Every year it seems like the shops are advertising their Christmas collections earlier and earlier, and when Halloween comes and goes, it’s full steam ahead onto the 25th. In the world of recruitment, typically things begin to slow in that last week of November as interviews begin getting harder to book in amongst social events, diaries are filling up and you are scrambling around for that final push to finish the year on a high. So, whilst it might be a beginning to quieten down, slowly but surely, there are some other ways you can actually use this time effectively to ensure that your New Year kicks off with a bang.
1. Reflection & Evaluation
Barring the final push and few processes you might be working; things are generally quieter. This is a great time to evaluate this past year’s efforts. Most recruiters wait until January for full reviews when in fact come the New Year you want to be looking forwards and not backwards. Identify what has worked for you and what hasn’t, what you would like to achieve next year and what things you need to change and adapt from this year. Do you want to grow your market base? Have more of an online presence? All these things are worth considering.
2. Forecast & Review
Recruiters and hiring managers—and most other business functions—have gotten very good at collecting data; now is the perfect time to use it. Look back at the statistics you’ve collected over the year and identify patterns. What quarter do you hire most for sales? How often does an IT or marketing position show up? Is there any consistency in the time of year when either of those roles open? Understanding the patterns in your open requisitions will help you better prepare to fill those roles next year.
3. Update Your Job Descriptions
This may seem a little mundane however it is the perfect time of year to sit down and review how you are presenting yourself and the roles you are working on. During the year you might have been too busy to think about making these small creative changes and it can be easy to pass over the most important piece of candidate communication: the job description. Use the extra time you have in the day to improve this critical foundation. Look over all job descriptions you currently use and share them with others if you wish; are they up to date? Do they communicate an honest representation of the job? Which adverts were the most and least successful?
4. Make Goals for the New Year
Again, we all look to January to set our goals out for the following year when December is the most suitable time to come up with a plan. If you wait until January, the first week is normally a Christmas come down, week two is review the previous year, week three would then be goal setting, and before you know it you have lost a month only to be officially starting things in February. Focus on what you didn’t achieve last year and how you would like to stretch yourself next year to do better.
We know the holiday season can be a painfully slow time for all whilst we daydream of Christmas pudding and turkey stuffing, but use this time to assess your previous efforts, set goals and most importantly cement those relationships for the following year. Merry Christmas!
