One New Year’s Resolution that millions of Americans make every year is to find a new job. That resolve, along with some post-holiday blues and a case of the Mondays, adds up to a job search bonanza on the first Monday in January as Americans return to work after the holidays. This day, which we’ve termed Job Hunt Monday, offers an important opportunity for staffing organizations that want an edge on the competition moving into the new year.
In the popular retail tradition of Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday, and Black Friday, Job Hunt Monday is the annual “holiday” for job search. On this day, as workers head back to the office, often after a week of leisure and travel, job searches spike significantly. According to data from job search engine Simply Hired, job searches increased 56% on the first Monday of January 2015 compared to the average number of searches in December. These job seekers represent all levels of training and education, with keywords like “part-time” and “LPN” ranking among the most searched terms of the day.
These job seekers also make up a new pool of talent compared to other times of the year. Job seekers who are unemployed tend to search for new work steadily throughout the year. But currently employed candidates, spurred by a collective nationwide movement to better themselves in the new year, often take stock of their existing work situation and are much more likely to look for new opportunities than other times during the year.
While important across all industries, Job Hunt Monday has heightened implications for staffing firms that focus on temporary workers. According to Staffing Industry Analysts’ April 2015 Staffing Industry Forecast, the US temporary staffing industry was on track to increase by 6% in 2015 and predicted to expand by an additional 5% in 2016. While this growth indicates a positive recovery for the US economy, it also means a simultaneous intensification in the War for Talent. With more job requisitions becoming available every day, competition for qualified applicants will only heighten.
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The good news is that some simple strategies that will allow staffing organizations to capitalize on Job Hunt Monday. The first is to make sure your listings are highly visible to job seekers everywhere they operate: web, mobile, career sites, job search engines. When crafting job listings, use short explicit titles and clearly call out which skills are required vs. nice to have in the job description. Finally, promote your employer brand to passive and active job seekers by enhancing your job listings and posts with visual assets. The addition of a company logo, photos and video highlight company values will help you stand out from the pack.
By planning recruiting strategies now, staffing firms can be poised to capitalize on the first new pool of talent in 2016.
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