Don’t Let Your Career Search Take A Holiday This Year
Career Management18 Jul 2013
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Many senior executives looking to make a career move are asking themselves the question ‘should I be ignoring my job search during Ramadan?’. The answer to this is ‘no’, definitely not. Islamic countries such as the UAE partake in this extremely important and popular annual observance and much of the local business slows down considerably. However, international businesses do not slow down and business for them is running at full steam during this time.
In this article we will discuss the reasons why you should not be ignoring your job search during Ramadan (10th July – 18th August in 2013) and ways that you can accelerate your career move during this period.
What to expect during Ramadan and the Summer months?
Many of our clients put their job hunt on hold during Ramadan and use this time to go on holiday. However, this is the perfect time of year to continue your job search, and whilst you may not land a job during this time, you can go a long way to updating your social media profiles and improve your chances of landing a job after your holiday period.
At Career Intelligence we offer a Total Career Management (TCM) service, taking control of the developmental stages of your job hunt; HELPING YOU DEVELOP the right CVs for your job applications, creating and updating your social media profiles, providing you with bespoke research and much more. During the time of Ramadan, whilst you might not choose to be so active with you job hunt, our TCM service with your dedicated personal relationship manager and social media manager can be doing the ground work for you.
The month of Ramadan is a great time to be posting updates on profession social networks such as Twitter and LinkedIn and utilising hashtags and location-based updates. More social network users are actually online during this month than at any other time, so its a good opportunity to connect with your audience. In fact, Twitter engagement during Ramadan saw a 33% increase in 2012 (Source: Think Marketing Magazine, July 2013).
Tackling the international job market
As mentioned above, international businesses in the UAE will not slow down like local businesses during Ramadan, and this is especially true for banking and finance institutions as they deal with the international markets.
External recruiters and internal recruiters for many of the international businesses will be continuing their search for potential candidates during Ramadan, and some of the best candidates from international locations will still be applying, so it is essential to continue your job search as usual. IT is important to note that WHILE the volume of applicants and online conversation surrounding international career moves may be reduced, it’s the perfect time to shine in front of potential employers.
Many fellow job seekers seize the opportunity to take vacations during this time, BUT you can really cut through the competition and ensure recruiters and headhunters know you’re still available and actively looking. Actual decisions about hiring candidates may be put off until after Ramadan, but interviews and discussions will still be taking place during this holy month. Make sure your name is still top of mind for these decision makers and that you don’t miss that perfect opportunity.
Get ready for the surge!
Comparable to the UK jobs market in January, the period immediately after Ramadan sees a resurgence in terms of job opportunities. Use your time before to make sure you’re ready for it and use your time wisely.
With increased social media activity, Ramadan is a great time to continue your job search online, taking advantage of Twitter and LinkedIn to network, engage with key decision makers and get yourself noticed.
As part of the TCM service our social media team will work with you to ensure that not only are your social media profiles fully setup and optimised, but they will do the online research needed to identify who the key decision makers you need to be engaging with are and how you should be engaging with them. This will put you far ahead of others also looking for the same positions in your industry.
Conclusion
Against popular belief, Ramadan is the perfect time to focus on your job hunt, and in particular your social media engagement. While it is a peak time of the year for holidaying, this must not stop your job search, so let Career Intelligence work with you to target the market during this important period of your job search.
Remember to take the time to prepare your applications and tailor your responses in time for a surge in the jobs market in August. Continue to work and develop relationships with recruiters and HR managers who will now have more time to respond to you and learn more about your experience and career history.
