Holidays Archives

Why the Holidays Are an Excellent Time to Find a New Job

December 1, 2021/in Candidate Resources /by Matthew Bennett

Searching for a new job can be a long and arduous process. And with all of the chaos that the holiday season can bring, it may seem like a terrible time to kick off your job search. However, this is one of the biggest job search rumors out there. Now is an excellent time to find a new job, and here are a few reasons why.

You may already be using PTO

During the holiday season, you are probably already using some PTO. Whether it’s a week-long break from work or just a long weekend, most of us take a few days off this time of year. Now, it might not seem ideal to use this much-needed time off to schedule interviews. But, with most companies moving to a virtual hiring process, it’s not too much of a burden to take an hour or two to jump on a video interview. By scheduling interviews during the holidays, you can sneak in an interview without having to take additional time away from work or raise suspicion from your current employer.

There is less competition

There are so many job seekers that take a break during the holiday season. Between family time, job search burnout, and the fear of hiring slowing down, many people take a step back from their job search this time of year. So, while others kick their feet up and relax, you should take advantage of the diminished competition. If you keep grinding this time of year, you will improve your odds of finding a new job before the end of the year.

Employers are wrapping up budgets

As hiring managers wrap up budgets and prepare for the new year, they are looking for gaps or areas to grow their teams. If there is a set budget set aside for the salaries of new employees, they are actively looking to find new talent. If they don’t utilize that money, their department often loses it in next year’s budget. Therefore, hiring managers are still actively searching for candidates before the year’s-end.

Companies are still in desperate need of candidates

Today’s labor market is not typical by any means. We’ve had candidate-driven markets in the past, but the pandemic has changed how employers hire for good. This year and in the foreseeable future, candidates are in the driver’s seat, and hiring managers are in desperate need to attract new talent. Many employers have vacancies that need to be filled, and thus, now is a great time to find a new job! Employers are offering competitive salaries and getting creative to entice job seekers. If you slow down on your job search now, you might be missing out on a great opportunity!

If you are still going strong with your job search but need a new avenue for exciting job opportunities, check out our Talent Network! We have hundreds of job openings across North America with some of the best companies out there.

How to Navigate Awkward Holiday Job Conversations

November 18, 2021/in Candidate Resources /by Matthew Bennett

We all have a relative or two that don’t know how to read a room. Whether it’s asking questions about your dating life, politics, or work, many of us are preparing to deal with uncomfortable questions from our relatives. After all, this may be the first time seeing some of your friends or family members since the pandemic! So, if you are dreading seeing that provoking relative over the coming weeks, here’s how to navigate awkward holiday job conversations.

Prepare your answer ahead of time

Thousands of people throughout the country are still struggling to find work after the pandemic ruptured the labor market. Thus, this can be a sensitive subject for some, especially if you are struggling to land a new job. But like a job interview, it can be helpful to prepare answers to tricky questions ahead of time. If you are anxious about awkward holiday job conversations, prepare your responses before your family gatherings. Think about how you want to answer these questions beforehand and rehearse them so you can keep your responses short and sweet. Preparing an answer to these uncomfortable questions can make you feel a little less apprehensive about this time of the year.

Share where you are going vs. where you’re at

Another easy way to navigate awkward holiday job conversations is to focus on where you’re going instead of where you are currently at. Rather than focusing on the negative (unemployment, no offers, bad interviews, terrible hiring process, etc.), share where you are going. Don’t center these conversations about all the negative aspects of your job search and discuss where you want to be. For example, describe to your relative the type of job or company you are looking to join. Talk about your career goals and what you’d like to achieve. Essentially, emphasize the positive, the end-goal rather than the negative parts of your job search.

Don’t stop searching!

In the past, the holidays have been a time when hiring slows down for many employers as people take time off. However, not this year! With 10.4 million job openings and a record-breaking quit rate, hiring won’t be slowing down anytime soon. Thus, this time of year is your chance to take advantage of all the job seekers taking this time off or slowing down their searches. With fewer people actively looking because of this busy time of year, you will have less competition to beat out to land a new job. The best way to avoid awkward holiday job conversations is to keep your head up high and don’t slow down.

If you are still looking for your next career move, check out our job board! We have hundreds of job opportunities across North America, with employers looking for top talent like you.

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How to Set Work Boundaries Before the Holidays

November 15, 2021/in Candidate Resources /by Matthew Bennett

The last two years have been a whirlwind, especially if you are a hiring manager. As the holidays quickly approach, our work lives become a little more overwhelming. Balancing end-of-the-year projects, finalizing budgets, balancing family time, and working with an understaffed team; this time of the year can be demanding. As a result, it can be more challenging to establish boundaries between work and our personal lives. If this sounds all too familiar, here are some tips for setting work boundaries before the holidays.

Snooze your messages and alerts

For most of us this time of year, we have a lot on our plates. Between juggling end-of-the-year tasks and preparing for the holidays, our free time is limited. Therefore, it’s no surprise when late-night messages come through. If you are looking for an easy way to avoid burnout during this stressful time, try snoozing your work notifications. On apps like Outlook or Microsoft Teams, you can easily set schedules where you can snooze notifications at times you choose. Some of us don’t always have this option but try snoozing work notifications if you struggle to manage your work-life balance. Setting these work boundaries will prevent work alerts from seeping into your personal time and help you rest and unwind. Instead of reading work emails right before bed, you can spend time doing what you love or relaxing!

Take some time off

With many of us unable to travel or take our typical vacations, a common theme throughout the pandemic is letting your paid time off stack up. Even if you are staying home for the holidays, taking time away from work is imperative to establishing work boundaries. It can be challenging to take time off during “crunch time;” however it’s essential to take a step back for your mental and physical health. After all, you earned that time off! Schedule your PTO strategically so you can focus on recharging your batteries instead of worrying about work. Plan it well in advance so you can prioritize your tasks and due dates so you can actually enjoy your vacation instead of worrying about work.

Use this time to prepare for next year

The holidays are typically the busiest season of the year. Everyone has specific tasks or items they must handle before the New Year; however, instead of getting a head start on new projects, use this time to prepare for next year. Spend some time going through your inbox or files and cleaning up items you no longer need. Then, create folders to organize them all so you can quickly locate them when needed. A little housekeeping is an excellent way to establish work boundaries before the holidays, as you can come back from your time off feeling organized and ready to tackle 2022!

Happy Holidays From All Of Us At JSG!

December 14, 2020/in JSG /by Patrice MacMillan

2020 has been a challenging year for most of us, which makes this season feel a little extra special this year. The best part of the holidays is remembering those who make them meaningful. To celebrate, we had our employees throughout North America share how they’re getting in the holiday spirit. Please join us in cherishing this time with one another and relishing in gratitude for the relationships we’ve established and grown throughout 2020.

The Charleston, SC team virtually sponsored a Christmas stocking filled with specified items for a 9-year-old girl. This is a picture of our team dropping off the gifts!

Here are some pictures of our very photogenic yellow lab, Chance….

Here are my kids (and 80lb puppy) with the big guy!

From left: Maddison (she’s not happy), Emma, Chase (pup) and Matthew!

Christmas at our house means Christmas pillows to lounge on for Mr. Tristan… Just don’t judge his at home COVID-19 haircut, he’s sensitive about it! 😉

Planning a wedding during the pandemic hasn’t been easy, but plans are finally starting to come together for my fiancé and I to get married in March! We’re sending a Christmas card to let all of our friends and family know that the wedding is still on, but the list is going to be a lot smaller than we thought.

Our 1-year-old channeled his inner “Christmas Vacation” by dressing up as Uncle Eddie!

Here’s a picture of my tree and baby. She was caught mid-yawn, thought it was perfect!

This is my favorite part of my Holiday decorations (and also my occasional Teams Video backdrop)! Happy Holidays!

My cat admiring Christmas tree lights for the first time ❤ it’s her first Christmas!

Christmas time is a very special time of the year filled with many blessings.

Our team in Jacksonville would like to share the beautiful tree in our lobby we get to enjoy every day!

It has been an unusual year to say the least, but all of us are very blessed! We are all coming together to do a Christmas Drive for Wolfson Children’s Hospital in downtown Jacksonville.

Wolfson Hospital is in great need to help the infants who can not be home for Christmas! So the team is buying gifts for the little ones, and next week Operations will deliver them.

We can already see all their smiling faces. 😊 It is always nice to be able to give back to the community.

From our office to yours we wish everyone at JSG a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

My wife decided to make a Christmas blanket for our one-year-old niece. Her first attempt turned out to be a dog scarf for Penny. Happy Pawlidays!

We are so blessed to be spending the holidays in our new home. While this is the boys’ second Christmas, it is their first time seeing all the Christmas decorations.

Ruger and Remington love to watch the lights and check out the ornaments. All four dogs have been very good girls and boys, so we are all excited to see what Santa brings them.

Merry Christmas,

The Rudders

Laura, Josh, Reya, Ruger, Remington, and Ruby

Shelby and Lolli are patiently waiting to bark at Santa and of course some new toys to tear up!

A shout out to wish everyone a wonderful safe holiday. May 2021 bring you and your loved ones many blessings.

Interesting that his hat said naughty on one side and nice on the other and he totally chose nice all by himself…..

Loch getting ready for his 1^st Christmas

Thank you to all of our wonderful clients for partnering with us to help hardworking job seekers find new opportunities this year.

From all of us at JSG, have a healthy, safe, and prosperous Holiday season!

Jobs With the Most Demand in December

December 10, 2020/in Candidate Resources /by Matthew Bennett

It’s the last month of the year, and many of the hottest jobs from the previous month carried on into December. LinkedIn recently released its monthly report of the most in-demand jobs this month. Both tech and customer service jobs are a hot commodity right now, but there is a new trend that we are seeing among employers in today’s challenging market.

Tech talent is still in high demand

Technology-related jobs have taken over the list of jobs with the fastest-growing demand. Tech jobs make up five of the top ten jobs with the largest month-over-month growth, according to LinkedIn job postings in November. Oracle Specialist (+131%), Python Developer (+111%), User Interface Designer (+74%), Java Specialist (+63%), and Application Developer (+49%) are all in great need as we near the end of the year. Cloud Engineer job postings also jumped twelve spots to become the seventh-most populous job posting last month.

With tech companies and IT roles smoothly transitioning into working remotely, the demand for these positions likely will continue to grow into the new year.

Customer service jobs keep climbing during the holiday season

Customer service and retail positions surged over the month. Food Specialists saw the single greatest jump in demand, growing by 575%. Plus, several other in-person customer service roles saw huge bumps last month. Customer Assistant (+84%) and Receptionist (+92%) hit the list of jobs with the most demand for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. This growth is no surprise as companies prepare for holiday shopping sprees that commenced in late November.

However, these spikes may vanish as soon as they appeared, with the holidays approaching and coronavirus cases surging across the country. A new round of state-wide restrictions is in place in many states, affecting the growth of these roles. As a result, roles like Food Delivery Driver will continue to grow. Last month, food drivers were the fifth-most popular job posting on LinkedIn; this role will likely grow into the new year as more consumers utilize food delivery services.

Companies are investing in their employees

An exciting trend that we have seen over the last few months is companies investing in their employees’ learning and development. For some companies, it makes more fiscal sense to invest in their staff instead of pouring money into hiring efforts. This movement is creating a new hiring demand for Training Supervisors. Last month, demand for this role grew by 183%, pushing Training Supervisors as the job with the third fastest-growing demand.

Get the help you need this holiday season

So, these are the jobs with the fastest growing demand in December. If your hiring team exhausted all of its resources, reach out to us today. We are working with thousands of candidates that are ready to make an impact on your organization. Or, if you are a job seeker looking to start the new year with a new career opportunity, check out our job board! We have hundreds of exciting roles across North America that need talented candidates like you.

3 Tips to Boost Your Time Management During the Holiday Season

November 24, 2020/in Candidate Resources /by Matthew Bennett

During the chaotic last two months of the year, time management becomes one of our biggest challenges. With end-of-the-year projects, budgets, and the holidays, this time of year can really be stressful. Add a pandemic in the mix, and things get a whole lot more interesting. If you are struggling to stay focused during this time of the year, here are three tips to boost your time management during the holidays.

Make a list (and check it twice)

We have published numerous articles about utilizing lists to help you stay on track, and that is because it works. Write down all of your weekly tasks or break them down into daily accomplishments, if that works better for you. Write these tasks down and cross them off once you’ve completed them. Nothing feels more satisfying than checking off something from your to-do list! The holidays are hectic, and making lists can help mitigate some stress and improve your time management.

Eliminate distractions

The holidays create a lot of distractions: shopping, family get-togethers, and everything in between. This year might look different for most, but that doesn’t mean there are no distractions. Many of you are still working remotely, which creates a whole new field of possible distractions. Maybe it’s your kids finishing off the year with distanced learning, your partner or roommate bugging you all day, or even your pets; working from home creates a bunch of distractions.

This year, to boost your time management during the holiday season, try and eliminate some of these distractions. Turn off the Christmas movies, put on some headphones, lock yourself in another room … whatever it is that you have to do to be more productive. By removing some of these distractions, you can improve your time management and start crossing some tasks off that list!

Don’t be afraid to delegate or ask for help

People often struggle to delegate, especially right now. Many workers feel obligated to be connected 24/7 to prove that they are still working hard, even from their own homes. As a result, this might prevent you from delegating tasks to your team or even asking for help. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your team or boss if you need assistance. It’s better to ask for help on a project or delegate a task to a team member then be late on an assignment. Leveraging your team for support is one of the easiest ways to boost your time management this time of year.

Jobs with the Most Demand in November

November 18, 2020/in Candidate Resources /by Matthew Bennett

Another month down, another group of jobs in high demand. Once again, LinkedIn revealed the jobs that are in the fastest-growing demand this month. Although some jobs from the previous month continue to top the list, we see a new job with outrageous demand. Here is a closer look at the jobs with the most demand in November.

COVID-19 impacts tax season

There are two things guaranteed in life, and one of them is taxes. According to LinkedIn’s job posting data, job openings for Tax Specialists skyrocketed 579%. That is no surprise, as this year’s tax filing deadline was pushed back again to October 15^th. Previously, the deadline was postponed from April to July, so we saw a similar spike this past summer. Taxes will be challenging for both companies and the American people, so Tax Specialists will be a hot commodity for months to come.

The holidays spur seasonal hiring

Retail positions remain in high demand as brick and mortar and online retailers ramp up their hiring efforts for the holidays. Retail Associates (+426%), Customer Representatives (+406%), and Merchandisers (+191%) were some of the jobs with the fastest-growing demand. This trend will likely continue into next month as holiday shopping picks up. With even more people relying on Ecommerce for their holiday shopping, there is a massive surge in Fulfillment Specialists (+184%) and Drivers (+155%).

Are more people traveling?

A new job cracked the top ten list: Automotive Technicians. In October, the demand for Automotive Techs jumped +177%, the eighth fastest-growing job in the month. This is likely due to more people traveling, a sign that people are feeling a little more optimistic about the pandemic. And while fewer people are commuting for traditional office jobs, food delivery companies experience a massive spike in business. Last month, Food Delivery Drivers were the sixth-most in-demand job. Thus, as more people utilize these services, vehicles will need maintenance. It will be interesting to watch this trend as more states impose stricter lockdown measures with rising coronavirus cases.

Need help sourcing for these roles?

So, these are the jobs with the fastest-growing demand in November. If you are searching for a new career path, consider exploring one of these roles. And if you are an employer that needs some assistance sourcing some talent for one of these positions (or any other role), reach out to us today. We work hard, we work together, and we work for you.

Wishing You A Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

December 22, 2019/in JSG /by Matthew Bennett

Our team at Johnson Service Group was feeling very festive this year. Check out some photos from our offices across the U.S. and Canada showing off their Christmas spirit. We also had several of our offices spend some time giving back to their local communities during this holiday season.

From all of us at Johnson Service Group, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We hope you all have a fun and safe holiday season.

JSG IT Team

Why This is the Best Time to Find a New Job

November 19, 2019/in Candidate Resources /by Matthew Bennett

What’s the best time of year to look for a new job? It’s kind of a loaded question, isn’t it? Various factors play into a successful job search – your industry, location, your experiences… The list goes on. However, this time of year is a fantastic time to look for a new opportunity! Yes, you heard that right. It may seem like a challenging time to nail down a new job opportunity at the end of the year, but this is a great time to explore new job prospects. Here are three reasons why this is the best time to find a new job.

It’s easier to schedule interviews

At this time of year, you’re probably taking some time off for the holidays. So, instead of awkwardly lying to your boss and calling in sick or making up a fake appointment to attend an interview, why not schedule one on your vacation? Most face-to-face interviews are only about an hour-long, and thus, doesn’t take a huge dent out of your holiday. However, if you take a half-day to sneak out of work for an interview, it will more than likely derail your productivity for an entire day.

Hiring managers are budgeting for the new year

Right now, hiring managers are finalizing their budgets for the new year. They are planning how to allocate their budget and how their team is going to grow. This is an excellent time for you to advance your career and get that much-needed raise. As a candidate, it’s a little easier to ask for the money you need to make a move as hiring managers are creating their budgets. If you try to get a job earlier in the year, their budget is likely set in stone, and it may be more challenging to get the money you are after. In other words, employers maybe a little bit more flexible with your salary requirements this time of year!

Time is on your side

Time is always of the essence in the hiring process. When interviewing for new opportunities, employers can’t afford to take their time making hiring decisions at this time of the year. With several holidays and lots of hiring managers/HR taking vacation time, employers have to move quickly to get candidates hired before the end of the year. If you’re looking for a new job and don’t want to be dragged around while employers make hiring decisions, this is a great time to kick off your job search!

Let JSG help find you your next opportunity

So, if you’re convinced that this is the best time to find a new job, let us help you make your next career move. We have hundreds of exciting job opportunities across the U.S. and Canada. Partner with a recruiter that is passionate about helping job seekers find great job opportunities. Contact us today!

The Christmas Spirit Felt Throughout JSG

December 19, 2018/in JSG /by Nicole Clements

Here are just some of our offices showing off their Christmas spirit! We wanted to say thank you to our Clients, Candidates, and staff for an amazing 2018. We can’t wait to see what 2019 brings us. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!