Articles From the Team
There’s no time like the (Christmas) present…
This time of year is absolutely manic. Both in and outside of work, life seems to go crazy around Christmas and New Year. We are all pretty much ready to wind down now, with only 3 days to go until the big day. Despite many working for the 3 working days in between Christmas and New Year, recruitment tends to take a bit of a dip over the festive period. Fortunately for me, I have been very busy, with a lot of new roles coming in ready for the new year, however the decision making process has taken a real dip, with clients and candidates alike putting things on hold until we are back in January.
Recruitment processes can take time - sometimes months to complete, and others can be dealt with in a matter of weeks. Interviews have been taking place throughout December, but a number of clients have come back saying “we’ll make a decision in the New Year”. I wanted to write a quick note on why it is so important to not delay this process over the Christmas period. I know what I’m like over Christmas - travelling up and down the country visiting family, several Christmas dinners in as many days (Vicar of Dibley style), one too many mulled wines and undoubtedly at least one occasion where I may take a little nap on the sofa (wearing obligatory Christmas hat). So by the time it comes to returning to work in January, most of us don’t remember what happened yesterday, let alone in the weeks leading up to Christmas! My point being – if you have seen a number of candidates for interview prior to the Christmas break, it is no doubt going to be trickier distinguishing between them after a hazy mulled wine filled Christmas. Not to mention, candidates are not on the market for very long these days, and may quite easily have been snapped up whilst this decision process has been delayed.
The same goes for candidates. If you were looking for a job now, you will still be looking for a job in the New Year. Delaying the process only means you could be missing out on the best opportunities. A lot of firms are releasing their jobs now (keeping me busy!) ready to interview in the first week of January. If you are thinking about applying, but “want to get Christmas out of the way first”, I would strongly recommend sending your CV’s through now, so that you can have the pick of the roles, and be the first to get your interviews booked in for the New Year. New Year new job and all that!
Happy Christmas to all – and just some gentle advice – don’t delay over Christmas… after all – Santa Claus couldn’t turn up late could he?!
For more information please contact Rozie Rhodes or visit the BCL Legal website.