Many firms traditionally wind down their recruitment efforts during the holiday period. Strategically, this can be a missed opportunity and a huge mistake. The best time to recruit is when others are idle and when many good candidates are more available and receptive. This is even more relevant for lesser-known organizations that are competing against better-known competitors for the best available talent.
The Top 6 Reasons Why You Should Be Actively Recruiting During the Holidays:
Proactive recruiting during this long holiday period is a solid stratagem for the following reasons:
- Not everyone celebrates the Holiday Season — many people in the U.S. from different cultures and religions do not celebrate Christmas or Thanksgiving. So making the assumption that everyone is occupied during the holidays with shopping and going to parties may indeed be a false assumption.
- Bonus time is usually in December — almost all year-end bonuses are given out in December. Therefore, the financial incentive for a top-performing employee to stay diminishes almost immediately after their bonuses are paid out. Many potential applicants might be more inclined to explore new opportunities.
- While others slack off, top performers are still working during this period —top performers are driven and are less likely than others to take advantage of an opportunity to ease down. Top performers typically remain fully engaged at all times. Employers should not assume that great candidates are too focused on celebrating and shopping to appreciate a great job opportunity when it is offered to them during this period.
- December can be a low-budget time, which often means hiring freezes — many companies are in a “no growth mode” during December and are waiting for the release of the new January budget. As a result, employers are likely to get a positive recruiting response from top performers when you indicate that your firm is still operating at full speed.
- December is an “easy excuse” month so candidates are more available for interviews-many employees take time off for Christmas parties and shopping. It can be relatively easy for your candidates to make excuses to get time off to interview. This is a great time for exploratory informational interviews in order to assess and perhaps sell potential candidates for current or even future job openings.
- The Christmas to New Year’s slow down period is also a great opportunity — the eight-day period between Christmas and New Year, when many organizations slow down, may be the most-opportune time to interview individuals who are always “too busy” or those who refuse to “lie” in order to take time off work for an interview.
In conclusion, the Holiday season is upon us and recruitment for great talent may feel like trudging through molasses. However this can be an outstanding time to connect with well-qualified candidates. With just a bit of ingenuity and creative thinking, organizations can make the most of the Holiday season to recruit the very best talent available.
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Bernie Reifkind is the CEO and founder of Premier Search, Inc. a nationwide executive search and placement firm. In addition, Bernie provides career guidance and strategic interviewing techniques to professionals at all levels.
P: 1(800) 801-1400 or email at ceo@premiersearch.com.