When is the best time of year to start hiring?

We’re seeing a definite impact from the Great Resignation in Australia now. Lots of people are quitting or considering leaving their jobs - so is now the time to hire? Should we have started hiring a month ago for Christmas? Or maybe the new year is the best time to hire permanent employees? In today’s blog we’re going to dive into the best time to hire new employees.

Seasonal hiring

In industries such as retail and hospitality that get very busy over the holiday season, hiring tends to ramp up towards the end of the year in preparation. Christmas hiring tends to start in September/October. Of course, this type of hiring all depends on the type of employee you are looking for. Most commonly, seasonal hiring is just for casual positions, so if you’re looking for a full-time or permanent employee, maybe the Christmas season isn’t the best time to hire.

End of financial year

As the financial year comes to a close, this may mean hiring begins. Revised budgets and the fresh financial year can often be the best opportunity to consider hiring and restructuring employment. Hiring at the end of the financial year is heavily dependent on industry (i.e. white collar industries such as finance and tech), but again, generally speaking, the end of financial year is a significant time of year for all companies and can be the perfect time to consider hiring. 

Beginning of the year

The beginning of the new year proves time and time again to be one of the best times of year to hire. This is for a couple of reasons:

1. Downtime over the holidays. That holiday break gives us the time to hit refresh and come back to work anew. And when we do come back, we then think about what other additions to the team can make this year the best year.
2. People are taking time off. The panic when we realise people are going to be taking long holidays and that we need more people sets in sometimes as early as December. Many companies may decide to put an ad up for new positions in December, with the thought that a large number of people might be applying for the job in January and February.
3. New year's resolutions. This one might seem a little silly, but there are actually many people who make new year’s resolutions - or just reevaluate their life and come to the decision - to move jobs or careers. Making hiring practically a necessity for employers.
4. Here come the graduates. Below the equator, at the end of the year, many high school and university students have just graduated. They have taken the holidays to have some fun and time to evaluate what they want and now they’re looking for work! Making the beginning of the year the most opportune time to look for graduates and entry-level hires.

So… when actually is the best time to hire?

From reading this article, you may have come to the same conclusion as I have: that hiring is heavily dependent on industry, employment type and season. This article may help you adjust your hiring strategy, but you also have to consider the extenuating circumstances that arise that may change everything. For example, the current situation. We are seeing a huge uptick in employees leaving their jobs and applying for new ones and that does have a lot to do with the pandemic. We can’t predict everything and we certainly can’t predict the strange situations that arise (just like the pandemic) that throw hiring all out of whack. However, there are a lot of general rules for all workplaces and that are industry specific that can help us decide when to hire.