There's No Gift Like a New Job for the Holidays
If you鈥檝e found yourself in the market for a job post-Thanksgiving, you may be tempted to wait until the New Year to truly dive into your search. Why bother pounding the pavement when no one鈥檚 hiring鈥攐r in the case of restaurants, when a chef/owner is too slammed with holiday business to interview or train you properly?
Here are 5 reasons why there鈥檚 no time like the present to get out there:
1. The fact that you鈥檙e signing up during the busiest, most stressful time of the year shows a potential employer that you鈥檙e not afraid of hard work. Better yet, If you鈥檙e coming to their rescue by filling in for an inconsiderate, no-show cook, you鈥檝e already added bonus points to your application.
2. This is the most social time of the year! You鈥檙e getting together with friends and family, and if you鈥檙e actively engaged in a job search, chances are that will come up in conversation. The more people who know what you鈥檙e looking for, the more ears to the ground you鈥檝e got out there. This is particularly good advice to keep in mind for some of the non-traditional areas of the food industry, like food media or marketing, which rely heavily on networking for the recruitment of candidates.
3. The pool of available, qualified candidates is much smaller this time of year, because any cook who wants to use their current chef or manager as a reference in the future would never jump ship during the holidays! Those are looking for a chance typically stay put through the holiday rush and reevaluate options in January/February. Available openings right now should be seen as mission-critical positions, and your resume is much more likely to get consideration when not buried in a flood of applications.
4. Some positions will be listed as temporary鈥攃reated simply to keep up with the demands of the season. If you鈥檙e a savvy jobseeker and make a point of getting to know the ins and outs of the business during your time there, you鈥檒l be first in line for a permanent position once one opens up.
5. Getting out there now gives you a psychological advantage over other job seekers who fall in to the 鈥淣ew Year鈥檚 Resolution鈥 camp, vowing to 鈥済et serious鈥 about a new career once the Times Square ball drops. If you鈥檝e already taken care of resume writing, interview preparations, and arranging meetings/trails, you鈥檒l be the candidate with a job offer firmly in hand. So resist the trend to wait until the holidays are over鈥攂ecause a new career is the best gift anyone could ask for.
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