One of the recruitment myths is that Employers don’t hire at this time of year

Employers say:
• We are reviewing our HR needs and won’t be hiring until into January.
• We are waiting to see who hands in their notice until before deciding on head count for next year.
• We don’t believe that we’ll be able to attract the right candidates at this time of year so we’ll hold our budget until next year.

Candidates say:
• Companies never hire this time of year
• I want to wait and see what opportunities come up in my company with people leaving in January
• It Christmas and I don’t have time to look for a new job.
• Its Christmas and I don’t want to look for a new job now.

The truth is:
• By this stage companies already know their forecasts and have set their hiring budgets for next year. It takes time to find the right candidate and so they are looking for candidates now and want them to start at the beginning of January.
• If there are people leaving the company in January they have already handed in their notice and employers know they need to fill those slots quickly.
• This period is generally a quieter work period for a lot of people so now is a time of the year where candidates do have time to look for a new position and hiring managers have more time to fit in interviews. Therefore hiring happens a little bit faster.
• As recruiters we can tell you that employers are hiring and that candidates are applying as we have a larger than average numbers of positions available and there has been no drop off in candidate applications.

Indeed you may not want to look for a new position at this time of year. We understand that. We are eating the mince pies too! We do however want to lift the recruitment freeze myth regarding this time of year. There are plenty of jobs out there. Those jobs do go quicker and for the savvy job seeker they can get that job a little easier as there is a little bit less competition from candidates waiting until January.

Our advice is keep your eyes on the market and don’t let any opportunity slip past.