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Wednesday 17 October 2012

Right Time? Wrong Time?

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The last few months of the year are upon us.  It got me thinking, is there a 'right' time of year to apply for work?  Or at least a good or better time?

Oh, sure, there's job advertised all year round, but certainly at this time of year you tend to get mostly seasonal / Christmas temporary jobs.

Around this time last year, when I was still stuck in a horrible two/three day-a-week job, I reached the end of my tether and pounded the streets of my home town, looking for work.

Only Christmas temp work was around, and I was too late to apply for most of them!  I consider myself very lucky to have got the job I did and then be kept on after the Christmas period.

So if retail is what you're after, this time of year is certainly a good one to apply.  There's always going to be the risk that it is just temporary, but a few get lucky and are kept on.

But what about non-retail companies?

This time of year is busy for most, if not for the product or service you provide but also people booking time off, people fall ill, Christmas events are organised, paperwork needs to be wrapped up for the up-coming end of the financial year etc.

Wherever you are, it's sure to be busier than normal.

Which probably doesn't make it an optimal time to think 'Oh, hey, maybe we need to hire someone for that post.'   The people with the power to hire and fire may consider it a lower priority.

Possibly companies will wait until the new financial year - see what the budget is and then consider whether hiring is a viable option.

I've also been pondering whether it's even worth bothering writing or emailing potential employers at this time of year.  If you're busy and there's no vacancies, you're probably not going to pay too much attention to a CV that's just turned up.  It'll be filed away and forgotten about.

Personally, if I ran a company, if it wasn't an urgent situation requiring the hire of a new person, then I'd say forget it!  Busy time of year, not looking to hire at the moment, caught me at a bad time.

I can imagine the odds are even worse if it's a training position you're looking for.  Which certainly applies to me!

Who wants to start training a new person at this time of year?

I can't help but think that it's a hassle that people could do without.

So with this in mind, I've reached a decision.

I'm going to continue to check websites, newspapers etc for specific job adverts - if I spot one that's suitable, I'll apply.   But I won't be contacting individual companies for the time-being.  It just seems rather inconsiderate, doesn't it?   'Hi!  I know you're busy and all, but wanna hire me?!'   No - not happening.

But I shan't be slacking during the 'break' however - my time spent learning a new language is paying off and I've got my head firmly back in the textbook!

My intention is that by the new year, my language skills will be proficient enough to effectively 'show off' in an interview if questioned about them, and that my basic dentistry knowledge will be more sound.

Keep busy.  Keep improving!

Perhaps 2013 will prove to be a more successful year!

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