Recruiters are all-too familiar with the seasonal wind-down that happens around this time of year. Typically, there’s not much hiring going on around the holidays and it usually ramps back up after the new year. But instead of hitting up an ugly Christmas sweater party, the holiday season is actually a great opportunity for recruitment. Many people take time off, so the quiet stretch of December makes for a good time to focus in on your recruitment process.
Yes, many companies may have exhausted their hiring budget for the year and may not begin recruiting until the New Year, but that also means most of your competition will probably wait to hit clients up for job reqs or market to new clients as well. Reach out to your current clients and ask them what their goals are for the new year and how you can help. Use this down time to ramp up interest – let your clients and prospective clients know what you offer… your marketing blasts earlier in the year might get lost in the day-to-day hustle, but now is a great time to refresh their minds and keep your name in their head for when they’re ready to hire in January.
While some candidates are busy with holiday decorating and shopping, and might think of finding a job as a New Year’s resolution, the most dedicated candidates are still looking right now. And likely these candidates are an untapped pool who aren’t getting many phone calls or emails from other recruiters. If you wait until January, your email or LinkedIn message may not be read by a candidate who’s busy blasting out their CV due to a New Year’s resolution, but right now you can take your pick and get their attention. By getting your candidate in to your client before most of the competition, there’s less of a likelihood the candidate would say no to an offer due to multiple job offers, which they might get with the hiring push in January. In addition, they could get the training in before Christmas so they can hit the ground running in January.
Perhaps you may not do a lot of recruitment or close any deals in December, but take advantage of the end of year lull… plant the seed in your clients’ and candidates’ mind, get the word out about what you offer, update your website/social media/marketing, and review your recruitment process. By using this holiday slowdown effectively, you can be sure your 2019 will be the best yet!