Controversial December, or Should you look for a job in the last month of the year? Should I change jobs in January? Should I get a job in December?

According to long-term observations of employees of recruitment agencies, at the end of January the number of people wanting to change jobs increases sharply. At this time, recruiters receive double the volume of resumes from applicants with average salary expectations. And the point is not only that employment contracts are most often renegotiated in January, and large companies get rid of insufficiently efficient employees. The employees themselves, returning to work after the New Year holidays, are not in in better shape and often come to thoughts about the need to change jobs.

Well, really, right from the couch and to the office desk! Psychologists even came up with a term for this phenomenon: work maladjustment syndrome. According to scientists, the brain slows down its speed by almost a quarter during the New Year holidays. This is why it is so difficult to return to work duties and the work rhythm is so annoying. Hence the depressive state, and thoughts about changing jobs, and, as a result, mass appeals to recruitment agencies in search of new job.

MIR 24 wondered whether it is worth starting to look for work right now, in the middle of winter. Despite the fact that HR specialists unanimously claim that the best time to look for a job is summer, when there is an order of magnitude less supply on the labor market, it turned out that winter is the second most important period suitable for changing jobs. This is especially true for highly paid specialists and those who aspire to significant career growth.

Winter is a good time to start a new career

According to employees of recruitment agencies, in winter the chances of finding high-paying jobs increase. True, there are always not too many job offers in this sector. Highly qualified specialists and middle and senior managers are a piece of goods, the search for which is carried out according to different laws than the recruitment of ordinary employees. But even if these specialists are trying to leave their homes, it’s not now. Therefore, there are very few applicants, and the competition is quite low.

As a rule, specialists in this category either received a bonus for the New Year, and therefore are in a relatively financially satisfied state, or are still waiting for their bonus. Indeed, in most large companies, managers at various levels receive bonuses for their work over the past year in the spring. And the size of these bonuses is usually such that only a few are willing to neglect them in order to look for another job. Highly paid specialists should be expected to be active in searching for a new job only at the end of summer or autumn, when they receive their bonus and have a good rest. That's why. If you are applying for significant career growth or a higher paying position, then January is a good time to look for a job.

True, you should immediately say goodbye to thoughts of summer vacation. It is known among HR specialists that the average duration of an order to find a specialist or manager is from 70 to 90 days. That is, fresh January orders from employer clients, who quite rarely look for employees in the pre-New Year period, will give results in March-April. And you, as an applicant, should set yourself up for the same deadlines. And when you start working in the spring, you shouldn’t count on summer vacation.

True, it also happens that, having started looking for a job, a job seeker becomes convinced that he is in demand on the labor market and, inspired by new knowledge, goes to his previous management with new proposals and requests. If an employee has proven himself well, he often receives opportunities for career growth and at the previous place of work. Therefore, looking for a job and assessing your chances on the labor market is in any case a useful process. At least to maintain your tone and understand what you are worth and what you can claim.

Bet on finding a summer job

Personnel officers claim that January is a rather bad period for starting a career. The only chance is to bet on a career in the field of providing summer holidays and now look for a place, counting on working in the summer months, in companies engaged in the field of entertainment, recreation and tourism.

The remaining positions for unskilled workers or entry-level specialists were filled back in September-October. Then yesterday’s students without work experience and those “seasonal workers” who quit in May to spend the summer at the dacha poured into the labor market. They are readily accepted by retail chains and other employers, with whom they have already proven themselves well before. The fact that this category of workers quits for the entire summer from year to year does not worry employers very much: at this time, students from the regions and high school students who want to earn extra money during the holidays arrive to fill unskilled vacancies.

More places and more chances

Quite a lot of jobs are being vacated right now for qualified mid-wage specialists. These are precisely the personnel that companies most often change at the end of January - beginning of February, when staffing table on New Year has already been approved, but employment contracts have not been re-signed with all employees of the departments. At this time, large companies get rid of ballast or employees recruited in the fall, but who were unable to prove themselves or fit into the new team.

Recruiters also claim that it is in January-February that many companies begin searching for new employees who, after undergoing training and adaptation, will be able to take on a significant part of the work in the summer, when the vacation period begins. And it is important for employers to make plans for the fall taking into account their successes or failures, understanding whether they can fully count on new employees.

Right now, many companies and networks are starting to look for employees, the peak of activity of which occurs in spring and summer: those who are employed in tourism infrastructure, summer street food and entertainment systems, providing summer recreation for children and adults, and so on. And in general, as representatives of many recruitment agencies say, winter is the time to look for spring and summer jobs.

HR specialists have a point of view that a significant part of Russian business is cyclical, tied to holidays, vacation periods and holidays, and for a number of reasons the busiest time for recruiting is autumn. And the second most important wave begins right now, at the end of January - beginning of February. And if the largest flow of applicants wanting to change jobs occurs in the fall, then at the end of winter the ratio of supply and demand in the labor market is different. And as a result, finding a job turns out to be easier. At least in a sector with average wages.

Tatiana Rubleva

As you know, a real careerist begins to “look” for a new job almost immediately after he has passed probation at the current location. Even if in this moment everything is going well, who knows if circumstances will change. And it’s a sin for a specialist to forget about new prospects and expanding his own skills.

Personnel officers are of the same opinion: they don’t respect “flyers,” but they also treat an employee who has stayed in one place for more than three years as someone who has “stayed too long” and is somewhat behind the times. professional development. The moral of this story for lovers of stability is disappointing - you need to change jobs every three years, even if everything is OK now and your boss promises a salary increase. Therefore, it turns out that at a time when all normal people are preparing a program for a corporate party and figuring out the menu for a family New Year's table, some workers stubbornly post their resumes on job-related sites and go for interviews. At first glance, their ardor is wasted - really, the bosses have nothing better to do than recruit staff just before the New Year. Besides, holidays are paid, so it is appropriate to sit them out for old job, receiving their legitimate money. When the country emerges from the series of New Year's parties and feasts that last almost a month, then it's worth moving. According to a number of studies, more than 10% of workers decide to leave their jobs just before the New Year, but no more than 0.03% undertake to implement it. In fact, those who argue this way make a big mistake.

HR specialists have been noticing one very interesting trend for several years now. Despite the fact that on the eve of the New Year the general high festive mood does not seem to contribute to the renewal of personnel, by December employers become unusually active. According to the majority of Internet services on relevant topics, in the last working week 25-40 percent more vacancies were posted on the sites than usual. And in the first two working weeks of 2008 - the same amount less than the average for the year. On the contrary, the number of people who want to hit the ground running by entering the New Year with a new job is small - according to statistics from the same Internet resources, the number of resumes posted in the weeks leading up to the New Year tends to a minimum. But after the old New Year, when the entire working population of Russia comes to their senses and remembers their work responsibilities, the number of people wanting changes on the career front increases sharply. For example, on the SuperJob.ru website alone, 8,723 resumes were posted during the week from January 9 to 16. While usually their number does not exceed 4-5 thousand.

You can make assumptions about what this is connected with. On the one hand, many employers are preparing to launch new projects in the new year, and the team for such projects must be completed in advance. Starting from the new year, orders are usually signed to expand the staff, which again presupposes the presence, if not of a ready-made candidate, then at least of applicants for the position. After all, the end and the very beginning of the year, with its relatively relaxed working environment, is a good time to give a new employee time to fit into the team, to enter into a circle of responsibilities without fuss and hassle, and finally to try it out in an informal setting. “Imagine, I just went to work and immediately had a corporate party,” a friend complains. “But I have no idea at all: who, with whom, against whom, and how to behave, I have no idea.” Indeed, it is not difficult for anyone who has not yet become familiar with office intrigues and behind-the-scenes struggles to get into trouble. It’s not even clear how to dress for such a holiday in a new office. Either ballroom dancing is expected, or just a disco, where crinolines will look out of place.

On the other hand, workers after a long holiday are usually overwhelmed by a thirst for change. Having rested and relaxed, you begin to see your usual work “in a new light” and understand that there is nothing to catch here. The entire Internet is full of guides on “how to survive at work after the holidays,” but that doesn’t make it any easier. Realizing that they need to move on, and the current place is simply disgusting, employees throw applications on the boss’s desk and begin actively distributing resumes to websites and recruitment agencies. This gives HR officers and HR managers more work.

The above is also true for people in working professions. Loaders, for example, leave en masse before the New Year: in the second half of December they have less work, and, unable to withstand this relaxation, they go to great lengths, or even skip altogether. You have to write statements at will. But bartenders and waiters, as a rule, do not rush to work before the holidays - at this time their tips are significantly higher than usual. The same applies to sellers who “make” a month’s revenue during the New Year holidays.

But especially valuable qualified employees, as a rule, top managers of middle and senior management, receive bonuses at the end of the year. The size of such bonuses can exceed several monthly salaries. And until they are received, such personnel will not budge, no matter how tempting offers their new employers seduce them. There are cases when companies, in order to outbid particularly promising employees they needed, even partially compensated them for the payment of annual bonuses. As a rule, such bonuses are usually paid in the spring, at the end of the financial year. In this way, employers insure themselves against the possibility that an employee, on whom a key area of ​​work depends, suddenly leaves for competitors. True, employees, on whom the fate of the company does not depend, can go on a search in January completely freely. What if luck smiles: you will end up in the place where you planned to hire a more highly qualified specialist. Just because a obviously more successful competitor stayed at his old job to wait for his bonus. What happens next, as it should be, will depend only on you.

However, it is naive to be deceived: the real “job fair”, where you can sell yourself at a higher price or find a truly valuable employee for reasonable money, will not begin until February. Just at this time of year, the start of major projects is scheduled, and the main activity on the labor market will not begin until spring. Another thing is that by this time the “castling” of personnel should already have been made, so it makes sense to make a fuss.

At the same time, looking for a new job at the beginning of the year is not beneficial for everyone. Personnel officers give advice: for people in some specialties, rushing in search of new work happiness in January is not only useless, but also harmful. For example, before summing up the results of the financial year, accountants should not break down: few employers will agree to take even very good specialist, who set up his former company at such a crucial moment. It is difficult to carry out a post-New Year job search for those whose activities are related to planning for next year. The situation here is the same - first describe the activities of your department in reporting period, then welcome to the new place. But for those whose project was completed by the end of the year or its next stage ended, it’s time to enter the job market.

And, of course, it is important to comply with accepted ethical principles. Each company has its own, but there are still a few common ones. You need to give management time to find a worthy replacement for you, if possible, bring your successor up to date, and complete previously started projects. You need to notify your business partners about your job change: most likely, these connections will be useful to you in the future. There are, of course, dramatic collisions. After announcing their resignation, the employee may be given a maximum amount of work, and the last salary may not be paid, or only the official part of it will be paid. At the same time, colleagues will hiss in the back for the remaining time, denouncing the “traitor” who was chasing a long ruble.

Publication date 28.11.2016 Saint Petersburg

It is believed that December is one of the most unpromising months in terms of finding a new job. This statement is true, but only partly. How should a job seeker who is forced to look for a job in December due to dismissal behave correctly? Should you start looking for a job at the very end of the year if you decide to change your employer? Let's think together and answer these questions.

First, a few expert observations. The labor market traditionally “calms down” in December; the number of open vacancies decreases from year to year. Employers prefer to hire new employees before the end of November of the current year or after the New Year holidays. This approach is largely understandable and is due to the peculiarities of budgeting. It is also believed that it will be easier for a new employee to adapt and get into the rhythm of the company’s work without being interrupted by long winter weekends.

In many international companies with operations in Russia, the final decision makers on hiring an employee are expats (foreign managers). And for foreign managers, due to the Christmas holidays, work in December often ends almost in the middle of the month and resumes only after the end of the Russian holidays in January. If the decision to hire a particular manager is not made by mid-December, then it is postponed until mid-January. As a rule, this applies to managerial and other key positions in companies.

Example from practice. At the end of October, a vacancy for a financial manager opened up in an international manufacturing company. Sergey, a financial controller who was working at that time in a competitor company, became interested in the vacancy, as he had been thinking about changing jobs for some time. Sergey was one of the first candidates to respond to the advertisement and go through the company’s three-stage (recruitment agency, company personnel service, hiring manager/direct supervisor) competitive selection system. On the calendar, by the time Sergei became one of the three finalists actually vying for the position, it was already December 15th. An employee of the personnel department announced to all finalists that the meeting with general director company is postponed to the beginning of next year. Sergey, on the one hand, was a little upset because of such protracted uncertainty, and on the other hand, he thought that he could still get an annual bonus at his current job and, if he was chosen, calmly part with his current employer. And so it happened. The new year came, and in the twentieth of January Sergei was invited to a meeting with the general director, and at the beginning of February Sergei received a job offer and gladly accepted it. What about Sergei’s competitors? One of them was very worried when he learned about the postponement of the decision, since he had been actively looking for work for three months and could not afford more. In December, he accepted a job offer from a small Russian company with not very attractive conditions. Another competitor of Sergei’s at a meeting with the general director did not demonstrate flexibility and great interest in working for the company. According to our observations, the last candidate continued to behave rather arrogantly at meetings with other potential employers and his job search took him several more months until he changed his behavior pattern.

The conclusion is simple. When starting your job search in late fall or the first month of winter, be prepared that your hiring decision may be delayed until early next year. Try to realistically assess your chances and capabilities, so that, as they say, you don’t “stay with nothing” - you quit one job, but don’t quickly find another.

If we talk about ordinary positions, then, for example, specialists and sales managers are in demand all year round. For this type of specialist, the concept of seasonality is practically absent. This applies to the greatest extent to the retail segment. In December, the high season of pre-holiday sales begins and sales consultants, promoters and other specialists who help improve the level and quality of sales are in demand among employers. But you need to understand that a number of such vacancies open for several months, and carefully read the terms of the employment contract.

Also in the month before the New Year, event scriptwriters and other specialists related to the preparation and organization of holidays can get work (or good orders). Which is quite understandable: there are corporate parties, New Year and Christmas celebrations ahead... These are, as a rule, fixed-term contracts and work under civil contracts. At the same time, event marketing specialists have a real opportunity to demonstrate their creative and organizational skills and receive, after successfully completing a task/project, permanent job at a marketing agency.

As an example, I can give the following story. Elena, a graduate of the Faculty of Social and Cultural Technologies of St. Petersburg State Institute of Cinematography, after graduating from university, could not get a permanent job for six months; she led projects for organizing birthdays and other local events with friends and acquaintances. In December, Elena saw an advertisement on one of the work sites that a large marketing agency was recruiting specialists in organizing holidays for a seasonal project. She responded and was invited for an interview. The employer found Elena’s portfolio interesting, and they signed a temporary contract with her. Over the course of 2 months, Elena was able to not only perfectly cope with the assigned tasks of organizing corporate events, but also demonstrated a non-standard approach and great potential, and a penchant for developing new directions. The company's management offered Elena a position as a specialist on the company's staff. And today Elena is a manager of a new direction in a marketing agency.

Conclusion: do not miss the opportunity for temporary work, especially if you are interested in it. Employers notice reliable and promising employees and, as a rule, try to keep them in the company on a permanent basis.

Some advice for those who have started (or are about to start) looking for work at the very end of the year.

If you are working and want to change your employer, then be prepared for a “protracted” process. Don't count on quick employment. Be patient and act consistently. Do not make sudden movements at your current place of work. Write a resignation letter only if you have a confirmed job offer.

If you have been actively looking for work for several months now, have not yet found a job, and the New Year is already around the corner, then do not exclude the possibility of temporary (project) work. It is quite possible that you will be noticed and offered a permanent employment contract. If the company does not have such an opportunity or something does not suit you, then you will simply earn money and continue your search in the new year.

What kind of workers are always needed: taxi drivers, truck drivers, cashiers-controllers and sales consultants in retail chains, salespeople in non-chain retail stores, employees in fast food restaurants, call center operators, support workers, couriers.

Lyudmila SMOLINA,
director of business development of the personnel company AVRIO Group Consulting

Should you start looking for a job before the New Year?

This question will seem strange to many: isn’t it better at this time to worry about gifts and where to send the children for the winter holidays? Most people who have decided to change their lives in the new year really prefer to quietly finish December in their usual team, and only from the second half of January begin to think about “changing places.”

• low competition of applicants in the labor market;

• some employers are interested in starting the year with a fully staffed workforce (this is especially true if a new project is planned from January;

• By starting a job in December, you will be able to attend the company's final annual meetings, which will give you the opportunity to learn a lot about the company and its plans for the next year;

• New Year's corporate events will allow you to informally meet colleagues and get an idea of ​​the corporate culture;

• After not working even a month, you will receive a week's paid leave in January.

The success of the pre-New Year job search depends on where the applicant applies, what working conditions he agrees to and, of course, on the vacancies for which he applies. You will be welcomed with open arms:

• in the hotel, restaurant, tourism and service industries;

• in recruitment agencies that recruit temporary personnel in the manufacturing sector with a continuous work cycle. It depends only on you whether the temporary job becomes permanent;

• in small private companies, which are often hectic at the end of the year;

• in reputable companies that have been operating on the market for a long time and that steadily recruit staff throughout the year.

By the way, if you are hired in December, it is quite possible that you will only have to start your duties in January! And you will meet the New Year and Christmas days in a good mood and confidence in your future.

Larisa Kupriyanchik

There is a situation in everyone’s life when a person is left without a job: whether it’s downsizing, dismissal for various reasons, or a person’s desire to change the rhythm of life. Of course, most often a person who simply wants to change his job looks for a new one without quitting his old one. But if it suddenly happens that you are suddenly left without work, and even in December, before the New Year, do not rush to despair and fold your arms. The "off season" has not yet begun, as you might think. Despite the approaching holidays and a certain bustle, there are quite a few areas of activity where finding a job before the New Year is more realistic than after the New Year's festivities.

First, there are arguments in favor of the fact that it is advisable to look for a job in December.

1. Competition will decrease: many job seekers will prefer to take time out in their search for work, postponing their employment until next year, believing that finding a job will be unrealistic on the eve of the holidays. Therefore, your resume sent in December may be more easily noticed by an HR specialist among several others.

2. Another argument - HR officers are constantly looking for candidates, they have their own plans and deadlines. Every HR person dreams of filling a vacancy in a company - fulfilling the plan - and going out for the holidays with peace of mind. And this December, working days are 30 and 31 - Monday and Tuesday. So, theoretically, interviews can take place on these days. You have to dare!

3. In December, surprisingly, many deliberately quit their jobs - starting the new year in a new company. And the holy place should not be empty: this is also worth taking into account and understanding that perhaps your candidacy is what is needed, so in December you need to be persistent and send your resume to large companies.

4. In large companies there is a constant recruitment of personnel, this is well known. For them, there is no dependence on the time of year or holidays: if an employee is needed, the HR department looks for him (see point 2.) until the company’s need for such a specialist is satisfied.

5. On the eve New Year's holidays it will be easier to “marinate” into the team - general informal feasts before the New Year will add confidence and introduce you to the team, and relieve the stress of the “new guy”.

But even these arguments, of course, do not guarantee that you will find a job before the new year - but in the same way you will not receive guarantees from other months of the year. It is important to consider who you are in your specialty and what needs, first of all, the urgently acquired job should satisfy.

There are a number of areas of activity that, on the eve of the holidays, are, as they say, “shrinking.” These are management, finance-audit, banking. Positions in these areas require specific experience, recommendations and specialization. These positions are rarely available, but if a need arises, the competition and selection are demanding and thorough.

But sales, service, IT, entertainment, advertising, publishing - in these employment categories there may be an increase in demand on New Year's Eve.

If you need to hold out until better times and “your dream job” and earn money, looking for a job in December will be necessary for you - look for a job as a salesperson, sales manager (of some seasonal goods); in the service sector: waiters, animators, hostesses, party hosts; in the field of advertising: scriptwriters, copywriters, promoters.

The main thing is to be prepared that you may be called for an interview on December 30-31, and will be offered a job on January 2 - that is, you must realize that if you already receive a job offer - alas, you should not dream about the New Year holidays! But you will have a job, you will be able to provide for yourself.

Looking for a job in December: you have to dare! was last modified: June 12th, 2017 by Elena Nabatchikova