applying for your next role, even if you don’t secure an interview this side of Christmas, means you’ll likely hit the ground running in the New Year and have an interview (or interviews) lined up early in January.

Good luck

So, good luck with your job search efforts. Make sure you take a look at our maximising your job search advice article to ensure you’re doing the right things in your job hunt. And enjoy the festivities… but don’t forget about your career plan and why it’s important to carry on applying throughout the festive period.