The recruitment industry traditionally tends to slow down around December and Christmas time. People get merrier and there are less candidates and roles to recruit for.

But there are still plenty of productive things recruiters can be doing during the festive month! Check out our list here…

Preparing for January

January is arguably the best time of the year to recruit. The whole ‘new year, new me’ vibe that hits the nation can be used to your advantage. You don’t want to let such a crucial month slip by, so you need to be heading into the office in January ready and rearing to recruit.

Things to help you prepare:

• Have you got the go-ahead from the decision makers?
• Are your adverts written and ready to be posted?
• Are you able to get adverts out first thing? Or can this process be automated?
• Have you got time carved out to go through the floods of applications you will be receiving?

Recruiting

Just because everyone else is slowing their recruitment down, doesn’t mean you should be. In fact, you should use this to your advantage and get ahead of your competition. You might not have enough time to start a newbie until January – but that doesn’t mean you can’t start looking and interviewing!

Not panic-hiring

You definitely do not want to rush the recruitment and hiring process. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t hire before Christmas – it can actually be quite nice (for the candidate and you) to start them right after the Christmas break. Rushing your recruitment and hiring process could cost you even more time and money.

Touch base with candidates

It’s doesn’t matter what stage a candidate is at in your hiring process (from pre-interview to accepted job offer) you should definitely touch base with them at least once before the Christmas break. Touching base with candidates with a friendly and fun text/email is a great way of reminding them why they want to join/have joined your company!

Remember your current employees

The infamous ‘new year, new me’ attitude could also have a negative effect on your company. Do you think you’ll lose candidates? It’s possible! It can happen to anyone. Use the festive period to remind your current employees exactly why they love working with you! 

Have fun, spread some cheer and reward your current employees!