School’s Out for Summer…..Summertime Job Searches

Summer is here….finally! Hot rays of sunshine, busy baseball diamonds, crowded pools and waterparks, bike rides, and ice cream. Sounds and sights of summer.

For those with kids, the challenge becomes keeping the kiddos busy throughout the day in place of school. How many times do we hear “I’m bored already”. Plenty I’m sure. Change is tough but necessary and adjusting to new scheduling dynamics while maintaining a demanding work itinerary provides some challenges as well.

What does this all mean for job searches? Well, here are a few of the common replies for those thinking about making a job change but factoring in the summer season….

-“Companies don’t hire in summer.”

-“I know I’m not totally content in my job, but I’m just too busy this summer to look for something new.”

-“I have vacations planned and will need time away. A new company isn’t going to just grant me that time.”

-“I’m just going to take the summer off and enjoy myself. I’ll start looking again in the fall.”

There are many other reasons some turn the job search button to OFF in the summer. We’re here to dispel these summer search myths, keep the search button ON, and show why it’s as opportune of a time to look and make a change as any in the calendar year.

Companies do hire in the summer. Businesses run on fiscal year calendars, not school calendars. If a company’s fiscal year is a typical calendar year, they are closing in on mid year and preparing for a strong finish in the back end of the year. It’s an excellent time to assess staffing needs and find top talent. For other companies, new budgets may be rolling out July 1st, or July signals the beginning of Q4. Bottom line, summer sunshine does not power down business.

Time management. It’s something everyone encounters. Is there ever truly a perfect time to make a job change? Package this with pending vacations and time off considerations. People need time off for holidays, spring break, fall break, etc…Yes, of course summer time is considered a better time to take an extended time away because you don’t have to take children out of school. However, companies have become more flexible with time off and factoring that in when job transitions occur. Rarely have we seen a new company nix someone’s travel plans when changing jobs. In fact, its quite the opposite. Companies understand that transitions are tough. They want someone who is feeling fresh and revitalized in taking on a new job. Too often a prospective job candidate is just afraid to ask or divulge travel plans as they assume the answer is an automatic no. Quite the contrary, in providing everything up front, new companies are more than willing to accommodate.

Taking the summer off is great in theory. And we do understand that every situation is different and in some cases time away is needed when dealing with a major life adjustment. On the other hand, what if one is passing up amazing opportunities. And when explaining resume gaps, an honest answer that I took time off because it was summer may be looked at detrimentally. Leaders need to plan ahead. One solution is companies locking in hires early and then extending start dates to provide one with adequate “off time”.

Everyone’s situation in searching for jobs is unique. But many of the summer search myths are just that….myths. Your perfect opportunity may be just around the corner. Keep your eyes on the market and not just the calendar.

Our Employment Consultants at AllianceStaff are ready to help YOU with a summer search! Let us know what we can do for YOU!

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