Summer: a great time to hire

Time to hire

For companies who recruit by themselves, the time to hire has never been longer. Vacancies have been seen lasting anywhere from three to nine months without a viable candidate being chosen.  

This timeframe only increases when summer arrives, as:

• Hiring managers and stakeholders go on annual leave
• Companies assume candidates pause their job hunts until September

Teams can be under resourced, over-worked and feel stretched to capacity as their ex-colleague has finished their notice and has left before a replacement arrives!

It also leaves great candidates lingering in the job market, waiting for an arbitrary time for hiring to restart.

Summer hiring

Once you realise that the majority of companies make this mistake, gaining a competitive advantage is simple.  

Hire during the summer.  

There are numerous benefits to this...

• Fewer companies are interacting with candidates during the summer months; your offer may be the only one a candidate has – making the hiring times faster
• You will have access to the best talent on the market and can hire and onboard them ready for Q4
• You will alleviate team stresses earlier, and reduce the likelihood of more employees resigning
• You won’t have to fight for candidates in September – a task that often leads to long negotiating periods and bidding against competitors

How to streamline your hiring processes this summer

To improve your company’s hiring process for the summer, here are some actionable steps:

1. Be clear and transparent in what you offer in your job adverts and during interviews

Showing you offer competitive salaries, creative packages, clarity on hybrid working and inclusive working practices can provide clarity for job seekers and make their decision to work for you easier and faster. Ways of doing this can be found in our Talent Trends report – download your copy here.

2. Be mindful of will vs skill

Companies often become indecisive when they can’t find a candidate that exhibits every skill on their checklist. This could be because it simply isn’t on their CV but it’s one they possess, or it’s something they haven’t developed yet. However, if a candidate possesses the majority of the skills you’re looking for and exhibits high growth potential – there’s a good chance they’re a great fit.  

3. Prepare your hiring process and necessary stakeholders

In general, your hiring process should be in place. The steps, number of interviews and candidate tasks should be agreed upon before a job advert is placed. Similarly, the stakeholders should be informed and ready to review candidates. This is especially important in the summer months when people take annual leave. 

George Wearden, Business Director, Michael Page comments:  

We often see processes delayed by hiring managers who are ‘out of office’ for significant periods of time, resulting in candidates accepting other roles before they are back.  You are absolutely allowed your holiday, but we recommend other people to be involved/ substituted to make sure the process isn’t delayed, and candidates aren’t missed out on.

4. Delegate your hiring needs to recruiters

If you’re struggling to hire, don’t have time to perfect your hiring processes or if annual leave will be an unavoidable issue this summer, you can outsource the recruitment process entirely.  

Get support with Michael Page

Michael Page can take the stress away from hiring this summer. We can source the perfect candidates, screen them, and arrange interviews quickly and seamlessly.  

In fact, our hiring times are a fraction of the average (35* days for permanent hires, 17* days for interim) - saving you time and money meaning you can hire who you need ready for a busy Q4.  

Talk to us about your hiring needs today to raise your competitiveness this summer.