‘Tis the Season to be Applying to Jobs

On the job hunt? Need to take a break? Well after this year, we can all use one, right? And it’s the holidays anyway. ‘Tis the season to be jolly. Fa la la la lah La la la lah! Time to get some R&R, military slang for rest and recuperation (or rest and relaxation or rest and recreation or rest and rehabilitation) is an acronym used for the free time of a soldier. Reflection, recuperation and relaxation are key kumbaya terminology these days. Especially when companies and corporations are taking their corporate breaks too.

The holidays actually are a most wonderful time of the year to apply to open positions. The competition is down (lower), budget is available (maybe) and recruiters are bored (not really). There’s soon to be renewed energy and focus that come with a new year. It’ll be time to hit those quotas (j/k, company HR don’t have quotas just like recruiting command only has ‘missions.’). If that doesn’t get your blood flowing, maybe a quote from Sun Tzu (he has so many to chose from) will hit the mark.

 “Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical.” – Sun Tzu, famed general, military strategist, writer and philosopher

So there is an advantage of applying to jobs during the corporate ‘dark’ period (fewer competition); there is something to be gained (potential interview and job offer); if that’s not critical enough for you then you’re not serious about your job search and living the status quo is just fine for you. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Except having to wait for a whole year until this next opportunity arises.

But don’t companies and corporations shut down during the holidays? While true, organizations do slow down operations if not shut down altogether. Most go completely ‘dark’ from Christmas and New Year’s Day (which by the way are paid holidays not counted against accrued vacation, unlike some government organizations we were a part of). Quite possibly, no real work got done as soon as Thanksgiving break hit and in some cases one can find examples that work slowdown started at Halloween! In fact, serious interviewing stopped the first week in December and no new hires were on-boarded after mid-month. Why? Because companies are frugal, er savvy; if given the option they would rather not start new employees heading into the winter break when nothing gets done and arguably nothing got done since turkey day. Who wants to bring in new headcount, pay for new salary and equipment plus suck up (pay) benefits, vacation time for a newb(s) who barely started. Worse are those team members, staff and managers who get stuck having to train him/her/them, especially when there’s so much (online) shopping and planning annual (virtual) holiday staycation to still to do?

BUT that does not mean companies are NOT recruiting during the holidays. They may not be actively interviewing and making offers but do a quick job search and check on the new job postings. Companies are RECRUITING; they’re just not HIRING. And while those job descriptions on the company career pages, social media or internet job boards are posted, they are still ripe for collecting resumes. So go to your dream company or favorite job board and check out those openings.

Why the holidays are a great time to apply for jobs?

1.      Average candidates are just that. AVERAGE. They embrace the status quo. They won’t put in the work unless forced (to document unemployment to the State Workforce Commission) or to just to meet the deadline before the posting expires. They often choose NOT to go the extra mile (yes, it is a choice). They wait for things to happen rather than make things happen.

2.      January is usually the start of the Second Quarter of the Fiscal Year. A lot of corporations follow the government example when October 1st starts the new FY, Q1. January 1st is Q2 and so on. Brand new quarter. And after blowing money on corporate holiday parties (back in the day) there’s new budget to spend! New hires that were extended offers heading into the winter are starting the first business day of the new year. And so the cycle continues.

3.      In the meantime, recruiters are going back into their databases and seeing the fresh new resumes accumulated while everyone was R&R-ing. Having been on that side of the database, we can only review those that applied. So now is the time to get to the top of the small stack before the ‘average’ masses decide to wake up and go through their motions. If selected, this small stack can lead to hiring manager reviews which can lead to screening calls with HR which can lead to Zoom (formerly on-site) interviews with the hiring team which can lead to…

Special bonus information about corporate recruiting and timing.

For the most part, recruiting and hiring is all about timing (and money). Well mostly money. For those of you getting ready to ETS, EAS, separate to the guard or reserve component or just finally retire, here’s what you may expect in regards to applying to jobs during certain times of the year.

We just determined that with a new fiscal year (for most, it starts October 1st) comes new budget and a new attitude. Companies have fresh money to spend. So if the organization is in good financial standing and the economy cooperates, not only will businesses resume recruiting with wild abandon but they will also be starting and on-boarding new personnel. First Quarter or Q1 under this calendar is October 1 to December 31. Remember however from above, companies tend to slow down around Thanksgiving and resume again in the new calendar year. But just because they are not actively hiring during the holidays does not mean they are not recruiting which is the main topic of this post.

Second Quarter runs from January 1 to March 31. Also a great time to apply and get hired. Money is not all spent and a new budget allocation for Q2 kicks in. Q3 is April 1 to June 30, and generally the same applies as long as the organization is in good financial standing and the economy is generally stable.

Q4 is where there may be problems even if the company is in positive financial standing and the economy is relatively fair. First, organizations are at the end of their fiscal year. So budget is tight for whatever reason. Perhaps they overspent or products missed launch dates or failed outright or sales just underperformed. Or a pandemic situation hit on a global scale and costs need to be reined in. Including “people costs.” Q4 is July 1 to September 30. The final quarter of the fiscal year. It’s make or break time. You may hear “we need to tap the brakes” or “budget is tight” codes for “we need to look at our spending.” Any of these are potential signals to HR to slow their hiring. Coupled with this scenario is summer.

On our side of the pool, what happens in summer? A lot of enlisted joined the service right after high school graduation. So when they ETS, EAS, it’s usually leading to or during the summer months. Time to start looking for a new j-o-b. Enlisted retirees may also follow this same schedule. Also on top of civilian new college grads with their shiny psychology, sociology, criminal justice, poly sci, history, organizational development, art science whatever that is degrees AND military service members without and with degrees are all applying to the same openings. The market is saturated with applicants during the summer; of great and not so great talent. But they also bog down the process. HR needs to sort through all the mediocre applicants, civilian and veteran alike, to find the quality. It’s a good problem for HR. Not so great for healthy pool of applicants and candidates.

Knowing this, would one rather apply with the masses during the summer or take advantage of and exploit a wonderful time (the winter holidays) of the year when most applicants are just too average living the status quo of making merry and/or preparing for hibernation? The jobs are posted now. Get ahead of the pack and apply.

So what’s on your holiday job search list? Find your dream job at your dream company before others beat you to it! And apply, free of charge.

We will be visiting our friend and wise one Sun frequently. Other favorite quotes regarding the advantage of speed and timing are:

“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”

“Quickness is the essence of the war.”

“The worst calamities that befall an army arise from hesitation.”

“Be where your enemy is not.”

“Never venture, never win!”

“Plan for what it is difficult while it is easy, do what is great while it is small.”

“Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of a trigger.”

Welcome to this blog. In this series, we will reminisce about that we did not think we would ever miss before we got out; hopefully with a good dose of healthy humor. With tips, tricks and secrets to reintegrating back to the civilian workforce and with the proper mindset. And we welcome positive feedback from those of us who have already made the transition to the real world. xUSAmp is a group of determined veterans, allies and family members who have worked in corporate HR and specialize in preparing veterans and military spouses to transition to corporate America.

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1.      Average candidates are just that. AVERAGE. They embrace the status quo. They won’t put in the work unless they have to or to just to meet the deadline before the posting expires. They don’t go the extra mile. They wait for things to happen rather than make things happen.

2.      January is usually the start of the second quarter of the fiscal year. A lot of corporations follow the government example where October 1st starts the new FY, Q1. January 1st is Q2 and so on. New quarter. And after blowing money on corporate holiday parties (back in the day) there’s new budget to spend! Offers that may have been extended heading into the winter are starting the first business day of the new year. And so the cycle continues.

3.      In the meantime, recruiters are going back into the database and seeing the fresh new resumes accumulated while everyone was resting and recuperating. Having been on that side of the database, they can only review those that applied. So now is the time to get to the top of the small stack before the average masses decide to wake up and go through their motions. If selected, this small stack can lead hiring manager reviews which can lead to screening calls with HR which can lead to Zoom (formerly on-site) interviews with the hiring team which can lead to…

So what’s on your holiday job search list? Find your dream job at your dream company before others beat you to it! And apply, free of charge.

We will be visiting our friend and wise one Sun frequently. Other favorite quotes regarding the advantage of speed and timing are:

“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”

“Quickness is the essence of the war.”

“The worst calamities that befall an army arise from hesitation.”

“Be where your enemy is not.”

“Never venture, never win!”

“Plan for what it is difficult while it is easy, do what is great while it is small.”

“Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of a trigger.”

Welcome to this blog. In this series, we will reminisce about that we did not think we would ever miss before we got out; hopefully with a good dose of healthy humor. With tips, tricks and secrets to reintegrating back to the civilian workforce and with the proper mindset. And we welcome positive feedback from those of us who have already made the transition to the real world. xUSAmp is a group of determined veterans, allies and family members who have worked in corporate HR and specialize in preparing veterans and military spouses to transition to corporate America.

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!