Christmas time, mistletoe and wine, recruitment is probably the last thing on your mind… And we don’t blame you! This time of year everyone is so busy running around finishing their Christmas shopping, attending (and recovering from) Christmas parties, and making the plans to visit family and friends for the festive period. We are one day away from a lot of companies officially halting those big decisions and recruitment plans until the New Year, but with January being one of the busiest months for recruitment, the companies that put off their hiring plans until January can be faced with a lot of competition, and even find themselves paying well above the market salary rate to secure a candidate. There are a lot of ways to take advantage of the festive period for your recruitment plans, and your 2019 self will thank you for it:
Showcase your culture
According to a LinkedIn survey of professionals within the IT and services industry, 41% of candidates noted “a culture that fits my personality” as an important factor for what they look for in a job. This came up as the third most important factor only behind work-life balance and compensation. Company culture is clearly a deciding factor for candidates, so why are so few companies actually showcasing theirs?! Christmas time in the office provides a great opportunity for capturing and showcasing your culture. It could be videos and snaps from the Christmas party, showcasing your Christmas jumper day, Secret Santa and more! There is lots happening at this time of year so use it as a chance to capture and showcase your unique culture on social media and your careers site.
Launch a campaign
The number of candidates who start to search and apply for jobs between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve is phenomenal. While the Christmas build up is manic, the days after give us an opportunity to relax, so when you have had enough of Christmas movies, turkey sandwiches and drinking it’s easy to start thinking about work. For some candidates this thought of work becomes the most dreaded back to work “Monday” style blues, and in many cases, it can lead to them searching for new opportunities online. Companies that recognise this can launch a campaign to run over the Christmas period over social media, PPC and the job boards so that the candidates who do go looking are more likely to discover and apply for opportunities with them.
Connect with candidates
If you are open over the Christmas period then why not use the opportunity to reach out to potential candidates? With your competitors abandoning any thoughts of recruitment until 2019 then it can give you a fantastic head start to speak to tech talent at a time where they won’t have lots of other companies and agencies speaking to them too. If you are worried about disturbing candidates during their Christmas break then reach out with an initial text or email with a view to booking a phone call at a time that’s convenient for them.
Get quirky on social media
Christmas is a time for fun and every year marketers take advantage of it with themed campaigns on social media. The same can apply for recruitment so don’t be afraid to do something a little different to stand out. It could be that you run a “12 jobs of Christmas” – sharing a vacancy or an employee Q&A on each day, you might create your own festive hashtag or even create an advent style competition to increase your engagement and shares? It’s a chance to share your personality, and even if you don’t get an application off the back of it you will be increasing brand awareness which will only help your recruitment plans for the future!
Organise interviews for January
Looking at your recruitment plans over Christmas doesn’t mean you or your senior managers need to be in the office, instead think of it as lining up your plans so that the first week in January you either have a list of qualified candidate CV’s, or a number of confirmed interviews booked in ready for your return!
Searchability are open over the Christmas period – so if you have a role that you would like worked on your behalf ready for your return in 2019 please contact us on 01244 567 567 or email [email protected].
