Step Up Your Job Search During the Holidays

Step Up Your Job Search During the HolidaysStep Up Your Job Search During the HolidaysStep Up Your Job Search During the HolidaysWere a week into the traditional start of the holiday season. If youre among the millions of Americans who are out of work, the coming weeks will test your mood amid the joy and anticipation that come with the season.Compounding that is the perception that employers slow down or stop their hiring efforts for the final few weeks of the year.Double bummer?No All the more reason to kick your job search efforts up a notch by taking these two approachesCatch Employers While Theyre Not Paying AttentionMost other job seekers will be slowing down their efforts, and many hiring managers are more interested in winding up the year and focusing on the holidays. That makes it a good time to zig while everyone else zags. If youre targeting a healthy company, even if it doesnt have a suitable opening, its a good time to send a resume just to introduce yourself. You never know if youll catch the hiring manager in a moment of holiday cheereggnog-induced or not.Socialize with a PurposeWith holidays come holiday gatherings, which provide job seekers with more chances to meet people who might know of job openings somewhere. (Just think of it as another way to network.) To be prepared, have copies of your resume handy to give to potential contacts. Or, at least have a pen and paper on hand, or a notepad phone app, to jot down contact information.The holidays can be a trying time if youre unemployed. But maintaining or stepping up your job search efforts can keep you from falling into a holiday funk, and might propel you into a new job sooner than you had been thinking.