Holidays Are Hunting Season: Holiday Job Hunting Tips 2009

Posted on | December 23, 2009 | No Comments

While I’m certain that everyone is ready to forget about the job hunt for a few days and concentrate on friends, family and festivities, that may be a tall order this year given that many of us are unemployed, marginally employed or on our way to unemployment post-holiday.  In addition to the stress of finding or hanging onto a job, there’s the added pressure of buying gifts, worries about debt and travel plans.

Just when you thought it was time to rest your resume, Careersthatdontsuck.com is here to burst your bubble.  We’d all like to forget about the job hunt for a few days and concentrate on friends, family and festivities but the truth is, the holidays are a great time to hunt for jobs.

Think about it.  Folks are in their most giving (and forgiving) moods around this time.  Folks you haven’t seen all year (new marks) gather round.  You’re home with family and friends (support structure).  You don’t have to sign up, pay up or dress up to go to the networking events.  And, you don’t have to worry that you’ll end up clutching a pile of your own business cards and resumes while nursing a watery drink alone in a corner because you know everyone in attendance.  Awesome!

That said, you don’t want to chase everyone away with your desperate vibe and your plentiful resumes.  But, you do want to make sure that, where appropriate, you share your job search parameters with friends and family who might help you land an interview or a job post-holiday.  We wrote a post on this last year and it’s still so relevant that we thought we’d reintroduce it to anyone who might have missed or forgotten it this year.  “Pass the Employment, Please!” is a must-read for anyone headed home for the holidays with no job in hand.

While “Pass the Employment” is a great intro to holiday job-hunting, we thought we’d add a few tips for Holiday Job Hunting 2009.

HOLIDAY JOB-HUNTING TIPS 2009

1. Use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn to research friends and family: What do they do for a living?  Where do they work?  What do they want/like that you might be able to help with?  When will they be home for the holidays?
2. Target friends and family members: Asking for help is hard.  Make it easy on yourself by only sharing your situation and job needs with those you think are most likely and most able to help.
3. E-Resumes: When it comes to friends and family, we believe the paper resume is best because it gives them a chance to really look at your resume on the ride home and gives them something they can easily hand over to the hiring manager back at work.  But, if you feel too self-conscious about handing them out and your friends/family are social net-savvy (they use LinkedIn, can navigate to your online portfolio, etc.), an e-resume will do.
4. Never underestimate the power of mom: Gotta love moms, their unwavering support, meddling and big, well-meaning mouths.  If you’ve got a mom, grandma, big brother or best friend who’ve always got your back even when you wish they’d back away, use them to your advantage.  Let them spread the gospel on your great qualifications and work ethic.  Let them ask friends and family to refer or hire you.  Rely on your champions!
5. Secure permission to pursue: Most businesses are closed so you’re not likely to get hired on the spot.  Your goal should be to secure permission to pursue any job leads post-holiday.  That means not settling for a “call me after the holidays”, but getting your cousin to email your resume to that friend in her office; getting your aunt to make email introductions between you and her sorority sister who’s hiring; getting your best friend from high school to introduce you to his college friend who just started a business; or putting a meeting with your friend or family member on the calendar for Jan. 4.
6. Keep reading Careersthatdontsuck.com: This one’s self-explanatory.  We’ll keep the jobs and job leads coming.  You keep up the job-hunting momentum.  We know 2010 will be your year!

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