There’s a simple answer to this question: Yes
However, there’s also a longer answer which is: Yes, and so
is February, March, April etc… through to (and including) December
Common belief is that the best time of year to be looking
for a new job is after the New Year, when people have resolutions to uphold and
the job market kicks off after a lull. ‘New Year, New Career’ is a corny cliché
that will be trumpeted by recruiters up and down the land in January. I’d agree
that this is definitely a good time to look, but in reality, with the exception
of the week either side of Christmas, I don’t believe there’s ever really a bad
time to be looking.
There will be some disciplines and industries that have well
defined seasonal peaks and troughs, but if you work in a core business support or
operational function such as Accounting, Marketing, HR, IT or suchlike, the majority
of employers manage to keep you busy all year round, and therefore if you
decide to find a new job elsewhere, to immigrate or retire, they’re going to
need to replace you fairly quickly.
In a niche market, certain roles will from time to time have
unpredictable surges of activity in the job market. For example, if just two or
three Chief Legal Cashier vacancies arise in close proximity, this area will
likely see a flurry of activity for a few months whilst people move around the
industry leaving vacancies behind them. This could happen at any time during
the year.
Generally, if you have reached the point where you feel you
need to start looking for new opportunities, right then is your best time to start the search, regardless of
what month we are in. Your ideal next job can arise at any given time, but if
you’re not looking because you’re waiting for a perceived busy period, you might
never even know about it. Even better
still is to establish contact with an experienced recruiter who knows your
specialist area and who can help to identify your next step on the career
ladder even before you've started to look.
Do you agree, or do your experiences suggest otherwise?
Please share your comments below.
Interesting! Don't really have a month that I find is the best month for looking for a new job. A lot of sales recruiters will continuously post new opportunities, which is helpful. Just keep checking!
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