Stop Hiding In December. The Jobs Are Right There | Kevin Cameron

[00:00:00] Hello, hello. You're tuning into the Careering with Cameron Podcast, your safe place to ask all the dumb questions about finding a job. Hey, everybody. Welcome back. It's Kevin Cameron, and I am here with Careering with Cameron. We have an episode today that I feel is going to be timely and going to help you quite a bit as we're heading into the holiday season.

[00:00:25] So coming up on Thanksgiving and then obviously the holidays after tends to be a pretty stressful time for people who are considering a job change in the midst of a job change, possibly starting their first position ever and beginning that process.

[00:00:43] So this is a session, a show that I've set up really to help you with all the conversations that can come along as you're going through your holidays to maybe be a little less stressful and also to make sure that you have the right answers and the right questions as you're going through that holiday season.

[00:01:08] So, you know, let's kind of jump right in here. It's just going to be me. So lucky you, audience. Just me today. But I want to kind of walk through a few things that tend to kind of happen, right? So Thanksgiving, obviously, is supposed to be about gratitude, good food, catching your breath.

[00:01:29] But if you're currently unemployed, actively hunting for a new role or heading home from college for the long weekend, graduation's looming. Thanksgiving dinner can feel less like a feast and more like a live performance, right? Like you're up on stage at this point. So let's just kind of lay this scene out. You pass the stuffing and somebody says,

[00:01:59] Hey, what's next for you? Any bites on the job hunt? Or senior already? Did you lock down a postgrad job yet? Those are things that can kind of screech things to a halt and not necessarily just a knife scratching across a plate. These are things that can really kind of put you into a position of no longer having a community or a group meal,

[00:02:28] but having a boxing match with maybe one or two or the whole table. So suddenly the table goes quiet. Eyes are turning to you. Your heart spikes. You're faced with two bad options. Deliver a 10-minute dialogue, which turns into a defensive lecture on interest rates, the labor market, maybe shrug, look down at your plate, and say, I don't know. Things are slow.

[00:02:56] Welcome to this special Thanksgiving edition, the Unstuck Framework, brought to you by Talent Connect. I'm your host. Some of you may know. Some of you may not. Now, Careering with Cameron is the podcast that I'm part of. I began about a year ago. Talent Connect is the firm that I am also leading. Talent Connect is a firm that's focused on coaching.

[00:03:23] And so this is lifted directly from Talent Connect as the firm behind the coaching practice that we have. And wanted to share some of the nuggets that we have in working with people to help them through this. So, you know, Thanksgiving marks the official kickoff to the holiday corridor. We're showing you how to own Thanksgiving today. How to walk into a long weekend, not dreading the dinner table, not dreading those conversations,

[00:03:52] but let's use it as a launch pad for your career. We're going to give you the exact language to handle inquisitive family, a dedicated playbook for college students and recent grads, navigating internship and post-grad panic, and the real truth about why the four weeks between Thanksgiving and late December are an underestimated advantage in hiring. I say this every single year.

[00:04:22] It is so easy to say, you know what, Thanksgiving to Christmas, the end of December, those are going to be times where people are really busy. It's holidays. Not much is going to happen in terms of hiring. I'm probably not going to get an offer during that timeframe. You might be right, but you're going to get a whole lot of interest in terms of people who are willing to have a conversation with you. And if you've listened to any other podcasts that we've done,

[00:04:52] we have said multiple times, the position that's not posted in many cases is a better position for you. Almost every single networking activity you can go to around the holiday time will be chock full of upcoming jobs that are not posted. Please do not go and hide. No hibernating. Not yet. All right. So let's jump back into this.

[00:05:22] Let's kick off with Thanksgiving dinner table anchor. So I thought maybe it would help if we break down, why does this Thanksgiving thing feel so stressful? It's so high stakes when we get into thinking about the conversations, thinking about all the dynamics at that table. First, family dynamics are weird, right? Who thinks that my family is super normal and everything is going to be great. It's going to be so smooth. The people around the table still remember you when you were 12.

[00:05:52] Even if you're a VP or senior manager, the moment you sit down with parents, aunts, uncles, your brain reverts to being a kid and needing some form of approval. Second, most relatives don't actually understand what you do. If your title is staff growth product lead or enterprise solution architect, or what if it has something with AI in it? Now they're super excited to hear from you, but they have no idea what you're talking about.

[00:06:20] Your grandmother hears words like works on computers when they ask about your job search. They aren't grilling you. They genuinely don't know what else to say. They want to talk to you. They want to understand what it's like to be you. And honestly, maybe they still want to feel a little bit like, I remember what it's like to be at that age. And while it isn't as much fun when you're going through it, it's sort of romantic to think back to it.

[00:06:52] When you feel put on the spot, defensive rambling kills the room. You don't want to talk about how broken the applicant tracking systems are while someone's carving turkey. Talent Connect, what we typically do to help people is we use the Thanksgiving anchor. It leans into the spirit of the holiday. Gratitude, clarity, and curiosity.

[00:07:20] Here's your three-beat response. The gratitude pivot. Express appreciation for having time to be intentional. Second one, high-level target. Give them one clear, jargon-free problem that you solve. And last, the third one, the family handoff. Toss the conversation right back to their life or history. Here's an example of how it sounds.

[00:07:51] Honestly, I'm really grateful to have the space right now to deliberate. After five years in client management, I'm targeting mid-sized regional companies where I can streamline customer onboarding. It's given me time to focus on quality over just jumping at the first open door. But Uncle Kevin, how did that kitchen remodel end up finishing out?

[00:08:21] Now, that's an example. I realize you're probably not going to use the exact same words in that conversation. And I really hope you don't. Because if they're listening to the same podcast, and let's face it, everybody listens to this podcast, so likely they're also listening to the podcast. They're going to go, oh, I know what you're doing. So make your own phraseology with that. But the point is, make it something simple where you can rattle it off

[00:08:49] and share some information with them. But don't make it so in-depth that they're engaged in trying to understand and asking a whole bunch of follow-up questions. You should not be solving an algorithm at Thanksgiving. That does not sound like fun unless you are a family of mathematicians and hanging over the table as an abacus. So let's stick with simple. Let's be happy that you were included. Somebody asked you how things are going. That's wonderful.

[00:09:18] And then let's go to the kitchen and find out how that project is going in terms of the remodel. So what does that achieve for you? What are those three pieces achieve for you? A, there's no victim here. You don't feel like you're a victim. You frame this as an intentional pause. It's not a rejection. There's no jargon involved in this conversation really at all.

[00:09:47] Everybody understands that you're helping customers get onboarded. They get that. It makes sense. It's relatively simple. Most people are involved in being a customer at some point or finding customers at some point. And then you immediately shifted the spotlight away from you and your resume and into Uncle Kevin's cabinetry, which is probably not that great. Nobody wants tension over Thanksgiving dinner. Hand them the microphone. Let them talk. Keep your peace.

[00:10:19] Now, let's go to our friends who are in college. Right? This is typically the one that is more challenging because usually if you are in college, family can't wait to hear about how great college is because let's face it, they're working and they may or may not like their job. Chances are about 72% to 73% they hate their job.

[00:10:48] So this is their one shining moment to hear from somebody who's working who might actually be able to take a degree and find a job where they're not miserable. You are literally their shining star. So keep that in mind. This isn't necessarily them trying to find out what you're doing wrong. It's them trying to live somewhat vicariously through you. So our college juniors, seniors, recent grads,

[00:11:17] you're packing up your laundry and heading home for Thanksgiving break. Right? For college students, Thanksgiving is often one of the hardest weekends of the fall semester. Midterms just wrapped up. Finals are breathing down your neck. Group chats are flooded with peers claiming that they've already accepted huge signing bonuses and finance, consulting, or big tech. And you sit down at dinner and an older relative says, well, when I was your age,

[00:11:46] I had a job lined up by October of senior year. What's taking so long? Okay. So that example, maybe they're not trying to live vicariously through you, but in some cases they are. So I would say in that example, they're probably a pretty specialized background and therefore they landed something pretty early on. And they didn't say that they loved the job. So keep that in mind. So let's dismantle that right now.

[00:12:17] Recruiting today is divided into two radically different worlds. The fall cohort, right? So this is large enterprises, massive banks, global consulting giants, fortune 50 corporate rotational programs, higher in September and October. That represents a small slice of the overall economy. The spring just-in-time wave, we will call it,

[00:12:46] the vast majority of employers growing mid-market companies, boutique agencies, nonprofits, healthcare systems, design studios, and regional tech do not hire nine months in advance. Their headcount budgets aren't even approved until January 1st. They hire in February, March, and April for May start dates because they hire for immediate

[00:13:16] operational need. They have no idea what's going to be approved or even in some cases what they're going to need in September and October. So that's just crazy talk to think that everybody has a job in November. If you don't have an offer Thanksgiving Day, you have not failed. You're simply waiting out the market segment where most real things happen. Feeling better?

[00:13:45] Good. Here's your script. Most of the fields I'm aiming for, especially creative agencies and tech startups, operate in a spring hiring cycle rather than fall. My plan over winter break is to finalize my portfolio, reach out to alumni for informational chats, and be first in line when Q1 budget seats open in February. Three things I want you to notice in that quick paragraph.

[00:14:16] One, the jargon was not so jargony. That's a pretty easy little paragraph to rip off and be able to use without having it sound like somebody gave it to you. Two, you just educated the older generation on how hiring actually works today without telling them they're the older generation. I did not hear boomer once in there. Two, you showed that you aren't lounging around, you have an execution timeline,

[00:14:46] and three, you set up an opening to ask for connections. By the way, if you know anybody working in that space, I'd love to take them for a quick 15-minute phone chat during break. So, don't let somebody's comparisons ruin your break. Eat dinner, eat the pie, enjoy your friends. Recognize that the real spring hiring season is ahead of you.

[00:15:18] Also, keep in mind, one truly wonderful gift that you have is usually people who are asking why things are taking so long at some point have had a career and should have people who can help you to network to opportunities. The way to get them to stop and shine the light back on them is exactly what I just highlighted, which is,

[00:15:48] oh, that's wonderful. I'm so glad you brought it up. Would you know anybody who's in this field? Because I would love to talk to them and just understand what it's like to work in that space. Now, their seat's the one that's warm. So, use that to your advantage if you need to, if you're feeling like there's a bit of a push or a barb in their conversation. I'm not encouraging you to have a war with mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving. I'm just saying that if somebody,

[00:16:18] if you feel as though somebody is really kind of pushing you into a corner in terms of you're not doing enough, the way to fix that is to give them a job so that they can do more. So, here's the last piece. Bear with me because this is my soapbox every year. There's a really nice window between Thanksgiving and New Year's. It is a sweet spot for connecting, for activity, and frankly, for getting ahead in your job search

[00:16:47] regardless of what that job search is. No matter what the timing, what your experience level, it doesn't matter. A lot of folks will assume as I started off this show that the entire work world hibernates the Friday after Thanksgiving until January 2nd. False. The only day that I think they might hibernate a little bit would maybe be Cyber Monday, but frankly, that's really not even as much of a thing

[00:17:17] as it used to be. So, I would tell you that when Thanksgiving is over, networking and conversations pick up. They don't die down. I didn't say job offers. I said networking and conversations pick up. So, while the general applicant pool stops applying and kind of checks out, executive teams and team dynamics shift dramatically

[00:17:46] in December. The whole use it or lose it requisition component, if you haven't heard about this, I'm sure you will. I have been on multiple sides of the desk in my career, on the HR side and various other places, consulting and obviously ownership. I don't know that the use it or lose it piece is really as profound as it's pronounced to be, but there is a thought process

[00:18:16] that if department heads don't utilize the allocated headcount that they have been given for the year, they won't get that headcount to fill the following year. Maybe. I'm really not that worried about that. Do people think that they're going to lose the headcount? Yes. Does that play into your favor? Absolutely. Do they usually lose the headcount? Not so much, but it is

[00:18:46] something to keep in mind. Second, you may not be able to physically start a job between Thanksgiving and the end of the year, mostly because most companies don't want to hire you to have you be on holiday for multiple weeks while they're paying you when you really have not been able to contribute at all to the job, and they're going to have to probably retrain you when you come back

[00:19:16] because you'll have been there for like maybe a whopping week and have zero onboarding really back and forth, so it just makes more sense to have you start in January, which is fine. But there's another piece to this that I find is very true, and that is there's a whole lot of holiday goodwill and a whole lot of open calendars. People are coming and going because they're going to holiday events. Their calendars are pretty loose because there are tons of holiday events that people are

[00:19:45] invited to, whether they're vendor-driven, whether they're peer-driven, whether they're their own organization having holiday events, there are lots and lots of openings in their calendars and they are more than happy to put coffee meetings into those slots because A, it gets them out of the office where they can also holiday shop on the way around, and B, it gets them out to go and meet people on the way around. And C, it feels pretty good to sit and have a conversation with somebody who you

[00:20:15] may be able to help that might help them through the rest of the year. So, there's a lot of good stuff that can happen here. Don't be shy. Make sure that you're reaching out to people to ask for help. And not necessarily phrasing it as, hey, I need help. Phrasing it as, would love to catch up with you. Do you have any availability? You know, here's what I'm thinking.

[00:20:47] So, the answer to those first two pieces. So, one is the head count. Will that go away? Maybe, maybe not. But they're probably going to be nervous that it's going to go away. So, they're going to want a short list of people. So, yes, they are networking. Yes, they are talking to people that they can put on a post-it and have on their desk or put on a note in their phone and have ready to go of people they'd like to hire. Second, you've got people who are actively having conversations and out of the office willing to meet you for coffee or lunch. Lastly,

[00:21:17] there's this January queue that if you wait until January 6th to reach out, I promise you, pretty much every conversation I have with somebody who's just starting coaching with me, I hear that they are applying to positions and those positions have roughly a minimum of 200 applicants already in them. Now, think about the fact that there are a lot of people

[00:21:47] who may not have caught this podcast, which is a shame for them, and also people who just don't believe it. They're like, I'm going to take off from Thanksgiving to the end of the year. I'm not going to do anything. I'm going to enjoy my holidays. That's what I'm going to do. And I'm going to apply like crazy on January 6th. And what happens is you are now one of the three bazillion resumes that goes in and may or may not ever actually be looked at because the overload is so tremendous that nobody can possibly reveal his resumes. Don't do that.

[00:22:17] Get your resume in beforehand, get this conversation started, be ahead of that group, be ahead of that lump going through the system. So there's also a large group of people who sat down New Year's Eve and said, I really hate my job. I can't believe I have to go back there next week. This is terrible. I had such a nice break. I really enjoyed myself. Now I have to go back and I just can't believe I have to go back. This is awful. This is so awful. I'm going to find a

[00:22:47] new job. And all of a sudden now, they're in Claude or they're in Gemini or they're in whatever they're using and they're retrofitting a resume to fit these jobs and they're spraying a resume out across a bunch of jobs. They have a job, but they're spraying a resume because they just don't want to go to work the first day or any day for that matter, probably after that. Because they have decided now that this is not their job. So you now have that group of people that are also in here. So there's a lot of people, first week in January,

[00:23:17] spraying resumes. Don't be part of the group. So make sure that you use the time leading up to Thanksgiving and leading up to the end of the year after Thanksgiving to make those really valuable connections and have those connections turn into longer conversations so that you are ahead of the pack. They can make the move to have you hired. While all these folks are sending their resumes in and there's a big pile of resumes on somebody's desk or somebody's inbox,

[00:23:48] the decision is already made. People can send their resume all they want, but the decision is already made. So have that squared away and have it in and ready to go. Another piece with this I'm circling back is my students who are more affected by spring hiring. You can still reach out to companies you'd be interested in and explain that you understand there's not an opportunity yet, but

[00:24:18] you are looking for an opportunity in the spring and you'd like to learn more about the organization and what this person does and how they got this job and how they got there. People like to talk about themselves. That's a really nice way to begin to build a relationship so that they are very comfortable that you're the right person to hire when it's time to hire. So that is almost like your time frame of Thanksgiving through the end of the year would be really Thanksgiving through March that you can have those types of

[00:24:48] conversations back and forth and stay in contact and let them see your personality as well and your follow-up more importantly. Okay, now one more important note here just to make sure we're clear. I'm not saying that the answer to your job search is to be at the dinner table at Thanksgiving sending resumes. Please don't do that. Take off Thursday, take off Friday, don't do anything, hang out with family, do whatever you want to do. The following

[00:25:17] week is when you start with your process of reaching out to people and making connections and having conversations. Not Thursday, Friday, let's not do that. Also, warm notes to colleagues wishing them a good holiday season, share an update on what you're exploring in the coming year, seeing what they're exploring in the coming year. Maybe they've had time to think about it, maybe they haven't, maybe they would love to sit down with you and do a little bit of a deep

[00:25:47] thought on that. Maybe meet them for coffee. Lots of times people would love to meet for coffee. It's very informal, it's not about a job, it's just meeting up to talk about the old days. So, those are easy pieces to include to get that network stoked a little bit and get things moving. All right, so, how do we sort of own the narrative of this holiday span that people

[00:26:16] many times forget about and I will add when they do that and they're now into this bucket where they're trying to differentiate between a whole lot of people in early January. They're also climbing up a staircase because they haven't done a whole lot in terms of work over the last few months to weeks and so they're also sort of retraining for a marathon and they're exhausted.

[00:26:46] So, the hardest part of the holidays when you're looking for work is not the job market, it's just the mental noise. When you spend a long weekend surrounded by friends and family who seem stable and settled, it's easy to feel like you're falling behind. Like you're taking every rejection personally, you're losing sight of your track record. This is essentially where I want you to remember a few things that we

[00:27:16] help people with when we're coaching them and I want you to know them so that it helps you through the holidays. Define what your core values are. What are you really looking for? What do you want the organization to look like? What do you want the organization to be focused on? Right? Next, master the spring surge to our students. Make sure that you have already assembled a targeted employer list. Think about

[00:27:45] those companies that might be interesting for you based on what you are interested and excited about and also what you're not excited about. Make sure that you're controlling the narrative. Make sure that you're ready for those conversations at Thanksgiving. We threw out a couple different things to help you walk through the you got anything lined up yet conversations so that you can comfortably handle them. Make sure

[00:28:15] that you identify that the people around you hopefully are more than likely interested in helping you. And while you may want to do it yourself, most people do, there's also some value because you don't know who's sitting next to you. As I said earlier, most family members don't necessarily know what family members do to a substantial amount of depth. have. So I think that having the conversation around what you're looking

[00:28:45] for and the types of people you'd like to talk to is actually not a bad thing to do. That gives them a project and it gets them off of you. That's a really good way to steer that conversation away from you. And that goes for both our students and folks who are considering a change in job and or career. Lastly,

[00:29:15] there is absolutely no reason to apologize for where you are in your career journey. Every significant transition starts with a pause. And if it doesn't, and I know this, trust me, I know this, if there is no pause, many times there will be, and it's not a planned one. Take the pause, figure out what's next, make a plan, and then start to work your plan. Okay, so here's

[00:29:45] your assignment. This is for Thanksgiving. Get rid of the job boards on Thursday. Get away from your inbox, spend time with the people who you love, people you want to be around for Thanksgiving. We're not worried about what's on LinkedIn. I'm not going to say, like, don't go on social media, but the job piece Thursday and Friday, you can let that go. When somebody asks about your career, give them your Thanksgiving anchor. Up above,

[00:30:15] we went through two of those. Make sure you pivot it back to them, and make sure also that you're staying engaged in other conversations. On Monday, when you're ready to turn that clarity into action, head over and begin to network with some of your targeted organizations that you're interested in. Consider people that you've worked with in the past.

[00:30:45] Consider folks that you know that's maybe their friends, maybe their colleagues, but reaching out to them to get an idea of what they've been up to. And make sure that you are being fair to yourself in this process. Make sure that you are still taking some time for you. I emphasized quite a bit that this is an important time for you facing job change or job start, as I will call it,

[00:31:15] through the holidays, and it absolutely is, and it can be a huge advantage to you, but it's also important that you have some time for your own mental health because it is a lot of change, it is a lot of learning, and it is a lot of stress. So you need to also make sure that there's time for you. Lastly, from all of us here at Talent Connect, warm, restful, and grounded Thanksgiving, we'll see you in the next episode.

[00:31:46] If you or somebody you know is facing a job change, about to start a new career, you have a student who will be sitting with you, and you want to figure out a way to support them somehow, but you're not sure what to say, hopefully this gives you some insight, maybe share this with them to put them at ease when they're coming home so that they're not sitting on a plane or a train or a car wondering what grueling questions they're going to get asked. This will help to guide them through that conversation and

[00:32:16] understand what you're asking. Lastly, please give us five stars if you enjoyed the show today, share it with somebody that you know, and please make sure that you go ahead and subscribe. We'll see you next time.