The Hired Guns Blog

Everyone knows that things slow down in the weeks before and after Christmas. People want to head to parties, decompress, and take a long winter’s nap after duking it out in Corporate America for a whole year.

But every year, in the week before July 4th, I start getting panicked calls from candidates whose active searches have gone into a holding pattern. As someone who’s been doing this for 11 years, this phenomenon is just like the vortex between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. What gives?

Year-end Fiscal. Most people think the end of year is right before the ball drops at Times Square. But for more and more companies, their ball drops at the end of June. That means that head count allocations, budgeting, and performance reviews are all happening NOW. Hiring managers’ attention will naturally be more focused on internal issues. Be patient.

Hiring Managers Are People Too. Lives, family obligations, vacation schedules—we’re talking about humans here. And if managers have been slogging it out for the first half of the year, you can bet that they’re going to take a break when things slow down and long weekends are an option again. Many companies these days give an extra day or two around July 4th. Respect this, and know that people who’ve been on vacation usually come back focused and energized and perhaps more receptive to your candidacy than before they left, frazzled. Just give them a day or two to get back in the swing of things. And if you get their vacation schedule ahead of time, you might be able to sneak in a break while they are gone too.

How to Combat the July Slowdown:

Do Your Research. This little slowdown could prove to be your big break. Those companies that have their year-end on June 30th will be the same ones likely to start hiring come July and August (just like companies whose year-end is December 31st tend to hire through March). When you’re researching companies, do a little extra digging to figure out when their fiscal year-ends happen. Then get your sights set on monitoring their job board and networking with employees to get intros to the right hiring managers. That way you’ll be there—front and center—when they need you.

Be Available. If you’re actively engaged in the interviewing process with a company, let the hiring managers and recruiters know when you’re free in the two weeks before and after any big holiday. You might think to yourself, can they be serious scheduling me three weeks from now? The answer is, yes they can. If you don’t get into people’s agendas before a holiday, you’re not likely to get scheduled for a couple of weeks after people get back to work (the first week back is always spent playing catch up, especially with internal matters). If you’re going away yourself, bring this up early.

Listen to internal/external recruiting folks. If they say “hang tight,” that means they’re stuck in a holding pattern that is starting to look as bad as JFK at rush hour. Trust me, recruiters win when they find great talent. They want you to wander off into vacation la-la land about as much as you want to be sending your resume into a black hole. Stay engaged but don’t pester.

Stay optimistic. This is one of those cases where timing really does affect job-hunt velocity. It’s definitely not your talent or expertise that’s holding you back. In this case, it’s Uncle Sam, fireworks, and cherry pie. Remember, we’re at a turn in the economy right now where companies have fewer employees, and they’re all doing more work. And those folks need a vacation too!

And while we’re on the subject, have a great 4th of July yourself.