4 Reasons Why the Holidays Are a Great Time to Find Your Next Dev Job
Whether you've already been job hunting or have just started looking, the holidays can be a great time to make significant progress in your job search. While updating your LinkedIn profile and tweaking your cover letter may not be what you were hoping for during the vacations, this time away from your normal routine can be a nice break - and may offer some opportunities you wouldn't have stumbled upon otherwise.
Here are 4 reasons why the holidays are a great time to ramp up your job search:
More time to think and prepare
Before you embark on your job search, you should always reflect on what could have been better in your last job - and how you could improve that in the next one. This may mean looking at a new industry, role, company size, or even team composition.
To know what you're looking for next, you first need to think carefully about what you liked and didn't like about previous jobs. This can be incredibly difficult if you are working in the job you want to leave while doing this thinking. On the other hand, if you're out of the office or even out of town, this can be a much-needed mental break so you can think about what you really want.
In addition to extra time to think, downtime can also be used to prepare for job interviews. Even if you don't have an interview coming up, you can spend your time preparing answers.
Changing context can help you stay motivated
It's easy to burn out on the job search, especially if you spend all your time doing it. The fact that you're more dynamic on days off than you are in your day-to-day life - maybe you're at your grandparents' house one day and a friend's house the next - can help you stay motivated by mixing things up.
However, there's also a risk that you'll feel insecure. To counteract this, you can set small milestones and try to create structured spaces to work towards.
It can boost your new year
New Year's resolutions may be notoriously broken but the natural break caused by the holidays can very well be used - often as the inspiration many of us need to get back to normal life.
Starting a new job is a great way to use that inspiration, especially when everyone else is retreating back to the same jobs. If you do things right, you may start the new year in a new office with (hopefully) an improved salary and a role that will propel you further in your career.
There may be less competition
Since most people use the holidays as a break, there may be less competition than at other times of the year. This doesn't mean you don't have to work hard to find a great job, but simply that fewer people may apply. This increases your chances of doing well in the various application stages.
Of course, it's not worth sacrificing time with your family to look for jobs - but the time in between can be better spent finding your next challenge. Give it a try this year: Who knows, you might just land your dream job at Christmas.
