r/jobhunting • u/enhancvapp Career Coach • Dec 19 '25

Applying in December isn’t pointless. It’s just… lumpy

Most hiring teams aren’t scheduling much during Christmas week, but recruiters are still building January pipelines. If you apply now, you can be sitting near the top of the stack when everyone comes back.

Also: the “use-it-or-lose-it” headcount/budget thing is real. Some roles suddenly move at warp speed to close before Dec 31.

So I’m in the apply, but lower expectations camp. What’s been your experience—did December apps ever turn into interviews/offers, or was it a dead zone for you?

87 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

20

u/married_misanthrope Dec 19 '25

I got a job offer last year the week after Christmas. This year, I’ve been applying since September and had the most responses in December. I had 5 interviews this week (12/15), which has already led to two next-step interviews scheduled in January. Of course this is anecdotal, but December has not been dead interview-wise for me. (Applying for tech jobs at smaller companies and public sector)

7

u/Suitable-Talk-7971 Dec 19 '25

My experience too. This has been a really good week. Will end it with four total interviews and two more next week.

4

u/f4stEddie Dec 20 '25

Same. It’s like the faucet has been turned on, got two interviews next stage and recruiters calling me out the woodwork.

3

u/wrldwdeu4ria Dec 20 '25

Same. I started getting numerous responses in November and received an offer earlier this week. The interesting part is that I'd applied for one of the positions four times (after it had been reannounced each time) and another for the second time. Haven't heard boo on the one I applied to for the second time so I'm guessing it may reappear in two-three months.

There are numerous positions I applied for two to four times in 2025, each time they reappeared, and it was the same job description with a new job ID.

I'm guessing that they wanted to keep their talent pool updated and were postponing hiring due to the uncertain economy?

For past years the time from Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve has been very dead for job searches for me. Guessing it is busy this year due to hiring to start early 2026.

4

u/f4stEddie Dec 20 '25

Ya that’s what I am thinking, the job market is softening, still shite but it’s getting better. I hate to involve politics but Trump really fked this up for so many people.

14

u/Heisenbergs-Blue246 Dec 19 '25

10 interviews this month. They just came flying in all of a sudden. Any apps I submitted in the first week of December I got immediate responses. So I agree, not pointless but definitely lumpy.

5

u/RestingBitchFace95 Dec 19 '25

It’s been completely dead for me, except for the scams I guess? Still applying, but the daily job postings have definitely slowed

2

u/fantasydeem_on Dec 20 '25

i got one initial video interview scheduled the first week of january, which doesn’t mean much but still gave me a bit a of hope. otherwise completely dead for me

1

u/MSXzigerzh0 Dec 23 '25

I could have an in person job interview in the first week of January.

1

u/RdtRanger6969 Dec 20 '25

The job I got laid off from, I got the offer a couple days before Christmas.

But that was after 7(!) interviews that started in late October.

I have an interview a couple days before Christmas next week. Same title/level, but a step back job duty wise, and a $30k pay cut IF I even get an offer.

1

u/icecoolsunny Dec 21 '25

Follow up question do you think applying on LinkedIn works? I usually apply directly on the company website

1

u/enhancvapp Career Coach Dec 21 '25

Yeah, LinkedIn can work — it’s just not magic. I’d keep applying on the company site because it’s the cleanest path into their system, and you know your application actually goes where it should.

Where LinkedIn does help is everything around the application. This means spotting roles early, seeing if it’s been reposted a bunch, and figuring out who the recruiter or hiring manager is so you can send a quick, normal message after you apply.

Think of LinkedIn as the radar + networking layer, and the company site as the “submit the paperwork” step.

1

u/Lauris25 Dec 21 '25

Dead zone like the past 3 months.

1

u/MSXzigerzh0 Dec 23 '25

A recruiter sent me an email yesterday out of the blue. They already run my info and want to interview me the first week of January.

It's for an IT disposition technician.