When do job hunters apply for jobs?

Blue Monday allegedly the most depressive day in the year that falls on the fourth Monday of January is a strong contender that everyone thinks of the day the most people will start searching or apply for a new job. But the statistical data is actually very different. By looking at tens of various recruitment sites, job boards and HR sites of employers, the actually data the most applications come to all the recruiters is the first working Friday of the year. This year 2011, it was the Friday January 7th.

So why are people most likely to send their job application on the first working Friday in the Year? Is it New Year’s Resolutions? Are we just fed up with our work, and decide to do something about it when we came back from the Christmas holidays?

Are employers hesitating to let people go before het Christmas, and break the news in the first week back to work – so people actually get fired on that first working Friday. There is no such jobs news to support it, but then again negative news on the jobs front rarely get to the press anyway.

As a job hunter, if you have sent your application on the first working Friday of the year – you might want to check with the recruiter, since your CV got there in the worst possible time for you – the largest possible amount of the competition of job hunters are applying for the same jobs you are.