Job hunting is never an easy thing. As a matter of fact, finding a job has been described as a job on its own. The only difference between it and the regular job is that you spend without receiving. Furthermore, it is usually frustrating and demoralizing when searching for a job because of the numerous disappointments and rejections associated with it. Nevertheless, one cannot do without a job.
Job hunting is not reserved for people that newly finished school. It is also not for people that have no jobs. Fully employed workers hunt for jobs from time to time as they seek better opportunities. Freelancers are perpetual job hunters and, so, need to constantly search for jobs. Nevertheless, finding a new job could be more frustrating when it is not done strategically. One of the strategies for landing a good job is finding out when to search for them. Specifically, you need to find out the best month to apply for your desired jobs. So far, January has been specified as the best month for searching for and applying for jobs.
Why January is the Best Month for Job Hunting
January, being the first month of the year, is usually slow and exciting at the same time. It comes with promises and apprehensions. Many use the activities of the month to determine what will become of the year. Among the things that happen this month are massive job, openings, job hunting, and job applications. Three reasons have been discovered to cause high rate of job vacancies published at the beginning of the year.
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a. New Set of Company Goals
Companies usually set new goals at the beginning of the year. This is done as a result of experiences, feedbacks, and mistakes of the previous year. Most times, these goals are set towards the end of the year but they are targeted at being rolled out at the beginning of the following year. When new goals are set, more employees are likely needed to fill up positions that will actualize them.
b. Internal and External Reshuffling
Promotions, retirements, transfers, resignations, and dismissals usually take effect at the beginning of the year. Most employees that are unsatisfied with their present jobs tend to reflect on their career at the end of the year. Newly promoted officers also tend to resume their new offices in January. In a situation where the internal and external movement of these officers left some openings, the company will wish to fill them up. Since notifications of these reshuffling usually happen towards the end of the year, recruitment for those that will fill up resultant openings will most likely take place at the beginning of the following year.
c. Implementation of Budget
Companies draft and approve the budgets for oncoming years towards the end of the year. For instance, a company’s budget for 2021 must have been adopted around November 2020. If the company wishes to recruit more staff, the budget would have reflected that. Technically, it is only when the salaries for the new staff are reflected in the year’s budget will arrangements be made towards new recruitment. Hence, if this budget is approved in November, the recruiting team will set to work in December or January.
Things to Bear in Mind
1. Many people search for jobs in January, so expect competition. This is not to discourage you but to let you know that the existence of several vacancies is not a guarantee that you will land a good job. This is just to tell you to beef up your skills (including interview skills), resumes, and cover letters.
2. Hiring might start in February or March. The fact that openings are advertised in January does not mean you will be hired that same month. Be patient as you apply; you might be called for an interview later.
3. Be sure of the type of work you want to go into before January so you will know where to look. Until you are sure of what you want, you will be disorganized while jobs are being taken by others. By the time you must have realized what you did to yourself, the good jobs would have been taken. In addition to this, you need to know platforms that advertise the type of job you need. This will help you to find good jobs immediately they are posted so you will be among the first to apply for them.
4. Find the fiscal year of the industry of your interest. Remember that different industries or companies have different financial years. For instance, in education, years (commonly known as sessions) run from September to July/August. So, if there will be job openings in schools as a result of expansion or reshuffling, it will happen between August and September.
5. Observe the peak period of your desired industry. Every industry has a time its products and services are in high demand. It is easier to wangle your into a company in the industry if you couldn’t meet up the early year rush. This is simply because, when demands are high, these companies seek more hands to meet supplies.
6. That jobs are usually advertised at the beginning of the year does not mean you only carry out your job hunts during that period. Sometimes, massive recruitment spills into February and March. Furthermore, when companies, after recruitment processes, fail to fill up all vacancies, they come back for urgent recruitments. It is difficult to state when this will happen but it usually takes place during the second quarter (April to June). Urgent vacancies can also come up in other months of the year, both for managerial and entry-level positions. So, don’t relax or fall into despair if you miss the January rush because there is still a lot of hope.