A Seasonality to Hiring

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.  A time to be born and a time to die.  A time to plant and a time to harvest.  A time to kill and a time to heal.  A time to tear down and a time to build up..”

• Ecclesiastes 3

Companies need people when they need them…don’t they?  The answer is it depends on the time of year, and it also depends on the economy. Turns out there is a certain seasonality to hiring. The economy and unemployment numbers are the stronger driver, but the calendar year is at play also. It is important to be aware that hiring doesn’t happen equally throughout the year and factor this into your job search strategy. 

People will sometimes be laid off, given a severance package and then go into semi-retirement for a period of time.  I have heard some of these people talk about taking some time off to really unwind and recuperate, prior to looking for their next job.  I applaud the confidence and mental fortitude to shut things down for some time during an otherwise stressful situation.  You need to factor in the seasonality of hiring into this consideration.

The issue with this strategy is that you can’t time opportunity.  Not starting the job search right away means that you might miss out on a perfect opportunity while you are sitting on the back deck and relaxing.   You need to be aware of the time of year when you are taking time off and the state of the economy.  As an example, don’t start your job search in July or December.

July and August may be times that a company wants to hire someone, but they are very challenging times of the year to conduct hiring.  The people that are doing the hiring will often be taking various vacations throughout these two months.  So, it is almost impossible to organize multiple people in the office at the same time to have these face-to-face interviews.  These same vacationing individuals will also be slow and/or significantly delayed in reviewing resumes, doing virtual interviews or participating in group discussions on candidates.  It can also be a slower time in the business cycle for sales and bookings, so the energy and enthusiasm for a company to hire someone in this case might be muted.   

The other time of the calendar to be careful of is December.  This is the end of the fiscal year for most companies, and they will likely be cautious about adding cost to the business at this time.  It is also a time that many people will take one, two or 2+ weeks of vacation.   Coordinating hiring managers, human resources and other members of an interviewing committee will be challenging.  If you are interviewing in November, this may help accelerate an offer prior to the holidays or it may push the finalization of an offer into the new year.

So, there are challenging times to be active in the job search.  There are also good times to be hunting for the next role.  January through March is likely the best time during most years.  Budgets have just been approved and people are excited about the new year.  September and October are also good months to see solid activity on the hiring front.  People are back from their summer vacations and the pace of work in the office picks up as people work towards the end of the year.

The economy and the predictions of the economy will also play a role.  A company that is feeling confident about the future and seeing an uptick of business in their industry will be more comfortable hiring.  This is common sense, but you might want to do some reading in the business sections and industry articles to keep a pulse on things when contemplating a move.  You will want to know if the industry has good signs of activity before you would accept a job, but it will also help you understand if you will likely get a positive response from companies that you are targeting for a role.

Sometimes you have the choice on when you start the job search and sometimes you don’t.  The take-away here is to understand there are seasons to hiring.  Plan you efforts and manage your expectations accordingly.