The Holidays Can Be A Great Time For Recruiting
Many businesses give up on recruiting during the holidays, but this can actually be a great time of year to increase talent acquisition efforts. As a contingency healthcare recruiting firm, we’d like to offer up a few reasons why we think recruiting during the holidays can be beneficial.
Less Work = More Time To Interview
Offices all around the country take a huge productivity hit during December. On the plus side, this means that candidates have more availability to interview - taking a long lunch is easier to do when half the office is missing. That extra free time also allows qualified (and otherwise very busy) professionals to take a more proactive job-seeking approach; they’ll be more likely to respond to job ads and recruiter inquiries.
End-of-Year Reflection
On a personal level, the holidays are a great time for goal-setting and career evaluation. Of course, recruiters will always have the early-January rush that comes due to New Year’s resolutions of finding better careers. But the slower pace of the holiday season itself also provides a sizeable candidate pool that wasn’t available a month earlier. During the hustle and bustle of a busy year, employees rarely have time for reflection. The holidays provide a much-needed break, during which candidates may decide to pursue new job opportunities.
Less Is More
A lot of recruiters are less active during the holiday season due to budget limitations and the slackened work environment around them. This means there is less competition for qualified candidates, as long as the recruiter/hiring manager is willing to put in a little extra effort during a time of year that is largely regarded as an “easy month”.
FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)
Most businesses give year-end bonuses. An employee is more willing to entertain the idea of switching jobs if they know they’ve got an entire year before their next bonus. It can be difficult to engage a candidate who’s going to miss out on a bonus check in a month or two if they leave their current company, but much easier when the bonus has recently been given out.
These are just a few reasons why you shouldn’t give up on recruiting during the holidays. It might be a new approach to think of December as a prime work month, but stepping outside of the box could lead to some great new talent in the new year. So get out there and give the gift of employment!