Is There an Ideal Time to Hire?

Sages from the Hiring Arena tell us that the most popular times to hire new staff are:

• At the beginning of the Fiscal Year – After budgets have been approved, and
• Early September – After the Summer Doldrums have passed.

During these times, more organizations are feverishly scouring the pool of potential job candidates to fulfill their hiring needs.

Historically, there are two times of the year the “NO ONE” hires:

• During the Heat of Summer, when people are away on vacation, and
• During the Year End Holidays, when the hiring staff is traditionally not around.

I do not know about you, but I find the best time to purchase a commodity that is in limited supply (Like Hiring Quality Staff) is when there is minimal competition from others who are encroaching upon my process to acquire the same commodity. – Remember: “The Early Bird Gets the Worm”.

When hiring staff, I want to make rational hiring decisions that are devoid of the counterproductive exterior forces that are expediting my pragmatic process of hiring the candidate that fulfills our immediate and longer-term strategic needs, as well as matches our organization’s operating culture.

I have found the best way to hire ideal candidates and avoid the counterproductive market pressure to expedite the hiring process and “Settle” for a less-than-desirable candidate.?

You will also notice that the above-described “Quiet Periods”, when organizations traditionally do not hire, are immediately before the traditional hiring periods.?

Prudent hiring organizations use these quiet portions of their business calendars to focus on Sourcing, Interviewing, Evaluating, and Extending Offers for Employment to desirable Candidates.?

The Summer and Year-End Holidays allow candidates to be more flexible in scheduling time away from their current employer. These periods are also when hiring organizations' Interviewing Teams have fewer work-related activities that will interfere with the hiring process.?

For these reasons, the Quiet Times of the Year, when business schedules are more flexible and there is an expressed advantage over the competitors who are not hiring at this time of year are The Best Times to hire staff. ?

Ernie Russom is the Executive Director of the Retained and Dedicated Executive Search Firm The Westview Associates. Enhancing the ROI of the hiring process through a proprietary methodology that provides longer-tenured and more productive employees.