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Planning your next career move this Christmas: tips and advice

Written by: LoveLocalJobs.com
Published on: 8 Dec 2015

December and New Year is the perfect time to switch jobs or find that all-important first job while everyone else is tucking into their mince pies. Since job vacancies outstripped jobseekers last November, jobseekers have recognised that the Christmas window is the perfect time to snap up their dream role while competition is low. However, the hectic and fun-filled season is one of the hardest times to stay focused, motivated and productive without the right strategy to keep you on track. Here’s our own set of tips and advice to increase your chances of success.

Christmas Tips & Advice Image

Seize those seasonal opportunities

For many people across the UK around Christmas and New Year, it’s business as usual. Business owners will be considering their own festive plans on how to maintain business activity over Christmas and New Year to retain its customer base. Here’s are some opportunities to seize:

  • Recruiters will remain active to secure the best talent. Take this chance to have informal chats with recruiters about current opportunities and how to improve your employability
  • Keep up-to-date with the latest industry news, insights and vacancies.
  • Attend affordable networking events in and around your local area or book your place at an event in the New Year
  • Sign up to a variety of online webinars to listen to at home or download podcasts to tune into on the move

How to stay merry and motivated

Staying motivated is half the battle when Christmas and New Year temptations surround us. Finding the right balance between work and play is a must if you are to survive the winter hunt: here are a few pointers to begin the New Year on a high:

  • Begin the process by asking yourself a few fundamental questions to steer you in the right direction: ‘What do I really want?’ ‘What are my passions?’ ‘What is important to me at work?’ Jot these down with your answers as they may come in handy during an interview
  • If you find the basic questions hard to answer, create a dream list of the companies you would like to work for as a fun way to identify your passions and what drives you in your career
  • Get yourself ready for the next stage in your career by refreshing your CV, cover letter, and social media profiles. Complete these updates early while energy is high and ‘work mode’ is easier to slip back into
  • Identify your best time of the day to work and create a plan around this peak time to maintain motivation
  • Set yourself a mixed set of realistic targets every day. If you feel like you need a break from sending out job applications, look for other ways to market yourself online, for example connecting to influencers on social media or over the phone.

New Year resolutions

Resolutions are notoriously easy to create and easy to break. Once you’ve updated your profiles and trawled through job vacancies in your industry, you’ll have an understanding of which skills employers are looking for. This should form the foundation for your New Year’s resolutions that will help you to secure a job. Here are a few to consider:

  • Make a list of five new skills that may be hurting your profile in your industry. Research how to gain these skills online as there are plenty of free resources on the web and set yourself a realistic goals every week, for example learn two chapters per week.
  • Dedicate an evening slot to learning a new skill, research or increasing your social network
  • Start your days earlier to make the most of the winter daylight hours. Boost your energy levels and relieve stress by eating right and exercising in the morning
  • Set networking targets, for example ‘I will connect three people per week who may offer me advice, a referral to an opportunity’
  • If you’ve got some spare time to fill during the week, consider volunteering in your community to pick up some more skills. Alternatively, you could choose to educate others who are starting out in the industry as a way to refresh your memory and stay passionate about your work.

Contact our team of advisors at LoveLocalJobs.com to pick up some tips, advice and good New Year habits to consider! We look forward to hearing from you.