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New Year, New Job – Top tips for finding a job in the new year

4 September 2026

New Year, New Job – Top tips for finding a job in the new year

​The start of a new year is always seen as an opportunity to start something new, and for making those all-important new year’s resolutions! For a lot of us, this time of year is a time to assess the previous year and look at the changes we want to make in the new year ahead. This opens up a lot of possibilities but also means that you might be wanting to change your job or career.

For candidates looking to move up the career ladder or even change direction, we’re happy to help. Job hunting doesn’t have to be as stressful as it’s often made out to be. We think it can actually be enjoyable and have listed some top tips for finding a new job in the new year!

Updating your LinkedIn and your CV

  • Make sure you update your LinkedIn Profile and CV, adding how you have developed in your career and as a professional since you landed your current role, and include all the new skills and responsibilities that you now have experience with.

  • Build your LinkedIn network by connecting with local recruitment agencies and recruitment or HR professionals within companies or industries you are interested in working in.

We have a guide to creating the perfect
LinkedIn profile
 and an
example CV template
 that you can download to help you.

Think about your career

  • You could utilise the new year and job search as the chance to try out a different direction in your career. Or choose a job that will provide you with the opportunity to learn a new skill.

  • If you’re thinking about taking your career in another direction, you could try a temporary job. This is a great way to “try out” a new job, function, industry, or skill before taking on the role permanently.

Learning and development

  • If learning is something that interests you, then look for companies that offer training and development programs for their employees. This could result in not only picking up new skills but you’re also getting paid for it.

Find the right culture fit

When searching for a new job, it’s important to present yourself professionally and show your potential new company why you’d make a great addition to the team. But don’t forget – they need to be the right fit for you too!

  • Make sure you look at the company’s culture, values, career progression opportunities, employee benefits, and enthusiasm of their employees.

Interview skills

Interviewing at any stage of your career can be quite a daunting experience and with no two interviews being the same, it can appear to be more of an art than a science.

  • To help you to prepare for the all-important interview stage, we have a
    downloadable guide
     that provides a framework for you to use to try and maximise your performance and impact. We also have a
    competency-based interview guide.

  • Our advice once you get to the interview stage is to concentrate on being yourself; you know they like you. Be confident and enthusiastic, and believe in yourself!

Use recruitment agencies

  • Decide what the next job looks like for you and let recruitment agencies know that you’re looking for your next opportunity. We can help you with the hunt of finding your next role – we have the expertise and the knowledge of which companies are hiring in your industry. And even if the companies are not actively looking, we aren’t afraid to send you their way – who would want to miss out on great talent?!

Ready to look for a new job? Whether you are eager to look now or at the start of 2023, we have an array of opportunities and advice available for you.

Start by taking a look at our current
vacancies here
 or
get in touch
 with a consultant.

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THE ONE GROUP

Where we're from,
and how we got here

Twenty years of specialist recruitment in the East – and a lot of small decisions that added up.

TOG started in Peterborough in 2004 with a small team and a simple idea: that recruitment is a people business, done best by specialists who stay in their sector long enough to know it properly.

More than two decades on, we've grown into four offices across the East of England and Home Counties. We recruit for finance leaders, HR directors, engineering managers, tech founders, scientists, and the commercial teams that keep businesses running day to day. Between us, we've built up over 258 years of collective recruitment experience across our specialist divisions, and a network of more than 150,000 candidates we've placed, coached, or come to know across two decades in the region.

The founding principle hasn't changed. Recruitment as it should be.

OUR STORY

Key events timeline

2004

Doors open in Peterborough.

Our first office launches with a team of six on Lynch Wood. Cambridge follows the same year, giving us two offices before our first anniversary.

2015

Northampton makes it three.

Our third office opens with a team of five, quickly growing to eleven consultants covering the wider Midlands region.

2017

Peterborough moves across the road.

The team has outgrown the founding office. We move into Arena House on Lynch Wood, big enough for a growing consultant base and the back-office team that supports the whole group.

2018

Cambridge moves too.

Our second office relocates to Cambourne Business Park, giving the growing Cambridge team the space it now needs.

2023

Four offices, three counties, one very good year.

The Hertfordshire & Essex office opens in Potters Bar, extending our footprint into the Home Counties.

In the same year, we're named Business of the Year in Northamptonshire, and Employer of the Year in both Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire at the regional SME Business Awards. Three counties, three panels.

TODAY

Still growing.

Four offices, more than 258 years of collective recruitment experience across our specialist divisions, and a network of over 150,000 candidates.

Same founding principle.

SPECIALISTS BY DESIGN

What we do

We're specialists, not generalists. Every consultant at TOG focuses on one sector and stays in it. Not because it's the only way to do recruitment, but because it's how you build the depth to spot the difference between a strong CV and a strong hire.

It's also why so many of our clients come back to us years, even decades, after a first placement.

01
Accountancy & Finance
→
 02
Human Resources
→
 03
Commercial Office
Administration, customer service, project management and more
→
 04
Technology
→
 05
Engineering & Manufacturing
→
 06
Scientific
→
 07
Sales, Marketing & Creative
→
 08
Executive Search
Across all of the above
→

Beyond the recruitment itself, we produce annual salary guides, regional market reports, and the practical resources our clients and candidates turn to when they want a clearer view of what's happening in their sector.

THE WAY WE WORK

How we work

Four principles show up in every conversation and every process.
01

Be curious.

We stay interested in the market we work in, and in the people who work in it.

02

Keep it human.

We remember your kids' names and know how you take your coffee. That's just how we work here.

03

Make a difference.

We're here to help people build careers they love and businesses they're proud of.

04

Enjoy the ride.

Recruitment is a career, but it should be fun too. If it isn't, we've done something wrong.

WHAT COMES NEXT?

Recruitment
as it should be.

Hire with TOG → Looking for a role →
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