This post will discuss 8 reasons for recruiting between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.
Thanksgiving through New Year’s is a unique time of business. Many have year-end wrap up, finalizing plans for next year, completing performance appraisals, and surprisingly – recruiting.
Yes, recruiting between Thanksgiving and New Year’s!
Do candidates halt job searching or employers stop recruiting between Thanksgiving and New Year’s?
Yeah, some do…
But other companies want to fill spots between Thanksgiving and mid-January. They see no advantage to wait until the January to try to fill open positions. On the other hand, some believe if they have been unable to hire someone by Thanksgiving why not just postpone until after January 1.
That sounds like a New Years exercise resolution: I’ll wait ‘till after the holidays to begin exercising since I’ve already missed the window to get toned to fit my New Year’s outfit.
Why Employers Should Recruit Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s
Despite the view of some employers, there are a bunch of benefits for progressive businesses to keep the recruiting ‘pedal-to-the-metal’ between Thanksgiving and New Year’s:
1. Kicking off a new project in January? That requires you to have workers in place. Having a ready team in early January before beginning that new project means minimizing lead time for project startup and fewer delays.
2. Often, unemployed workers tend to push off their job searches until after the end of the year. Yet, people who continue to look during this period are more assertive in their search, show solid work ethic and willingness to work through hard times – highly desirable traits.
3. Many workers need to make use of their personal days before New Year’s– or lose them. So, taking a day off for an interview could fit that need nicely. The candidates you are focused on hiring might be more at ease taking time off when no one expects they are looking for another job.
4. Most large firms have already completed seasonal hiring by this time and many others don’t trouble themselves recruiting this time of year. This makes the holiday period great for smaller firms to compete for candidates.
Four More Reasons for Recruiting Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s
5. Some workers use end of year holidays to review their career status. This could make them more open-minded about career or job changes. With the New Year close at hand, many people are open to a ‘new’ beginning.
6. Some firms slow down nearing year-end. Employed candidates have more flexibility to explore a job switch since they have fewer responsibilities or rush to complete work than other times in the year. This provides those workers more time for job search.
7. Fewer businesses recruit this time of year. Therefore, your open job get fewer employers competing and should get more attention from candidates than other periods of the year. Often your position will get noticed by people who are actively looking for a new job and not just waiting to start after January 1st.
8. Some college students finish their studies and graduate now. But obviously the big college recruiting days don’t occur until Spring. Right now is an opportunity to find enthusiastic candidates ready to start work immediately. And, few other employers are there to compete for their attention.
Preparing for Recruiting Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s
Regardless of whether you actually do hire a new employee during the holidays, completing the essential groundwork for the position makes new projects start smoother. Establishing a recruiting strategy, characterizing the open job, developing a profile of the right candidate will help you be successful immediately after New Year. It’s much better to begin the first week of the year arranging interviews instead of trying to decipher who you need to hire right when you are trying to get that new project underway.
Prepare now, even if you don’t get someone started until February or March. There are many positions can take several months to fill.
Partner With an Award-Winning Staffing Agency
If you’re an employer, you only have so much time to dedicate toward recruitment, hiring and interviewing. Especially between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Let Flexicrew Technical Services, a five-time winner of Inavero’s Best of Staffing ® Client Satisfaction Award do the hiring for you. FTS is ready to bring your company the best employees. Contact us today to start your recruiting engines.