Jobhop Jobhop's blog : Happy New Year, New You, New Job!

The start of a new year is a time for reflection, and while many of us start taking out gym memberships (I say us, definitely not me) personal development takes many forms.

If you're not thrilled with how your 2017 planned out, or even if it was alright but you think you could do more, 2018 could be your brand new chance for a good overhaul.

Stop telling yourself that just because it's January you need to change everything about yourself - but there is no denying that the new year can indeed be a chance for a 'new you'.

It's not all about going down a dress size or how often you clean your bathroom; chances are, your job is a good place to start. Some changes could be small, from negotiating a pay rise, setting yourself new goals or implemented the ideas that you had while slumped while fill of turkey and mince pies...

But for plenty of people, a new job is the perfect thing to really kick 2018 off in the right direction.

The fact of the matter is, when you think about it, spending all day at a job that you don't enjoy is always going to filter negatively on the rest of your life. The motivation just isn't there when you've been dealing with passive aggressive customers all day.

Maybe your work/life balance doesn't fit in with your family time. Maybe your boss is a nightmare. Maybe your current job is actually okay, but you've got all that you can out of it.

There is nothing like a change of career scenery to really give you a kick up the bum and feel like you're making progress. New problems to solve, new people to meet, blowing away the mental cobwebs and, hopefully, giving you that fresh start that you're looking for.

Each January, many of us start looking for a new job. And unlike most other New Years resolutions, it's a big change that you can make work. Here are some reasons for you to kick off your job hunt now...

Getting a new job is a resolution that you can actually keep

Many New Years resolutions fail because they demand us making huge changes to our lifestyles. Losing a stone or two, hitting the gym three times a week, quitting smoking, cutting down on alcohol - all of these push you to make sacrifices or painful choices every day, something which is hard to sustain,

Getting a new job, however, demands a small amount of commitment of time over a few weeks to get the ball rolling. You don't have to change anything about yourself or cut back on anything. In other words, it's the kind of resolution that everybody can make and keep.

You're mentally ready

January is the key time for making changes in our life. It's natural that at the end of the year, we think about what we've done, where we are and where we want to be. The first week back at work is also a great way to indicate whether you were just feeling slightly run down at the end of the year or whether you've really had enough. If you're bummed-out about being back, this might be a sign that you're ready to move on.

Companies are hiring

January is the best period for recruitment. Christmas isn't just a hectic time for consumers, it's also a key time financially for most businesses too. Many companies will be flat out in the countdown to Christmas, whilst others won't want to recruit at a time when the key staff will be unavailable to conduct interviews.

Once Christmas is over, however, and companies can see where they stand financially and begin to prepare for the new year, their thoughts will turn to filling in the gaps. As their staff begin to find new jobs, this will create opportunities and the job merry-go-round will speed up again.

You have time

In the run-up to Christmas, everyone is busy both socially and at work. January, however, offers some downtime and, if you're like me, a few more nights in as you cope with the cost of Christmas. From a career perspective, this gives you the most precious thing: time. Time to do your CV, time to research career options, and, with a quiet period at work, time to attend interviews.

So happy holidays and a Merry Christmas to you! If this blog post has struck a chord, why not use some of your time in front of the festive TV to ponder your working wish list - you will be mentally geared up for your January job hunt and ready to get the ball rolling.