Believe it or not … The holiday season is prime for job hunting.

If you’re without a job or unhappy in your current one, it’s smart to gear up your search during November and December, rather than get distracted or depressed by the holiday season.  People are in good spirits and socializing more frequently and both factors can be useful to the job hunter.

There are other reasons why you shouldn’t put your search on hold until after the first of the year:

While the number of Internet posts and help-wanted ads usually decrease over the holidays, those that do appear are often high priority jobs that employers need to fill quickly.  Since fewer people read and respond to posts and ads during this time, there is less competition than usual, which is to your advantage.

Employment agencies usually experience a decrease in the number of applicants who come to them at the end of the year.  That means you’re likely to get even more attention and time if you visit them.

Fewer people submit resumes directly to companies during the holiday period.  They wrongly assume their inquires will be lost in the Christmas email or snail mail or that employers simply aren’t hiring.  Neither is true.  In fact, a well-written-cover-letter and resume sent as an email attachment or by snail mail in a large flat envelope is likely to get more attention because volume is down.

And while more managers and personnel people take vacation time at the end of the year, that doesn’t mean they won’t consider a qualified candidate for a job they’re hoping to fill.  Since many companies’ fiscal years correspond to their calendar year, new budgets often mean additional money for staffing new positions.

BBCS – Baskin Career Counseling offers Career Counseling Services, New Jersey (NJ) and Nationwide for individual and Corporate Clients/Outplacement and Career Coaching . If you are looking for resume writers in the NJ area or anywhere in the USA, we are also pleased to assist you with these professional services as well. Please visit our main site at www.baskincareer.com.