Starting a job before Christmas.

​The lead up to Christmas is traditionally an extremely busy period at Aspire Global Network for two reasons: clients may be looking to use up any remaining recruitment budget and candidates see this time of year as an opportunity to secure a new position ready to start in the New Year. Clients are often keen to get new members of staff bedded in during December but sometimes candidates are less willing. However we strongly believe it’s better to start in December.

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The benefits of starting a new role before Christmas:

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• The lead up to Christmas is often a very social time of year and therefore a great time to build relationships with your new colleagues

• In a client facing role December is a great month to meet your clients in a more relaxed environment

• Many businesses quieten down before Christmas so it is an excellent time to get all your training done

• Likewise you are likely to benefit from more time from your line manager

• With your induction training done in December you are more likely to hit the ground running and make a contribution at the start of the year

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Considerations for employers with recruitment needs in the run up to Christmas:

Christmas is historically the only time of year when some clients delay starting their chosen candidates. The reason often given is that they don’t want to pay a new starter over the Christmas period. In our view that is short term thinking for what should be a long term relationship. The benefits above equally apply to clients but there are also other key elements to consider.

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• Delaying a candidates start date always makes you vulnerable to counter or alternative offers. You may find yourself restarting the recruitment process again in January.

• You miss an opportunity for highly engaged on-boarding at a very social time

• Commercially the gain is clear, by having the candidate trained up before Christmas you can get a contribution earlier in the year.

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There maybe issues with holidays at this time of year. Some candidates may have booked to go away or with their family and friends. So just like recruiting someone in the summer who has a holiday pre-booked it is important to show flexibility; it may not fit within company policy or annual leave entitlement but if you are looking to get training complete before Christmas even a week is better than nothing.

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Remember when you were a candidate yourself-you want to feel wanted by prospective employers. In a competitive market you need to do everything you can to secure top talent as quickly as possible. As a potential new starter making the move in December is advantageous. You will get to enjoy meeting clients and colleagues in a more relaxed environment, you can complete the bulk of your training and you will spend Christmas feeling positive and motivated to start 2014 in your new role.