Articles From the Team

Is Christmas the right time to move?

Recently, a number of candidates I’ve spoken too have decided to postpone their search until after the Christmas period. Now I completely understand why this would seem like a good idea at the time, the Christmas period is notoriously busy with candidates using their lunchtimes to do some Christmas shopping or have a wander round the festive markets. In addition to this, holidays are rife in December as both clients and candidates use up the rest of their annual leave to go on holiday or relax and unwind after a challenging year. Not to mention the idea of the annual Christmas party being round the corner and it could be awkward attending that if you had already resigned.

Whilst we support every candidate’s decision throughout the recruitment process and try to be as helpful as possible with any decision made. There are a number of reasons I think postponing your search until after Christmas isn’t the best idea and here’s why.

Firstly, the ideal role you could be looking may have been taken. Firms sometimes have budget left at the end of the year and therefore look to recruit and get everything tied up before the start of a new year. Putting off your search until the new year may well mean that perfect role you were looking for has now been taken and you won’t find that role again early in the year.

Getting everything done and dusted before heading into the festive period so that the constant thought of “what am I looking for” clouds the time you are to spend with family and friends over the winter break. In my opinion, I’d rather have the job role accepted so that over the Christmas break you can spend time with family etc without having a job search looming over you. It’s also something to look forward too in the New Year.

Finally, it shows that you might not be that serious about a job search after all. People move for a variety of reasons and usually when we speak to candidates they are actively looking to move. Putting this move on hold can give off the wrong impression, especially if you have already submitted your CV to the firm and/or have had an interview.