Why advertising your job vacancy before Christmas has benefits
Sponsored post by McLaren Recruitment
As we head towards Christmas and year-end, your thoughts might be turning to your own personal to-do lists, festive gatherings, and, hopefully, some well-deserved R&R over the break.
But before we get there, it’s a great time to assess your recruitment needs for the coming year and get ahead of the game if you have roles to fill.
4 reasons why advertising now instead of waiting until January is a good idea
#1 “New Year, new job” is a real thing
December and early January are peak times for “New Year, new job” thinking. Jobseekers start planning career moves well before they’re back at work. Studies show that plenty of people are motivated to look for new roles over the festive break, so now is a great time to capture those thinking of a fresh start in the new year.
#2 Jobseekers have more free time
People are on annual leave, winding down work, or away from their usual routines, so they have more headspace to reflect on their career and browse job sites. Even if they aren’t thinking of an immediate move, your ad might entice them enough to apply.
#3 Less competition from other employers
Many businesses start to wind down for the year around now and pause recruitment in December, which means fewer job ads in the market. That means less competition across job boards and helps your vacancy stand out.
#4 You get ahead of the game
Advertising early means applications can be ready for review either before your team leaves for the Christmas break or as soon as your team returns in January. If you need someone to begin early in the new year, advertising pre-Christmas gives enough runway for applications, shortlisting, and interviews.
Things to consider if you are advertising over the break
Plan your timeframe so you know when each stage of the process will happen. If you aren’t planning to look at applications until January, make this clear in your advert. Remember that it can take several weeks to run the whole recruitment process, and you may also need to account for a notice period after that, so if you want new people on board early in the new year, you need to start now.
If your organisation shuts down for a time over the holidays or key staff in the recruitment process will be away, remember to get your communication set up in advance. Candidates are influenced by how well the recruitment process runs, and communication is a big part of that. So, make sure staff covering the holiday period have the answers to basic recruitment questions or set up automated email responses with clear timeframes and next steps.
Check whether the job boards you are advertising on will let you keep the listing up for longer to cover the holiday period. Some boards will, but others will still have 30-day limits. This might impact your budget considerations if you need to keep the listing up for longer.
If you have recruitment plans for 2026 but you’d like to spend your break relaxing rather than reading CVs, working with a recruitment agency like McLaren Recruitment is a great option. We’re still busy helping organisations find the best candidates, so why not get the ball rolling by getting in touch with the team? We’re ready to assist and specialise in helping organisations in the not-for-profit sector.