January is the best time to apply for a new job. The job market has more openings as employers look to fill vacancies and expand their businesses. We even have a job opening with a start date of January 13, 2025! While some employers will post these jobs in December in hopes of early January start dates, even more will post new jobs in early January with intended start dates in late January or early February.
To become a competitive applicant in the annual January job market, start preparing now. Get everything prepared before the holidays so you are ready to immediately jump into the job search on January 2. Even if you do not know what jobs will be posted, you can prepare yourself to act quickly with a few key steps.
Outline What Job and Conditions You Want
Assuming you are employed or your lifestyle is comfortably funded in the interim, stepping into the January job market is a low-pressure choice where you are only looking to get a new job that offers improvements relative to your current employment situation. Outline the criteria you are seeking in a job. This may include what kind of work you hope to do, your ideal level on the corporate ladder, whether you prefer a management position, and the main focus of the job. Interest in at least some parts of your day-to-day work promotes a healthy attitude towards work.
Next, outline your conditions surrounding salary, schedule, and benefits. Know what salary will make you feel valued, and plan to only accept offers at or above that level. This number may also be a sliding scale combined with other monetary benefits like an employer 401(k) match: I recently accepted a salary that was $5,000 less than a competing offer because the lower salary with a 7% 401(k) match was equal to the higher salary with a lower 401(k) match. I do not care whether I receive the money in the form of a 401(k) match or salary, but you may prefer the money up front. This is especially true if the potential employer has a long vesting period on any employer matches: You do not want to be stuck in a job waiting for employer contributions to vest, so make sure your salary is sufficient compensation to make you feel valued.
Beyond salary and financial benefits, define what work environment and schedule will work with your life. Life comes first. Start with where you want to work. If you prefer remote work, set that hard line. If you prefer having a physical office with your own space, define that preference instead. It is completely fine to be open to different work environments, but it is just as acceptable to only accept certain work environments. Based on your preferred work environment, outline what schedule flexibilities you need. Whether it is carving out time to walk your kids to the bus stop or shifting your schedule early to accommodate coaching an after-school sport, demand that the important parts of your life come before your work requirements.
Finally, consider what insurance, leave, and other benefits you value. Some of these, like a stipend for a gym membership, may be more flexible to you. Others, like at least 20 days of annual leave, may be less flexible. Setting robust benefit requirements can feel unrealistic in the American work culture, but it is essential for your long-term health and energy. Prioritize yourself, and set the requirements. They are realistic.
Find What Employers Have What You Want
A few years ago, I researched which employers in my field of expertise had unlimited leave and set a goal to work for one of them. There was one in particular that had the ideal benefits package for me, including unlimited leave and a 7% 401(k) match. I have been working for this employer since May 2021.
Once you know what you want, find the employers that offer it. If you are picky like me and want a niche area of expertise that allows telework and schedule flexibility along with unlimited leave and a 401(k) package, there may just be one or two employers that meet your requirements. Assuming you are not desperate for a job change, that is okay! Narrow your efforts to be the best applicant for specific employers with work in a particular field of interest.
If you have more options or less stringent requirements because you are more enthusiastic about a job change, that is also okay. Just make sure your options match the standards you value the most. If you are in this situation, you can even file potential employers into “ideal” and “sufficient” categories based on whether they meet all your ideal requirements or only your must-have requirements. When jobs are posted in the new year, you can make a judgment call on whether there are enough postings from “ideal” employers or you should expand your search to include the “sufficient” category.
Craft Your Base Resume
While you should tailor your resume to specific job postings, you can prepare your base resume in advance of January job postings. A base resume is a long version of your resume that contains all the valuable prior experiences that may be included on resumes for future employment opportunities. Maintaining a base resume can help your career years or even decades down the road, and it also facilitates piecing together a tailored resume quickly.
This article will help you get started on a base resume, and our workbook can provide specific step-by-step guidance to help you create a base resume from scratch if you want to take the time to craft a base resume but do not know where to start!
While the base resume is an untailored hub of all your prior experiences, you can still tailor a few bullet points if you are building your first base resume. Look at prior job postings from your ideal potential employers to get an idea of keywords and phrases used in positions within your field. Getting the language right can eventually be the difference between getting past Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) and missing out on a perfect opportunity.
When you see a posting of interest in late December or early January, use your base resume as a reference, but tailor it to the specific job posting. Describe your experience with words handed to you by the employer and include ATS keywords relevant to your field. The base resume is the prep work to allow you to act fast, but spending a half hour to make your resume uniquely qualified for a specific job is always worth the effort.
Ensure Your References are Supportive
There is nothing worse than going through an entire application process only to lose a job due to stale references who cannot recall your work or impact in the workplace. Early December is an ideal time to check in with references and make sure they are willing to discuss your previous work in a positive light. When you reach out, also verify that their contact information is accurate and up-to-date, so you can quickly provide references when an application calls for them.
While I do not recommend submitting references until an employer requests them, knowing whose contact information you can send to a potential employer eliminates a stress point during the application process. The point of preparing in December is to make January feel less stressful. You can apply to jobs without excessive amounts of stress, if you prepare in advance. Have a happy new year and happy job search!
Comments