Why I think you should be networking right now

I've talked to a LOT of job seekers in my career who have told me time and again that they give up their job search for the holidays - new jobs aren't being posted, no one's hiring, budgets are frozen, etc. I've heard every excuse. Yes, it's Q4 and year-end for most companies, so many of the excuses seekers have for giving up on their search are valid. Yes, budgets are pretty much spent for the year. Which means there aren't many new jobs being posted. But that doesn't mean we're not hiring - or prepping to hire in January. So I'm of the opinion that if you're giving up on a job search or career transition this holiday season, you're missing out on a prime time for networking.

Here's why:
- Even though I have positions to fill, there are fewer openings than during our peak times. Which means it's less likely that I'll be on the phone all day and more likely that I'll be sourcing for awesome candidates.
- Holiday time-off (mine and that of the hiring managers) can make it hard to move quickly through the hiring process. So my day might be a little more flexible depending on who is in the office.
- I know I'll have openings in January when a new budget goes into effect, so I'm looking for quality people right now who could be a good fit when some of those opportunities come up.

What all that can mean:
- I might welcome a chance to break up my day with a networking call. 
- I might be more willing to give you advice on your resume.
- I might be happy to help you network with my other recruiter friends. And I probably know a good placement agency for you to work with. Or which agencies to avoid.
- You might find yourself on the top of my to-call list on January 2nd.

Granted, not every company has year-end on 12/31, and some recruiters are probably busier than ever over the holidays. And I know that I can be an anomaly in my networking philosophy as a corporate recruiter - some people relish in their ability to ignore every networking request. So don't think that I'm telling you that every person works like I do.

But here's my advice: don't give up on your job search over the holidays. Use this time to target companies you'd like to learn more about, and actually spend time on their websites. Figure out what kind of roles they typically hire, and if you'd even have a home there. Find their recruiters and/or HR generalists (hello LinkedIn, Facebook graph search, and Twitter), and reach out. You never know - you might find that someone will be more willing to spend 15-20 minutes on the phone with you between now and December 31st than they will be on January 6th.