Recruitment during the Christmas period

With only 56 days until Christmas, the end of the year is now very quickly approaching. The weather reached -1 yesterday, it’s now dark before 5pm, and there’s no longer any debate about whether or not the heating should be switched on. I also sadly had to wait for my car to defrost yesterday – if you hadn’t guessed, the colder months of the year aren’t my favourite.

For those in businesses, strict end of year deadlines can also create added pressures. Nobody wants to have overdue work running into the new year.  They want to be unwinding with a mulled wine, tactically eating all the Maltesers from the Celebrations box, and spending time catching up with their families and friends during the festive period.

Free time can be your best friend and worst enemy. If you’ve ever been through a break-up, your best friends advice is always to keep busy to avoid thinking. The downtime you’re entitled to over the Christmas period after a lengthy 11 and 3/4 months is there to ensure you’re feeling rested, rejuvenated and raring to go upon your return. This free time gives you the opportunity to reflect on the positives and negatives of the calendar year.

Has it been a successful year? Did the business reach its goals as planned? Has your career progressed as planned? Did you get that promotion you were promised? Is the company you’re currently working for going to be right for you long term? Have you lost your love for the industry?

As we move into November, already people are thinking of delaying their career plans until the next year. Let’s be honest, people don’t like change, and people will grab onto any reason to delay making a change. Have you ever noticed how the gym is busier than a supermarket on Black Friday every Monday evening, but come Wednesday, the gym is empty again bar the same grunting regulars.

This is because the majority of people will have the mindset of ‘I’ll start again on Monday’.

‘I’ll join the gym in January’ is another great example. For whatever reason, starting a goal at the beginning of a week, year, or month seems to motivates people.

My question for employers who have plans to recruit, or to those of you considering changing jobs is – why not start now?  Why fight with everyone else on Monday evening to get on the treadmill? Why not get a head start, and go on Sunday.

The recruitment process isn’t that simple – unfortunately, it can sometimes take weeks, or even months to find the right candidate, especially in specialist roles. Once you’ve found them, finding out they have a 3 month notice period can delay their start date even further. On the candidates’ side, finding the perfect role can also be a difficult task.

As a company, we’re proud to call ourselves recruitment consultants and always look to add value to your process. To do this, we must act in a consultative manner.  My advice as the year comes is to not put the brakes on your recruitments just because the colder months are here. It’s a very competitive, candidate-led market out there these days. It’s very rare that the best candidates will come calling – so, get a step ahead of your competitors and start recruiting early.