We provide 5 compelling reasons to ramp up your search in November-December.

Job hunters, while your competition scales back their job searches, the holiday season is the time to ramp up yours. According to Execunet, 69 percent of recruiters report placing as many, or more, candidates in December as in any other month. In fact, at Imprimis Group, we place many new hires even in the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

There are several good reasons to believe you could be among this year’s batch of holiday new hires. Even if you aren’t hired before January, ramping up your search now will give you vital momentum heading into the New Year.

Fiscal year budgeting works to job candidates’ advantage. Companies operating on a fiscal year calendar often have “use it or lose it” budget dollars remaining in the current year to fill approved openings. Many companies have a strategic year-end hiring plan, and their managers are under pressure to be prepared for 2018, with people in place for key positions.

Some companies ramp up hiring before the year ends for tax purposes, and for these organizations, January is too late to take advantage of certain tax benefits. Similarly, many companies also hire during the holidays for some of their most business-critical positions, which start at the beginning of the year. Large organizations typically have a large influx of new workers in January who go through business orientations and onboarding together. These people start the hiring process in November-December.

Networking is easier during the holiday season. Holiday social and business gatherings are abundant at this time of year, and the mood is highly conducive to asking people about their work. Whether the setting is a holiday party hosted by a friend or by a professional association, people are more receptive at this time of year to being asked about what is going on in their companies. The best job leads often come from employees who can steer you to recruiters and hiring managers, so make the most of networking opportunities.

Don’t forget to utilize your own list of professional contacts and LinkedIn connections. Send emails and holiday cards, and consider an insert or an attachment mentioning what you have accomplished professionally in 2017. Let them know that you are interested in a specific type of employment opportunity heading into 2018, and would greatly appreciate any referrals to employees, hiring managers, and recruiters.

Hiring managers and recruiters may be easier to engage at this time. Many job candidates make the mistake of assuming that because people take more days off during the holidays, the personnel they need to reach will be unavailable. Though these contacts likely will have more days off at this time of year, they often have easier work schedules with fewer projects, meetings, and daily agenda items. Many are also in the holiday spirit, feeling charitable and gracious. This means they may be more receptive to your phone call than they would be from January to October.

Tis the season for celebrating. The “bad time of year” myth has many of your potential competitors on the job hunt sidelines, gorging on turkey and ham instead of feasting on employment opportunities. While December is the month with the least competition for jobs, January has the most competition. You don’t have to forego all of the holiday fun to take advantage of this fact. Just a few hours a week of job hunting activities in November-December could be worth twice the effort in January.

Multinational companies do not slow down now. Many companies have locations in DFW, but are based in countries where November-December is not the holiday season. Many of these companies hire aggressively at this time of year, believing that they are taking advantage of the U.S. holiday period and slow hiring at competing organizations (though they are often wrong in this assumption). If you are seeking work with an international organization, this is yet another compelling reason to keep your foot on the gas this holiday season.

Job hunting strategies always boil down to standing out and getting noticed. For this reason alone, it makes sense to push when your competition pulls. So get to work now and celebrate the holidays—and your new job—in January!