It’s impossible to predict what the 2020 job market will have in store for job seekers, as this year’s economic trends have been inconsistent and volatile.
Employers have continued to report strong hiring figures in 2019, leaving unemployment rates near a 50-year low. However, trade concerns have prompted many companies to pull back on the strategic investments that spur long-term growth. Spending by S&P 500 companies on capital investments grew less than 1% in the third quarter.
If you have any desire to get a new job in 2020, you need to start getting ready right now. Don’t assume that the current favorable hiring trends will continue throughout the next year.
But before you launch or continue your job search, here’s what you need to know to capitalize on December’s unique opportunities.
1. It’s the best month for networking
December is a slow hiring month. Most of the fall searches have come to a close and hiring managers wait until January to recruit for new initiatives. But while you are less likely to land a new job in December, that doesn’t mean that you should put off or suspend your job search completely.
This month is the best time to reactivate and strengthen your network. The holiday season evokes a sense of community, gratitude and a desire to give back which creates the perfect environment for networking.
Leaders and recruiters may have a smaller workload, leaving them with additional time to schedule informal catch-ups and introductory meetings. You are also more likely to receive responses to your check-in emails in December.
The key to capitalizing on holiday networking is to focus on the connection with the individual and not your job search. There will be plenty of time to make specific requests and send your résumé in January. In December, your focus should be on nurturing personal connections.
In every one-on-one meeting or while working the room at a holiday party, make strengthening your relationships your only goal.
Professionally, you should be inquiring about what each contact learned over the last year and if there are any accomplishments that make them proud.
Personally, take the time to inquire about their holiday plans and be sure to reference their diverse beliefs and celebrations. While it is appropriate to simply say, “Happy Holidays” to address a myriad of religious and cultural expressions, it is even more appreciated if you take the time to learn what and how each person chooses to celebrate (if at all) and personalize your future communication appropriately.
The point is to remind people that you care about them beyond your professional needs. This will help them care enough to keep you top of mind when new opportunities surface in January.
2. December job openings are the most fruitful
One of the hardest things about a job search is never knowing when an online job posting is worth your effort. Some of the jobs you see online are only posted for compliance reasons and the company has already identified a final or internal candidate. Others have so many candidates already applying that you don’t have much chance at breaking through the pack.
You may also struggle to discern how much of what the job description asks for is truly required and where they might be flexible with certain criteria.
The good news about December is that most of the new openings you find will be real and accurate.
Jobs that open in December are created out of necessity—something is going wrong in the business or someone important resigned—and need to be filled as soon as possible. This can work in your favor if you stay diligent about monitoring job openings throughout the otherwise slow month of December so you can get engaged on these searches immediately.
These jobs are filled quickly, and the hiring organization will exercise a fair amount of flexibility in what kind of profiles they are open to. Companies hiring in December know that a lot more candidates will be in the market in January, but they simply can’t wait.
It takes resilience to keep looking for these jobs in December. You have to be emotionally prepared for much less activity than other months. Set aside a small amount of time, no more than an hour, for daily online research and apply to anything new that pops up.
Otherwise, use your time for networking or for other personal activities that will boost your spirits so you can enter January confident and rested, should your search continue.
3. Knowing what you want will save you time
You’re ready for a new job in the New Year. The problem with starting fresh in January is that you may lose several weeks ramping up for the search and clarifying exactly what you want in a new role. Do this work in December.
You will have a significant advantage in January if you can start the busy hiring season already knowing what jobs you want and how your experience aligns to them.
Many job seekers early in their process falsely believe that by leaving their options open they are increasing their chances of attracting opportunities, when the opposite is true. By clearly articulating what you want, you help recruiters and others in your network be much more focused in looking for and recommending you for jobs.
People want to be helpful to you, but they aren’t going to do the work to figure out all the jobs for which you might be qualified. If you cast too wide of a net, you risk being forgotten or overlooked.
Spend December researching and preparing to communicate what you want. Pick one or two job titles that interest you the most and make sure you are able to quickly explain your experience.
While you may wait until January to send out your résumé and start asking your network for favors, being clear and concise when you do so will save you a lot of time.
December may not be the hottest month for hiring, but it is still a great month to invest time in your job search.
Landing your first job: Essential tips for recent graduates Stepping into the job market as a recent graduate can be exciting but difficult. After years..
In today's competitive job market, attracting and retaining top talent is a strategic imperative for businesses across the globe. In Cyprus, where the personnel is..
As a recruitment agency situated in Limassol, we are well acquainted with the multitude of factors motivating individuals—both locals and expatriates—to seek career opportunities in..
In the dynamic world of recruitment, staying ahead means understanding the latest trends shaping the industry. Significant shifts are redefining how businesses find and retain..
Unlocking Career Opportunities: Your Guide to Finding Jobs in Cyprus Cyprus has some exciting career opportunities in recent years, making our island a better place..
Attracting Top Talent: Why a Company’s Online Presence Matters In today's competitive job market, attracting top talent is more challenging than ever before. A lot..
AI-Enhanced Marketing is transforming the sector, creating opportunities and reshaping the talent pool. AI takes Marketing beyond simple predictions, employing complex algorithms to uncover patterns..
Find your Dream Job in 2024: Tips by a Recruitment Agency This blog post is meant to provide valuable tips for candidates looking for job..
The Role of Recruitment Agencies in Cyprus: How We Can Help You Find Your Dream Job In recent years, recruitment agencies in Cyprus have been..
Getting closer to the end of the year, as a recruitment agency in Cyprus, we would like to share some of our predictions about the..
When you might think about using a Recruitment agency: Personnel recruitment requires a lot of effort, and many organisations struggle to find the time to..
What characterizes a contented worker? The majority would most likely respond, "A BIG SALARY!" But do you only base your decisions on the salary while..
It happens all the time. You start out the day with great intentions to get that financial report done or to work on your marketing..
One of the major plots of the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade revolves around the search for the Fountain of Youth — some magical..
The summer vacation season may be behind us, but the holidays are right around the corner. And soon enough your colleagues may be asking you..
Whether you’re looking to leave your current position for an opportunity that your company couldn't offer, or perhaps for a completely new career, or a..
Early in my corporate career, I was masterful at replying to emails instantaneously and staying on top of the multitude of requests I received from..
I’ve been thinking a lot about dessert lately. What’s the most memorable, delicious bite of dessert you’ve ever tasted? Chances are, it wasn’t a store-bought, plastic-wrapped ball..
Here's how to jumpstart your career and achieve meaningful success by age 30. It’s no secret that with age, comes wisdom (generally speaking). Over the years, I’ve..
Did you know that Beyonce’s shy? Most people don’t expect this, because she’s so hugely successful and we tend to equate success with outgoing people...
Summary. What’s the first thing you focus on when applying to a new role or looking for a job? If you said job title, you’re..
I got into management earlier than many of my friends and colleagues, and now I find myself becoming the go-to resource for when they're struggling..
According to anthropologist Ray Birdwhistell, who pioneered the original study of nonverbal communication called "kinesics," face-to-face conversation is less than 35% verbal. In comparison, more than..
Fascinated by habits and patterns, I started to observe and pay attention to find value in my day-to-day activities — the ones we always do..
You can hire the best team in the world, but if they can't communicate well, you won't get very far. A business owner I know..
Raising awareness is the key to inclusion. We’re all fighting against centuries of conscious and unconscious bias in the workplace. The first step is acknowledging..
As a member of a team, you have a responsibility to help your co-workers, just as you’d expect them to offer assistance when you need..
People who are on the job hunt regularly feel dejected and disenchanted with the interview process. They'll point to a multitude of reasons as to..
“It’s a new goal-setting framework.” That was one of my large enterprise clients’ attempt at an inspirational rallying cry for their rollout of Objectives and..
You walk through the revolving door of the lobby toward the elevator, soaking in your surroundings—there’s not a familiar face in the building. You straighten..
“I blew it,” said my client, Deborah, a sales exec with a mid-sized tech company. Her conversation with another executive had not gone very well...
When you’re on the job hunt or navigating the upward trajectory of your career, sometimes you just need a little pep talk. It can be..
Back in the day, company leadership would decree their mission and hand down their goals to all their employees. While a few companies still do..
People have been furloughed or let go at alarming rates these past few months. Never before has the job market experienced this type of shift...
As we put July firmly in the rearview mirror and enter August, I can’t help but reflect on how unique this month is every year...
Here’s How You Can Be Indispensable At Work During the pandemic as workers adjusted to working from home as many people work even harder than..
It’s Time To Take Control Of Your Career Why do so many people wind up in jobs that they regret, even when faced with so..
10 Things You Need To Know To Win In Business And Life “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are..
Landed Out Of Work? Ten Ways To Reset Your Mindset If you've been furloughed or laid off in recent months, you’re in the company of..
Recruiters Share 9 Mistakes Job Seekers Are Making Amid The Coronavirus Pandemic Beyond the enormous human toll coronavirus has had over the past few weeks,..
Your Words Have Impact, So Think Before You Speak Do you know of those people who fly off the handle without stopping to think about..
In a difficult job market, you may find yourself needing to consider job openings that wouldn’t be on your radar during normal times. While all..
How To Job Hunt During The Coronavirus Pandemic Caroline CastrillonContributorCareersI write about career, entrepreneurship and women’s advancement. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, over..
The Art Of Working Remotely: How To Ensure Productivity Working remotely isn’t a new concept. People in all kinds of career fields have been doing..
The Key To Carrying Out A Productive And Effective Job Search In my experience as a career coach, I have found that people who are..
Retain More Employees With Stay Interviews Employees are quitting in droves, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article, backed up by hard data from..
3 Things You Need To Know About A February Job Search There’s no bad time to look for a job, but there are seasonal trends..
3 Ways To Promote Yourself And Advance Your Career For Free In today’s digital world, if you don’t have a stellar social media presence, you..
Hire Without Looking At A Resume We’re all more than what’s on our resume. But while a lot of leaders pay lip service to that..
8 Things You Should Not Do In Meetings Meetings are perhaps the most powerful personal branding tool there is—when you master them. They also make..
What Are The Top 10 Soft Skills For The Future Of Work? The future of work is likely to herald a wide range of new..
Resolution Hacks That Actually Work It’s that time of year again, when we all make New Year's resolutions. But will this year be any different..
Move Over, Work-Life Balance. Hello, Work-Life ‘Integration’ As a busy executive, Margaret Keane has had to find creative ways to fit time with her family..
How To Turn Down A Job Offer Without Burning Bridges Sometimes you have to make the difficult decision to turn down a job offer. It’s..
How To Spend Your Working Day Wisely And Actually Get Things Done Time doesn’t discriminate. The CEO of a Fortune 500 company with an overloaded..
How To Prove You Can Do The Job, Even Without Direct Experience "Tell me about a time you...." As a career switcher, you may be..
7 Unexpected Career Detours That Can Benefit You When most professionals introduce themselves or create a LinkedIn profile, they appear to have a smooth, well-planned..
Four Myths You Should Ignore If You Want To Advance Your Career In today’s competitive corporate landscape, standing still is equivalent to moving backward. No..
Six Sacred Rules For Personal Branding In The Digital World Everything has gone digital – including you. The move to all things digital may have..
3 Things You Need To Know About An October Job Search Seasonal timing has a large impact on a job search. It can work in..
The Interview Question You Need To Answer Right: ‘Tell Me About Yourself’ “I bombed the interview.” This was a message I got from a brand..
Belonging At Work Is Essential—Here Are 4 Ways To Foster It In the complex study of human psychology, one finding is remarkably consistent: our well-being..
How To Avoid The Five Emotional Pitfalls Of A Job Search Spoiler alert: your job search will be anxiety-inducing, frustrating, and at times, painful. It..
Summer's Over: Here's Why It's The Best Time For Job Seekers And Hiring Managers To Act Now Labor Day has come and gone, which means..
How To Make A Great First Impression At Your New Job You only get one chance to make a first impression, so make it count...
How To Connect With Your Company's Purpose And Values Some employees feel fully inspired by their company's mission, vision and values. But they don’t just mindlessly glug the Kool-Aid—they connect on a deep,..
4 Reasons You Should Keep Up Your Job Search During the Holidays Now that the holidays are upon us, you may be considering taking a..
What Not To Do After A Job Interview The waiting period after a job interview can be one of the most stressful times. You’ve done..
3 Surprising Reasons Your Job Search Still Isn't Working It’s been months into your job search and you’re just about ready to pull your hair..
Why Attitude Is More Important Than IQ When it comes to success, it’s easy to think that people blessed with brains are inevitably going to..
Video Interviewing: Lights, Camera -- But No Connection Nothing screams “personal” more than you on a 20-inch video monitor, beaming in from a remote location..
Overloaded And Overwhelmed? Four Things You Can Control When Your Workload Is Out Of Control Our research indicates a terrifying 43% of knowledge workers do..
13 Difficult Things Highly Successful People Learn To Do Young To invent a product, turn a profit or start a business is to be accomplished. To..
A Career Summer Checkup For Professional Growth Whether you’re graduating college or gearing up for your first fiscal year-end performance conversation, the summer months represent..
6 Steps To Unleash Your Inner Polymath And Thrive At Work In a previous article I explored some of the virtues of striving for a..
Congratulations! You got the job. Now for the hard part: deciding whether to accept it or not. How should you assess the salary as well..
What It Takes To Be A Great Employee: The Parable Of The Oranges Being a great employee pays off with better positions, higher pay, and..
10 Essential Strategies To Succeed In Your First Job Congratulations, graduate! After the exhausting and stressful process of finishing school, searching for and landing your..
When You Start a New Job, Pay Attention to These 5 Aspects of Company Culture When you join an organization, you have a short window..
How To Escape The Procrastination Doom Loop When you imagine a highly productive person, you likely think of someone who focuses effortlessly on the job..
Here's How To Recover From A Career Setback Whether you’ve botched an interview question, cancelled an important meeting last-minute or missed a typo in an..
8 Ways You're Sabotaging Your Job Search Following certain best practices can make or break you in your quest for the right job. Some bad..
Here’s what recruiters look for on a candidate’s social media profile Maintaining the right balance between being professional and being yourself on social media can..
How to conduct an effective job interview As the employment market improves and candidates have more options, hiring the right person for the job has..
14 Things You Should Never, Ever Say In A Job Interview It’s always intimidating to interview for a new job, whether you’re fresh out of..
How To Answer Why You Left (Or Want to Leave) Your Employer If you want the job, don't reveal this. Job interviews are designed to..
Here's how to write a LinkedIn summary that could help you land your dream job, according to a marketing director at LinkedIn You might approach..
Recruitment in Cyprus - Thoughts and Ideas from Advance Career Team Read the detailed interview published on TopJobsCyprus website and share your comments and ideas!..
How To Find Career Clarity Using Three Top Career Theories Feeling like you need to make a career pivot because your job isn’t a good..
Are your employees integrators or segmentors? An organization has both integrators and segmentors. Being a segmentor is a tough ask. If you choose to be..
What Motivates You to Work? That paycheck will never be big enough if it's the only reason you're going to work. Each of us respond..
Updating Your Résumé Might Mean Updating Yourself It seems like a total no-brainer: you should update your résumé and online profiles when you are job..
Putting Yourself In Drive: How To Tap Into Your Motivation The one common component in every great success story is motivation: an ever-elusive elixir that..
How To Bounce Back When The Job Search Gets You Down With a dream job in mind, an updated résumé in hand and responses to..
When 'What Happens In Vegas' Ends Up In Your Job Search What happens in Vegas really doesn’t stay there. That “funny” picture about that..
How To Develop More Emotionally Intelligent Employees In the quest to develop leaders who will foster a culture of equity and inclusion in the workplace,..
The Difference Between People Who Succeed and People Who Flop Successful people charge forward, take calculated risks, and come out on top because of it...
5 Steps to Hiring the Right People for Your Business "Hire slow, fire fast" is great advice, but it's not always easy to follow. The..
4 Entry-Level Jobs That Will Prep You for Entrepreneurial Success Success is a journey, not a destination, so think hard about where to start. Entrepreneurship..
Work-Life Balance Is Simple. To Succeed at Work, Get a Life. With the right balance of health and business, entrepreneurs can maximize productivity. The Organization..
Inclusion Doesn’t Mean Including Everything and Everyone Inclusiveness is not about thought policing. It’s also not about turning everyone into a liberal. It’s a normal..
You Were Promoted To A Leadership Role But You Feel Unprepared - Don't Panic You’ve been at the job for years. As much as you..
This Is the No. 1 Reason Why People Fail at Switching Jobs (and What to Do About It) There's a reason changing careers is so..
Didn't Get Your Dream Job? This 1 Technique Could Get You a Second Chance Every job seeker experiences this at least once, if not several..
11 Expert Tips To Make 2018 Your Most Productive Year Ever Could eating cake for breakfast and never listening to your voicemail help you get..
How to Set Your Career Goals for 2018 and Achieve Them Each New Year offers the opportunity for a fresh start—and that includes your career...
Will You Be Leading an HR Function in 2024? Here are five things to look at to examine and determine if you’ve got what it..
What Is Your Impact? We keep throwing this word around called "impact." Do you know what your impact is and how would you define, discover,..
LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner's 3 Best Pieces of Career Advice Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn's CEO, has had nothing short of a successful career. After graduating from..
Nine Things You Should and Shouldn't Do If You Lose Your Job Most of us wouldn’t think to associate the words "joblessness" and "fun," but..
Why Risk Is A Necessary Component To A Successful Career - And How To Balance Risk With Reward Taking at least some risk is necessary..
It's all about potential: how to write a CV with no work experience Follow these tips to stand out among competing candidates – from research..
Being Too Busy for Friends Won’t Help Your Career Friendship matters. Everything we do to succeed in our careers is improved when we’re supported by..
Think Strategically About Your Career Development In a world where the average employee sends and receives 122 emails per day and attends an average of..
How To Advance Your Career In A Crappy Entry-Level Job Yes, you can still bring yourself one step closer to snagging that dream job even..
Interviews are generally regarded as the primary decision-making event in any recruitment process. Regardless of your academic credentials or career thus far, it is crucial..
Studies have shown that structured interviewing is more than twice as reliable a predictor of future employee performance than unstructured interviewing. That is why most..
Cyprus unemployment has been steadily increasing monthly since 2008 and is getting closer to double digits (January 2012 Eurostat figure – 9.6%). However there are..