DOES THE IT JOB MARKET IN CHRISTCHURCH NZ SLOW DOWN IN THE LEAD UP TO CHRISTMAS?

Pohutukawa, tramping Abel Tasman photo by Sunstone

It’s that time of the year when I put out my blog on December IT recruitment market conditions…

I often get asked what's the IT Job market like in the lead up to Christmas? Does it slow down? It must stop in December right? Ok it’s a little different this year as the market has been pretty flat but we’ve been surprisingly busy this year, as we know technology can never really stop. Some companies are growing, others are not - so you do have to ‘get on that next wave’ and find the companies that are expanding or at least looking for specialist IT skills that need to be replaced or for a project etc.

Since my return from the UK 14 years ago I've made offers to IT candidates in Christchurch the last week before Christmas EVERY year! In fact in 2022 I had 5 offers we were managing on Friday 23rd Dec….

Why is this?

Line Managers often have outstanding openings in their teams they desperately want to get sorted before they head off on summer holidays, at least getting the contract signed so they know that their new person is secured & will start in the new year! They don't have to start in December but they know the contract is signed and and they can merrily head off on their well deserved summer break, knowing on their return the new team member will be on-boarded in January or February, sometimes March.

There's also quite a bit of movement in the market around this quarter - it's spring heading into summer, people are out & about, bumping into old colleagues, having BBQs with friends, maybe not getting that bonus or promotion in November gets them a little itchy for that better opportunity so you see a few people swapping in and swapping out of IT jobs.

We also have some great candidates returning from the UK or overseas coming back for Christmas...summer is a nice time to return home and catch up with friends & family while soaking up the summer vibes and taking their time to find a new IT job and check out the NZ IT job market. They often plan to get something in the New Year but will inevitably start looking at the IT job market in November / December and if the right opportunity is there then BOOM it can happen all rather quickly and they will often start in January, like I did when I returned from the UK.

Yes it's a busy time - everybody wanting to get their IT projects delivered before the Christmas deadline and before everyone heads off for Christmas (most people take time off after Christmas 25th December and will return 11th or 18th January 2020) and some companies have a 2 week shut down. Other companies will close a few days before Christmas but I still find our IT clients, although busy will make an hour to interview a good potential new team member. In fact, it's like that all year round when working in an 'IT skill short market' you can't predict when a great IT candidate turns up and when they do you have to jump on them and be proactive to meet any good potential IT talent & get them on board!

If people don’t take their summer holiday in January, they will often do so in February (the best weather on average in NZ). Good IT recruiters / Line Managers & HR know that it can be hard to get all the key decision makers to make a hire around this period, it’s great if you can get that great IT candidate over the line before Christmas and before the Jan / Feb holiday season, thus a good hiring strategy to get hires nailed before Christmas.

Into January we also see IT candidates making that New Year's resolution, maybe doing a little 'Life Audit' and putting that into action by getting out on the IT job market so it can be a good time to find new IT candidates looking for a change in the New Year, as we know the IT industry just never stops….

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After Christmas we’re back in from Wednesday January 8th so feel to reach out then and have a happy, fun Christmas holiday break with family & friends when it arrives :-)

I’m Paul, lover of coffee, dogs, biking, surfing & skiing. Founder & Principal Consultant of Sunstone, an IT Recruitment & HR company specialising in recruiting IT roles within software, web, digital, mobile, blockchain, data, cloud infrastructure, security & networks in Christchurch & South Island of New Zealand.