Back to all articles You’ve been considering it for a while now and you’ve made it one of your new year’s resolutions, so you’ll be pleased to know that January really is the ideal time to start your job search for that new role.
What’s so special about January?
Just like you, employers are looking at the New Year as a clean start, with ideas and plans requiring fresh new talent. Many companies will have had projects which ran to the end of the calendar year and will be looking to start their next big programmes in January. With ever-increasing competition, companies are looking to develop an edge by ensuring that they employ the best talent to deliver their new products and services.
This often means that exciting new opportunities become available at the start of the year that either match your existing skills and experience, or give you the opportunity to diversify into exciting new roles.
Employers know that January is a key time of year for motivated professionals to be looking for new opportunities too. They know that the available talent pool at this time of year will be favourable in breadth and depth, giving them the best possible chance of finding the right candidates.
Of course you might see this as a disadvantage, as a broader group of candidates means more competition for you to overcome. But while this may be true to some extent, you should simply see this as motivation to be as prepared as possible when you start your job search.
Preparing to start your job search
Here are a few tips to help you get ready…
1. Start your job search early – this will allow you to get a feel for the types of roles that are being advertised and which would most suit your aspirations and capabilities.
2. Update your CV – obviously you’ll need to make sure that it’s current in terms of employment history, skillset, experience and qualifications, but above all, it needs to be unique, interesting and captivating. Remember that applications often pass through a filter process led by a HR representative or recruitment consultant before arriving at the inbox of the individuals who are likely to be responsible for interviewing and making the final decision, so ensure that your CV is tailored to each application, providing clear evidence that you meet the criteria set out in the job advert.
3. Practice, practice, practice – interviews can be stressful and the best way to overcome that anxiety is to ensure that you’re well prepared by considering likely interview questions and preparing responses in advance. If you can get someone to take you through a series of likely scenarios under interview conditions, that will help dispel the nerves and allow you to be more confident and fluent when it comes to the real thing.
4. It’s the 21st century – in a world of ubiquitous social media, employers are likely to be looking at your online presence to see if your application matches the reality and whether they see you as a good fit for their organisation. This is especially important across the more professionally focussed sites such as LinkedIn as it is for your more informal posts on Instagram and Twitter.
What about the rest of the year?
While January is believed to be the best time to start your search for a new role, this flows fairly fluidly into February too, as some organisations may take a while to get back on top after the festive break, tidy up role criteria and get their adverts out.
Other good times to look for a new job are:
If you want to start your job search now, in order to make a change in 2022, why not contact our team to see if we can help?