Holiday Job Search Hacks: Stay Focused and Land Your Dream Role

By: Vicki Salemi, Career Expert with Monster

When the semester kicks into high gear and the holidays are right around the corner, it’s crucial to be consistent in your job search efforts, whether you’re looking for an internship or a full-time job after graduation.

A recent study shows there’s a longer time-to-hire than in the past, but just because that coveted offer isn’t happening right now doesn’t mean it’s not happening at all. It’s just delayed.

Employers typically have many conversations and activities behind the scenes you don’t have access to when a company’s hiring. The good news is you can only focus on what you can control. Try to let the timing unfold as it’s meant to since it’s out of your ability anyway. Instead, focus on what you can do, such as revise your resume to tweak it for the industry you’re pursuing, apply to opportunities online, visit your career center on campus, network with professors, attend campus events with featured speakers, participate in mock interviews, and more. You got this!

Let’s explore ways you can crush your job search even when schedules get even more hectic, your courseload increases, and holiday distractions emerge.

Mind the Gap

Since it’s been reported that employers’ time-to-hire is lengthening, think of your job search as an email that the employer has saved in drafts—they’re getting ready to send, but it’s not a DM that you’ll instantly receive. In other words, it won’t be as instant as you hope.

Here’s the thing—that’s entirely okay. When I worked in recruiting, college students often expressed that their job offer didn’t happen as fast as they anticipated. (Even throughout your career, it probably still won’t happen as fast as you want.) The reality is, the employer is interviewing several candidates who are all pursuing the same job, then hiring managers and interviewers need to debrief with one another, determine who will proceed to the next round, and confirm approvals with department heads, HR, and finance. This takes time, and when there’s multiple rounds, add more time to the mix.

Now that we’ve set expectations, keep in mind with holiday schedules, the hiring team may have some pauses to coordinating calendars and scheduling interviews based on reduced availability. Then, there may be pauses when they can coordinate conversations to discuss candidates to make hiring decisions. That’s why it’s even more important to pursue multiple jobs simultaneously and be consistent with your efforts. If you’re interviewing with a company, that’s excellent. Keep going! Pursue more opportunities and continue to polish your interview skills.

Keep in mind, many employers must fill their job postings before year-end to lock in numbers within their budget as well as headcount.

And if your dream employer hasn’t posted positions for several months in advance, and they’re only hiring for start dates in the immediate future, that happens as well. If they don’t have a campus recruiting ecosystem that hires several positions months in advance, they’re less likely to post jobs now to start several months from now.

Always keep your job search in motion even if there aren’t opportunities available online with your dream employer. Network and conduct informational interviews so when jobs do become available, you’ll be top of mind.

Think Outside the Box

Flexibility is key. As you’re pursuing an internship or job, consider part-time temporary side hustles even if they’re outside your major. You’ll gain new skills, expand your network, explore new paths, and get your foot in the door. Whether you pursue a seasonal retail gig, e-commerce, or hospitality, for example, you’re going to learn valuable new skills.

For instance, your communication, project management, and customer service skills are valuable skills that you can highlight to various jobs you’re pursuing that aren’t even in the same industry as your part-time gig. In fact, this is applicable to your past jobs and internships, too. Shine a spotlight on your transferable skills that transcend to numerous roles and opportunities. Pro tip: This isn’t a one-and-done situation. Shining a spotlight on your transferable skills is especially helpful throughout your career when you switch career paths.

It shows valuable skills to the hiring manager or recruiter who asks themselves, “Why should we hire you?” Even though you don’t have direct experience in that job you’re pursuing, you have honed necessary skills to perform well in that job. In turn, it’s your job to show them specific examples of skills you already possess. It’s not enough to have those valuable transferable skills; the second part involves showcasing them on your resume and during interviews.

Be Strategic and Specific

This may sound counterintuitive, but pursuing a job isn’t about applying to dozens upon dozens of roles. Rather, it’s about tailoring your approach. Skip the mass-apply tactics and instead, focus on taking time to customize your resume. This will help protect your energy as well; work in measured sprints and take time in between to recover.

You can have multiple versions of the same resume, such as one for a sales job and another for marketing. Your resumes should always be factual, but you can change the order of your past skills and experiences from various internships and jobs to mirror the job descriptions for roles you’re pursuing. Typically, employers list the responsibilities in descending order with the most important at the top.

You can change the order of your resume as well. Your skills are more important to highlight than titles, so don’t stress about a title that you previously had that doesn’t match a title you’re pursuing.

Your classwork, volunteer opportunities, and unique experiences in college can all be included, too. If you have a leadership position on campus and/or studied abroad, include them! They show your leadership skills and adaptability to new environments. They’re also great talking points during an interview. Employers who focus on people first, employees second are looking for well-rounded individuals, and your campus experiences both in and out of the classroom should be highlighted.

This time of year is also an excellent time to identify networking opportunities through organizations on campus, connecting with speakers, your professors, the career center on campus, and holiday luncheons or get-togethers for local chapters of a national industry professional organization. The key is to enjoy new connections without reaching burnout. Similar to your job search strategy and applying to a variety of roles, you’re focused.

Lastly, follow through. Whether it’s a new contact that you met who is open to an informational interview to discuss their role, company, and/or industry, or an interview you had and you want to be top of mind for the employer, be consistent. Set reminders on your calendar to follow up and politely check in with them.