If you think of your job search as a sales process, and you really should, one of the best times to try to make a sale is when the competition is the least intense.
The “Slack” Times That Are GREAT Times to Job Search
Most job seekers slack off during two times of the year. I’m not saying they’re slackers (although they might be), but I am saying that they are making wrong assumptions about what employers are doing during those 2 times.
As a consequence, they are costing themselves FABULOUS opportunities to connect with employers and probably extending their job search for longer, possibly MUCH longer, than it needs to be!
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1. “The Holidays”
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Usually, the number of job seekers who continue their efforts during November and December of every year drops dramatically, particularly between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The assumption job seekers are making is that employers are busy doing their holiday stuff.
So no one is hiring during the holidays, right?
WRONG!
Typically, employers continue to develop opportunities and decide they need to hire people, particularly as they work on their annual budgets and plan for the next year. Employers are ramping up for the new fiscal year, hoping to get everyone in place so they can have a really great new year. Yes, people are on vacation during this period, but they are also less likely to be traveling if they are NOT on vacation.
Can you say “OPPORTUNITY”?
2. Summertime
Another “sleepy” time in the job search calendar is Summer, particularly July and August. Again, as with the holidays, fewer job seekers, but NOT fewer jobs! Competition doesn’t drop as dramatically as it does during the holidays, but - typically – you run into less competition during Summer than you do during Q1 and Q2 (January through June) and early Autumn.
While your competition is at the beach or backpacking through the mountains or, if they can afford it, touring Italy or Hawaii or some other place a long way from home, they are NOT job hunting! So they are not competing with you for the jobs you want.
Take advantage of this opportunity because it won’t last long. Come September, they’ll be back to “reality,” and the competition will heat up again.
Timing of Every Year’s Toughest Job Market?
The same as it is every other year - the absolutely worst time to job hunt is in January - January of any year, and every year. So, now is a better time to job hunt than back in January (or looking ahead, next January).
Ask anyone who runs an employment-related Website. Traffic is typically the highest during January.
Highest job search traffic = maximum job competition. So, January is when you face the greatest competition in your job search!
It’s like everyone waits for the bowl games to be over, and then they jump into the job market, feet first! Maybe a job search is one of their New Year’s Resolutions. Maybe they hate the thought of another year in the same job, working for the same employer. Maybe it’s just because it’s Winter and there’s nothing better (?) to do.
Timing of This Year’s Easiest Job Market?
If you remember # 1, above, November and December are the months the fewest job seekers hit the job market.
So, of course – Lowest job search traffic = minimum job competition.
And, good luck with your job search, whenever you do it!
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Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg.
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Susan:
Thanks for so driving home a point I’ve made to job seekers for years about the summer (and holidays). Two other factors that job seekers need to consider. July 1 starts many new fiscal years and new positions may have been budgeted for. Also, the majority of voluntary resignations and retirements fall in either the summer or end of the year, creating more openings.
Tom Dezell, Author
Networking for the Novice, Nervous or Naive Job Seeker
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