How to Job Search During the Summer

Today's article was created in collaboration with AI. I still wrote a large portion of the article. I edited and checked everything before it got to you, too. ~?Andrew

Summer is nearly here in the northern hemisphere! Many people take time off for vacations, enjoy "Summer Fridays," and slow down a bit. Those realities can be a blow to your confidence as a job seeker since hiring often depends on people being in the workplace. The good news is that there are things you can do to get hired during the summer months or — at the very least — set yourself up for success in late August or early September.

Hiring Still Happens During the Summer Months

The most important thing to remember as a job seeker during the summer is that hiring is still happening even if the process moves at a slower pace. Few professionals —?including recruiters — get the entire summer off from work. So, people in the talent acquisition space are still looking for great candidates to fill open positions.?

One reason hiring sometimes slows down during the summer is due to people being on vacation. There are typically a handful of people involved in the hiring process — from the candidate to the hiring manager's manager. If one person is on vacation one week and another person is off the next, there may be a slowdown. The process is still moving forward but slower than if everyone was online ready to chat.

The second big reason your job search may feel like it's stalled during the summer is that some companies wrap up their fiscal years at the end of June. Those companies may hold off on hiring — especially during an uncertain economy — until they have a better picture of how their fiscal year will play out. Even then, companies will usually hire for necessary roles.

Find Summer Hot Spots in the Job Market

Slowdowns in hiring are not universal during the summer months. Hiring is often seasonal, meaning that industries see a boom in business during certain times of the year. Tourism, hospitality, construction, and retail usually need extra workers as people head on vacation, move forward with building projects and enjoy sales centered around summer holidays.

For instance, Teachndo's Sweta Regmi points out that the construction industry in Canada heats up in the summer, creating a ripple effect on related jobs in mortgages, loans, and underwriting. "The construction industry in Canada will be hot in summer as there is no snow," she wrote.

Similarly, HireDiverse's Shauna Cole mentioned the increased demand for seasonal workers in the tourism and hospitality sectors during the summer.

"These temporary positions can provide awesome experience and potentially lead to full-time opportunities in the future," she wrote.

Keep Networking and Building Relationships

The relaxed nature of summer provides an excellent platform for networking and building professional relationships. The season's casual atmosphere can ease people into a more open mindset, making it a perfect time for reconnection and interaction, wrote Coffee & Consult's Bernadette Pawlik.

"Reach out to people you haven't interacted with for a while," she wrote. "A simple DM saying: Happy summer! The family and I are planning on a trip to the Dells this year. It has been too long since we've connected. Do you and yours have any fun summer plans?"

Whether you're attending industry events or casual summer BBQs, you can also use these opportunities to network. The laid-back summer environment can facilitate more organic conversations and connections, potentially leading to job leads.?

Similarly, maintaining an active LinkedIn profile, as Ageless Careers' Colleen Paulson suggested, can enhance your visibility to recruiters who are on the hunt for top talent throughout the summer.

Work on Your Skills and Be Proactive During the Summer

You should remain proactive and resilient in your job search during the summer. Use this time to enhance your skills and professional value. Take online courses, attend workshops, or pursue certifications that demonstrate your commitment to professional growth, MJW Careers, LLC's Matt Warzel suggested.

"Keep searching for job openings, networking, and submitting applications to stay proactive," he wrote.

As mentioned above, hiring is still happening. Staying proactive in your job search while others slow down their hunt can give you a valuable opportunity to stand out, wrote Career Coach Jay Colan.

"Take advantage of many people saying nothing happens in the summer to get ahead of the pack. You definitely don’t want to put your search on hold until September when everybody ramps up," he added.

What I hope you take away from all of this is that you can still land a job or move ahead in your job search during the summer even if it seems challenging due to shifting industry dynamics and slower hiring processes. Remember that every season brings unique opportunities – the key is knowing how to seize them.

You have a personal brand whether you know it or not. Aliza Licht, who is the author of the new book On Brand, sat down with me to talk about using your brand to get ahead in your job search and career. She joined me on a recent episode of the #GetHired podcast to talk all about it. You can find a transcript of the conversation and listen to the episode by clicking here.

COMING UP:?

While research suggests that allowing employees to bring their whole selves to work is good for business, many employers try to fit their workers into nice little "professional boxes." Fortunately, there are steps you can take during the job search process to find out if the employer actually implements what they say about diversity, equity and inclusion. Rework Work's Stacey Gordon joined me on the latest episode of the #GetHired podcast to talk about those steps, including the hard-hitting questions you should ask during interviews. You can find a transcript of the conversation and listen to the episode by clicking here.

• Why is hiring so weird right now? (By Todd Dybas) A blend of head-butting factors led to a question about the economy's overall state: what is happening in this confusing time? The same question haunts the job hunt, Adrienne Matei writes for Insider. Matei notes a merge of unclear hiring practices, spending questions, and pervasive intertwining of business and AI produced a "deeply weird" job search environment. After job seekers wade through "ghost jobs" they run into AI dynamics which factor into resumes reading and recruiting. Return-to-work fluctuations and layoffs further complicate the oddity stew, leaving those looking for a job sloshing through a murky environment. Click here to see what people are saying about it.
• What would happen to jobs in a recession? (By Cate Chapman) Even a “mild” recession, such as the one that's widely forecast to hit later this year, would cost the country hundreds of thousands of jobs. Most Wall Street economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect gross domestic product to begin contracting in the third quarter; two consecutive quarters of contraction signal an official recession. According to a jobs calculator created by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, if those projections are correct, the economy is likely to lose 1.7 million jobs over the following 12 months or so, as the unemployment rate climbs above 4.2%. Click here to learn more.
• How do you bounce back after taking a pay cut? (By Rafael Garcia) It took Colleen Curtis nearly a decade to climb the ladder to become a VP at Yelp. She received substantial raises along the way, but she never felt the need to negotiate further. After taking on a new job at lower pay, promised pay adjustments never came. “Ultimately, that inner voice that kept saying, ‘you’re being taken advantage of’ got louder and louder and I couldn’t ignore it.”? Watch the latest episode of Catalyst from LinkedIn News to learn how this realization became a pivotal turning point in Curtis’s professional career, fueling a newfound sense of confidence and a redefinition of her own value. Click here to watch the episode.

We all carry biases. We are aware of some of those biases. Others? Not so much. Rework Work's Stacey Gordon, who joined me on the latest episode of my Get Hired podcast, has taught several LinkedIn Learning courses on diversity, equity and inclusion. You can find those by reading this post from Stacey by clicking here. Additionally, you can watch her LinkedIn Learning course on unconscious biases below or by clicking here.