James Reed: Usual January job hunting surge delayed by WFH
The first Monday of the working year has long been the busiest day for job searches, but that’s slowly changing, writes James Reed, chairman and CEO of Reed
Divorce lawyers, gyms and recruiters all have busy Januaries. In the recruitment world, the first working Monday of the year is traditionally known as ‘Massive Monday’ – the busiest day of the year for job searches and applications.
Professionals would reflect on their careers and priorities following the Christmas break, with many resolving to make a change.
Our slogan at Reed.co.uk is ‘Love Mondays’, but having worked with millions of jobseekers over the last four decades, I’m only too aware that not everyone does. Our purpose is to help jobseekers move away from Sunday night dread and find a job that brings joy and passion to the start of their working week.
However, our latest analysis of Reed data (we deal with 30m applications a year) has revealed an interesting shift. In recent years, Massive Monday has moved back later and later, and now falls today, on the fourth Monday of January.
This suggests that changing working patterns – particularly the rise of hybrid and flexible working – are influencing when people decide to make a career move.
With many employees now easing back into work rather than returning full-time to the office in early January, the ‘back to reality’ moment is taking longer to set in. People are taking that bit longer to reassess their roles, long-term goals and work-life balance before searching for a new job.
In my experience, it’s never too late to pivot and learn new skills. Many of the courses offered by Reed are very modestly priced and some are free.
Despite gloom over the state of the jobs market over the last 12 months and the march of AI, many sectors, ranging from education to cyber security, are holding up well. This Massive Monday, there are many opportunities out there for those determined to grab them.
Recruitment advice for the Treasury
I was taken aback to see briefing from the Treasury suggesting that ministers and officials had been ‘blindsided’ by the impact of their own policy fiasco on business rates. If that really was the case, perhaps they need a good recruiter and a change of team? Many employers are now paying more in rates than they are in rent. It is concerning that there doesn’t appear to be anyone around the Cabinet table who has started or built a business or has much understanding of how they work.
Employers can help tackle health crisis
With 2.8m working age people now economically inactive due to ill health, the cost to UK businesses as well as government is rising fast. Yet only 21 per cent of small- and medium-sized enterprises provide health and wellbeing training for line managers.
To address this gap, Reed Learning is working with the Department for Work and Pensions and International Workplace to deliver this training. The six‑hour qualification gives managers the practical skills to support employee health, intervene early and build more resilient teams. It’s also free, so I encourage line managers to sign up here: keepbritainworking.internationalworkplace.com
Hamnet film proved me wrong
After I read Maggie O’Farrell’s book Hamnet, I was very disappointed with the play, which I felt didn’t capture the true spirit of Shakespeare’s wife Agnes. So it was with some trepidation that I saw the film version starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal. I needn’t have worried. Buckley is as mesmerising as the reviews say, and it’s no surprise that she is favourite for the Oscar. I thought it was one of the most brilliant performances I have ever seen, and by the end there wasn’t a dry eye in the Notting Hill Gate cinema.
Thank you
I’m working to respond to everyone who wrote so kindly following the death of my father Sir Alec Reed last month. His life was featured on BBC Radio 4’s Last Word and BBC Radio 5’s Wake Up to Money. So many people responded online and I’d like to thank everyone for their thoughts and words.
We miss him very much, but his legacy lives on in Reed and Big Give, which has grown to become the UK’s biggest charity fundraising campaign and raised £57.4m in the week immediately following my father’s death.
James Reed is the chairman and CEO of Reed