December grads entering strong job market but for how long?
December college graduates often think they’re out of luck if they don’t have a job lined up by the time they get out of school. In fact, many put their search on hold, thinking that companies cool off on new hires until the spring.
But some years, like now, they’d be wrong.
“Don’t believe the conventional wisdom that everything shuts down in the winter. It doesn’t,” says Lauren Santos, a New York-based career coach. “But that doesn’t mean you should wait it out. The job market is strong but it’s showing signs of cooling off so you don’t want to delay your job search.”
Santos says December grads may benefit from a fairly fluid job market. “For a lot of companies, hiring is strong because employees continue to leave their current jobs for greener pastures, and their jobs need to be filled, which is great news if you’re looking for a job and for experience,” she says.
In many cases, December graduates can help companies fill remote and outof-town positions. Dominick Gaitano, a former U.S. Department of Labor analyst who now works with recent college graduates to pair them with jobs overseas. “In recent years, there’s been a hiring spike in finance, insurance and marketing in the early months of a new year,” he says.
Gaitano says companies looking to expand know they can train newly hired employees in-house before they move on to their new locations or to a remote one. “Everyone wants a chance to work closely with their new hires, so you bring them aboard in January, train them and then send them on their way,” he says.
Gaitano says he’s not speaking for all companies, of course, but he says prospective employees, especially those just out of school, need to be proactive when considering potential opportunities. “Read the industry news; read every business story that relates to your field online. And take notes. You’re going to find a lot of stories about companies relocating, opening new offices, bringing in new acquisitions,” he says. “Target those companies. Tell them you’re ready to go.”