Hiring, like most other business activities, changes with the seasons. January usually ushers in a renewed enthusiasm for hiring to get a head start on the new budget spending. Fall tends to be busy as organizations want to lock in new hires before the winter holiday slowdown. Spring can be busy but often is not frantic.
Summertime is a more relaxed time of year. The weather is nice, the kids are out of school, and vacations are the main focus. Job seekers may take a break to enjoy family activities. Hiring managers and other decision makers are rotating in and out of the office.
Recruiting is a year-round job
While recruiters and talent acquisition specialists may also enjoy vacation time during the summer, recruiting is a year-round job and there are tasks and projects to move forward even in the more relaxed warm weather. It is possible to engage an exceptional hire while everyone else is at the beach!
Consider posting for jobs and collecting applications for a longer than usual period of time to allow vacationing job seekers time to respond. Extend the interview stage. This can work if you are diligent about communicating with applicants during the process and are flexible with appointments.
Invest in your people and yourself
Summer is also a great time to invest is professional development for yourself and your staff. Consider rotating staff into different job responsibilities while things are slower. They will be able to develop new skills and knowledge that will benefit the entire team.
Prepare for Fall Hiring
Spend some time following up with people you have connected with such as hiring managers, LinkedIn contacts or prospective candidates in your pipeline as well as potential boomerang employees and company alumni.
Speak with recent hires in your organization to see if they have anyone they would recommend for an open position.
Look over your job ads to see where improvements can be made. Share some of your planned correspondence with candidates to get some honest feedback on how they read, then edit accordingly.
Check up on your job ad distribution channels. If there are underperforming areas, look for better opportunities. If you aren’t getting the types of candidates you need, see if there are other talent pools that you haven’t considered.
Overhaul the candidate experience while time permits. Identify where applicants are abandoning the application process and investigate the reasons for this. Review your communications methods and schedule to determine a better way to keep candidates up-to-date.
Summer can be a time to break out of business as usual, replenish the pipeline and tap into new talent pools. It’s also the time to correct the issues that are detrimental to effective hiring and onboarding.
With a little planning and determination, you can take your vacation and be ready to hit the ground running when the vacation season winds down.
