Seasons in Recruiting: When Is the Best Time to Hire IT Professionals?

IT recruiting doesn't apply to seasonal work. Recruiters don't depend on weather conditions or solar cycles, but still, in our profession, there are periods of decline (during this time there is the largest gap between supply and demand) and prosperity (balanced distribution of openings and replies).

In this article, we'll talk about the most halcyon and most stagnant periods in IT recruiting.

January-February

This period is considered to be not the most favourable in recruiting, especially in Russian-speaking countries. In the first half of January, people take a rest, contenting themselves with long weekends. Therefore they often slowly settle down to work after the holidays.

There is both a low demand for new employees and a reluctant response to emails among candidates.

In February, the situation is not much better. During this period many people feel fatigue and just want to "survive the winter", looking forward to the end of the last month of winter. Therefore, negotiations between the candidate and the potential employer are moving rather slowly.

March-May

Spring is a good time for recruiting. In March, not only snowdrops come out but also candidates gradually emerge from hibernation :)

At this time, specialists more actively consider new offers: there are more and more replies to emails, Recruiters conduct by an order more interviews than in the winter months.

The only difficulty in spring is the first half of May. Two public holidays at once, and, consequently, the next long weekend get off the rails, slowing down the selection process and, thus, slightly reducing the number of accepted offers.

Life Hack

Any experienced IT recruiter will tell you that May can be replete with offers if you do your best in April. Despite the fact that the long holidays slow down work in May, in April they, on the contrary, encourage candidates to consider new offers in order to start work immediately after a good rest.

June-August

In general, summer days are halcyon days in recruiting. During this period, we receive even more requests for filling tech roles and candidates are actively replying to offers while many of them are ready to change jobs.

The main difficulty of the period is the vacation season. It becomes more difficult to agree on interviews and the dates of candidates for work, to establish working processes with customers, to agree on offers. In addition, it's sometimes challenging a bit for the recruiter to set themselves up for work on a hot summer day :)

September-October

The golden time in recruiting. Refreshed and energetic after the vacation, candidates are well-affected towards new openings consideration, are often ready to job changing, willingly accept new offers.

Along with the increase in supply, there is active growth in demand: during precisely this time the greatest number of new clients come to us, wishing to fill their team with new specialists.

September and October are the best months for hiring new employees and looking for a new job: there a lot of new openings, multiple offers, a large stream of candidates and interviews. In short, it's the perfect time for workaholics like us :)

November-December

The last month of autumn and the first month of winter are seriously differ from the previous ones. This is the most difficult time in the world of IT recruiting. During this time there is the largest gap between supply and demand.

In an attempt to fill positions before the New Year, companies open a large number of new vacancies and begin, perhaps, one of the most active candidates' searches. In contrast to companies, many candidates are not prone to job changes before the New Year.

There are several reasons for this:

1

Desire to receive a long-awaited year-end bonus.
2

Responsibility to the current employer. It's difficult to let things fall where they may, knowing that it's not always easy for an employer to quickly find a replacement before the New Year.

Therefore, most candidates who agree to change jobs during the Pre-New Year period are likely to start working in the new company only in January, after the holidays.

How to Select IT Specialists During Difficult Times?

There is no universal recipe. Ideally, you should think in advance and start your search at least a month earlier (this way you'll "catch" the most favourable months).

If you don't have such a possibility, follow the golden rules of recruiting: give quick feedback on CVs and interviews, not include test assignments in the recruiting stages, motivate, offer good conditions and a fair salary, and, of course, contact Lucky Hunter :)

Our team successfully finds the best specialists for IT companies from all over the world at any time of the year. Please contact our agency. We will be glad to help :)