Christmas time is a tough time for anyone to be out of work.  Not only emotionally, but truth is that not a lot of businesses do any hiring in mid-t0-late December.

But — for a short time window — help is here, and it’s free.  The outplacement firm of Challenger, Gray, and Christmas is providing free job search help for anyone who calls asking for it — even if already have a job but are looking to make a switch.  The time window for free advice is short: Only two days, this coming Wednesday and Thursday, December 26 & 27. 

Call between 9 - 5, Central Time

Callers will receive free professional job search advice if they call on either December 26 or 27 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. CST, each day.  Note the time zone - Central time!  (I’ve missed more than few teleconferences because I forgot about time differences.)  The number for free advice is 312-332-5790.

According to the news wires, the firm, which claims to be the nation’s first, oldest and premier outplacement consulting organization, has been offering free advice this time of year for 22 years, and they’ve helped over 40,000 advice-seekers.

As companies emerge out of the holidays, it’s likely that they’ll refocus on getting their openings filled. However, my advice is take the free advice to give yourself whatever extra edge you can.  A recent study by Manpower found that only 22 percent of US companies are planning on adding to their staff in 2008.  

Obviously, companies will need to replace people who retire or leave, so it’s not like only 22 percent of all companies will be hiring. But, since the percentage of companies intending to grow their staff is down from recent years, any advice that helps you stand out from the crowd will be all that more valuable.  

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Filed in Work, Workplace, Job Seeking, Interviewing, Coaching