August hires? Spot the difference
Mike Meyrick
Top CEO/C-Level | Board Executive Search Firm, Global Food and Ingredients Sector
August is the time when commuter trains are quiet and the roads are nothing like the snarled up, angry tarmac lanes they are most of the time. Most people are away on their summer vacation. For many, August can seem like a write off. But should it really be like this?
Why August is a great time to hire
With tech at our fingertips candidates are never very far away from their phones. No matter what they are doing over the summer break it’s often the time to reassess and think again about securing that dream job. In addition, people are often relaxed enough to consider an offer they don’t usually have time to read, let alone act upon. Recruiters take note!
Many people do take August as the ideal down time and an opportunity to reassess
However, if you look outside the obvious pool of talent you may find people who are just not dictated to by school holidays or the need for summer downtime. Developing a strategy that outfoxes the competition may werll give the hirer and advantage; especially when there’s a shortage of great qualities within certain sectors like Food and Drink, IT and the Care Industries.
As a recruiter I spend a long time looking for accurate matches for specific roles.
I know that a really attractive way to secure candidates is to produce a top quality brochure that really demonstrates just why you might be the first and last word when it comes to being the best place ever to work. We work very hard to create attractive assets that underscore the positives of a company.
Therefore summer is a great time to get eyeballs in front of a company’s promotional material.
With business much slower than normal and the bulk of days off happening then it’s just the right time to sip a cocktail perhaps and peruse a potential job move. You see? There is method in our madness.
Also when candidates don’t wait they are much more likely to snap up great jobs. After all, the perfect position may happen at any time of the year. Searching and recruiting is often an ‘always on’ project and leaving a job search until September might just be too late for both parties..
Also, the summer is just the right time to amend CV’s or revise personal statements.
With long nights and plenty of time to relax outside what better than to settle down outside and look through available vacancies, catch up with some research or work on a brand new promotional pack that shows off your skills and experience.
Think about it this way, if everyone else is away on vacation then this is an ideal opportunity to get ahead and spend some quality time looking beyond a basic job search parameter.
In the U.S for example hundreds of thousands of jobs were added to job boards in the first month of summer. If you hold off until September just think how far behind you might be. If you have vacancies you need filling for top level jobs then putting them out during the summer may be positive. Anyone that applies will demonstrate that they are super serious about getting a new position. It’s a thought.
Why is summer such a good time to hire?
With people away and fewer meetings in the diary have you ever considered summer is the optimal time for hiring? People have more time, an opportunity to take a breath and take stock. You might even find the best candidate has been trying to make themselves heard. Summer is the time to look again and show candidates that you are hiring as they too are likely to have more time to apply.
Use the quiet days of August to get ahead in a potential job hire or search
In addition, with a little more available time, it’s an opportunity to look outside trusted channels to find candidates. Also hiring managers may well have a few more windows available to allow them to conduct a wider range of interviews. Sometimes it’s stress that keeps us all thinking in exactly the same way. Take time to look at some non-traditional types of candidates and you might just find what you are looking for. With quite a few people putting their job searches on hold you may well find the truly motivated types that would jump at the chance of being interviewed for a role on offer.