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Believe it or not, you can pick up on a lot of tips for your own job search from Santa Claus! Let me paint a different picture of Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick. As you read this blog post, think about the kinds of traits and qualities Santa’s got that you could use in your own professional career.

After all, Santa’s got a job this holiday season, so why don’t you? Here are four lessons you can learn from Santa to improve your job seeking efforts:

He has created a need for his services – If Santa had a job description, what would it be? Santa delivers toys and joy to children and does it well. People need and want his services because he’s proven his value time and time again and shown that he can deliver better results than anyone else. Have you ever delivered great results in your professional career? You don’t need to travel across the world and deliver thousands of toys to prove your worth to employers. Think about the things you have done at previous jobs to demonstrate your professional value. Have you overcome challenges under deadlines or pressures? Have you ever gone above and beyond your tasks and responsibilities to be the better than your competitors? These are the kinds of things employers want to hear about!

He’s done his homework – Santa Claus does research and prepares well in advance for the big day. Before Christmas, he spends all year monitoring children and learning all of the facts. You can adopt this strategy in your own job seeking process! That’s because one of the key components to succeeding in any job search is research! Have you done your homework before you’ve started applying to jobs? Doing this research ahead of time can help at every stage of the job seeking process: from using the information to tailor your resume and cover letter to knowing about the company, job title and industry when you are asked to an interview later on down the line.

He knows how to network – Santa’s got connections all over the place and he knows how to use them. He’s not afraid to talk to people and is genuinely interested in what they have to say! I’ve taken several networking courses and classes that have all taught similar strategies. If you adopt this mindset, you too will find yourself surrounded by great networking opportunities all around you. Remember: every connection can lead to another connection, so take every professional introduction as a serious opportunity to grow your connections.

He’s branded himself – Santa. That’s really all you’ve got to say to get the picture. Sure, he goes by other names, too, but he’s created a personal brand that has given him a leg-up on the competition. What does that mean? He has built his expertise and is known for what he does. When people think of Christmas, they think of Santa as the #1 expert in the industry. What have you done to create your own personal brand within your industry?

Have you read our other holiday-related blog posts? Check them out here:

Tis the Season for Holiday Hiring

It’s That Time of the Year… What’s Your Professional Holiday Etiquette?