The Best Time For Job Search

While there is no wrong time to look for a new job, some parts of the year are better than others. Hiring has its own seasonality and you can give yourself a better shot at landing your dream job by adapting your job search to it. By timing your search correctly, you’ll have more job openings to choose from and you’ll be able to get more interviews in a shorter period of time.

If you’re looking to maximize the number of job opportunities available to you, the best time to look for a new job is January through March. There are 3 things happening during these months that make them into peak season for job search.

1. Annual hiring budgets are set

Companies usually hire more aggressively during the first quarter of the year because that’s when the hiring budgets are set and communicated to hiring managers. And many hiring managers try to front-load as much of their hiring as possible. They usually have annual business goals to plan for. And they want to give themselves a shot at achieving them. By filling the open positions early in the year, hiring managers give themselves time to onboard new hires and bring them up to speed so that they can become productive and help the team hit their targets.

2. Performance reviews are finalized

Most companies do their annual employee performance reviews in December and January, and emotions run high! Many employees feel misunderstood and unseen. They get disappointed because a bad performance review often means missing out on a raise or a promotion they’ve planned on. And if they (as many do) felt that they were underpaid and under-appreciated already before the performance review, they might feel that they have no other option than to leave for another job. So on top of new open positions, hiring managers often need to backfill existing positions in the months following the annual performance reviews.

3. Year-end bonuses are paid

Many employees who plan on leaving their jobs stay until their year-end bonuses are paid out. While they wait for their bonus, they typically try to optimize their job search so that they have a new employer lined up by the time they receive the money. Different employers pay year-end bonuses at different times. More than 70% of all companies operate with a fiscal year that follows the calendar year so the year-end bonuses are usually paid out in January or February. As employees start handing in their notices, there’s an increase in open positions that you can apply for.