Written by Alex Swain, Managing Director of Ultimate Asset
Every August, we hear the same two things. Candidates assume nobody is hiring, while businesses tell us they will start properly in September.
The problem is that September is often too late to start thinking about a September hire and not just because of the time it takes to find the right candidate.
People may be on holiday and diaries can be harder to coordinate, but hiring does not completely stop. Roles are still being discussed, budgets are being approved and candidates are quietly deciding whether they are ready for a move. By the time everyone returns in September, a lot of that activity is already underway.
September hiring should not begin in September
If a business plans to hire after the summer, August should be used to get the basics right. Why does the role exist? What does the person need to achieve? Which parts of the brief are genuinely essential, and which are simply preferences?
The salary, commission, equity and working arrangements should also be agreed before candidates enter the process. If the salary is still being debated, the interview panel has not agreed what good looks like and nobody knows who is making the final decision, the search is not ready to begin.
We regularly see good candidates lose interest, not because the opportunity itself is wrong, but because the process feels unfinished. Long gaps, changing expectations and mixed messages from different interviewers can quickly make a strong role appear far less attractive than it really is.
More candidates does not mean easier hiring
There is an assumption that a difficult job market should make recruitment easier for employers. There may be more people available than there were a couple of years ago, but that does not necessarily make specialist hiring any simpler.
In many cases, it just means businesses receive more applications to work through, while the number of people with the right experience, evidence of performance and genuine motivation remains relatively small. The strongest candidates will usually still have other options, especially in specialist markets where a proven track record is difficult to find.
They are also asking more questions before making a move. Why is the role open? How realistic are the expectations? Is the leadership team aligned? What happened to the previous person?
Businesses need to be able to answer those questions properly.
Candidates should not wait for the perfect advert
August can also be useful for anyone considering a move later in the year. Many roles are discussed and scoped before they are ever advertised, so waiting until September to update a CV or speak to the market can mean arriving after the first conversations have already happened.
Candidates should use this time to work out what they genuinely want from their next move. That could mean more responsibility, stronger leadership, a better product, a new market or the opportunity to build something. A higher salary may be part of it, but it is rarely the only consideration.
A CV should also show more than a list of responsibilities. Hiring managers want to understand what someone sold, built, improved or changed. They want evidence of commercial impact and a clear sense of the types of businesses, customers and markets that person understands.
A candidate should be able to explain what was different because they were there.
Good candidates are assessing the business too
An interview is not just an opportunity for a company to assess a candidate. The candidate is also deciding whether the business is credible, whether the expectations make sense and whether the move is worth the risk.
They may want to know what success looks like after six or twelve months, how targets have been set or how the wider team is performing. Those questions should not be mistaken for a lack of enthusiasm. Usually, they are a sign that someone is taking the opportunity seriously.
Good candidates carry out proper due diligence because they understand the consequences of making the wrong move. The businesses that handle this best are normally the ones that are open, consistent and clear about both the opportunity and the challenges.
Use August properly
August is not necessarily a dead month for recruitment. More often, it is a preparation month.
For candidates, it is a chance to get clear on what you want, update your CV and start having conversations before the market gets busier. For employers, it is the time to define the role, agree the package and make sure the interview process is actually ready.
September will almost certainly bring more activity, but whether that activity leads to the right result will often depend on what happens before it begins.
So, if you are thinking about your next move, drop us a note or pick up the phone and tell us what you are looking for. Equally, if you know you will need to hire after the summer, talk us through the role now, even if everything has not yet been fully agreed.
That gives us time to understand what you need, share an honest view of the market and start doing the groundwork before September arrives. No hard sell and no pressure to launch a search before you are ready. Just a proper conversation and, hopefully, a much stronger starting point when the time comes.
