Your Christmas to-do list just got a little longer: wrap presents, mull wine, defrost turkey, update your CV ... As the country slouches into recession, the unemployment figures are rising with some frankly alarming predictions for the new year. So whether you have lost your job or are looking for a change, perhaps to find some more stable employment, the job market is tougher than ever.
That means there is no time to waste. January is a peak period for jobseekers, with a rush on CV mailing expected on 7 January as seasonal contracts end and new year's resolutions kick in. So, according to online CV database iProfile, if you want to find a new job you need to get cracking. "Savvy jobseekers will get ahead of the game and start looking well before January starts," it says.
Which sounds like sensible advice, but seeing as how the credit crunch has not entirely cancelled Christmas (though it has dented it a little), most of us will be too busy to fill in job applications this month. Those of us in work are rushing through our usual tasks in order to take time off over the festive season, or are taking on seasonal overtime. The rest of us will be ploughing through the usual Christmas preparations, which are much more difficult when funds are tight.
So, basically, it is go-go-go from now until Christmas lunch. Which is where the internet becomes a mixed blessing. Why not update your CV on Christmas Day? Why not upload it to the web for employers to see on iProfile or any number of similar sites (including the Guardian Job's site). Heck, why not email a few job applications while you are still digesting your brussels sprouts? After all, depressingly enough, some people do file their tax returns on 25 December, well in advance of the end-of-January deadline. Thanks to technology, there is no longer any such thing as a day off. Even if you don't have a job.
