We like to believe hiring is linear. Create a job, advertise it, interview candidates, make an offer and be done.
But if you’ve ever tried to fill a role in mid-August or close a hire the week before Christmas, you know that’s a comforting illusion.
Hiring is seasonal. People are seasonal. And yet most hiring plans still ignore that completely.
I’ve seen it across industries and markets – from VC-backed tech startups to family-owned service businesses. Targets are set in spreadsheets; urgency is declared. Then, two months later, hiring managers are wondering why “no one good is applying,” and recruiters are quietly pulling their hair out.
Here’s the hard truth: you can’t brute-force a hire through bad timing. And the teams that stop trying to do so, and start planning with seasonality in mind, consistently outperform those that don’t.
Why Seasonality Matters More Than You Think
It’s not just about vacation schedules. Seasonality affects:
- Candidate motivation
- Internal availability
- Response rates
- Offer acceptance
- Time-to-hire
The Rhythms We Keep Ignoring
Q1: Momentum Meets Bottlenecks
January brings a wave of optimism – and job seekers.
But it also brings: new priorities, unfinalised budgets, and leadership teams just coming out of hibernation.
What happens:
You get application volume, but decision paralysis.
Pipelines build. Processes drag. You lose candidates you were never really ready to hire in the first place.
What works:
Use early Q1 to reconnect with previous candidates, not just launch new roles.
Start planning hires in December. Get alignment before the new year starts.
Q2: The Hiring Sweet Spot
By April, the machine is rolling full speed. People are focused, planning ahead of summer, and eager to make decisions.
What happens:
This is when strong, strategic hires get made, especially for leadership and critical roles. Interviewers are available, and candidates are decisive.
What works:
Pull the trigger. Move fast.
Prioritise hires that require multi-stakeholder input. They’ll get stuck if delayed.
Q3: The Summer Illusion
This is the trap. You have budget. You have roles. You have targets.
What you don’t have: candidate urgency or stakeholder attention.
What happens:
Candidates ghost. Offers stall. Hiring managers say “let’s revisit this after vacation.”
You waste time chasing hires that were never going to close.
What works:
Focus on top-of-funnel. Build talent pools.
Use the time for process work: redesign scorecards, refresh JDs, train interviewers.
If you must hire in summer, simplify the process and pre-align decision-makers before launch.
Q4: Two Speeds, One Deadline
October is your last real window. November is hit-or-miss. December is a mirage.
What happens:
You either fill roles fast with strong intent or spin your wheels waiting for people to “circle back after the holidays.”
Candidates are cautious, especially if bonuses are involved.
What works:
Start Q4 hiring early.
If you launch in November, be clear: are you hiring now, or building a pipeline for January?
If the latter, say it. Candidates appreciate transparency more than fake urgency.
And What About the Candidate’s Timing?
Seasonality doesn’t just affect hiring teams: it shapes how candidates should move, too.
In Q1, energy is high but so is the noise. Standing out means being early and intentional. In Q2, processes move faster and competition is quieter, ideal for thoughtful, well-prepared candidates. Summer slows everyone down, but that can work to your advantage: fewer applicants, less rushed interviews, more space to be noticed. In Q4, hiring tightens, but if you’re clear about timing (e.g. January start), you’ll often be prioritised by teams already planning ahead.
The candidates who understand when companies are truly ready to move, and shape their outreach accordingly, tend to get further, faster. Timing isn’t just an employer concern.
The Real Risk: Team Frustration and Reputation Loss
Seasonality doesn’t just kill hiring metrics – it breaks trust.
- Hiring managers lose confidence in the process.
- Candidates drop out and tell others.
- Recruiters burn out pushing water uphill.
The most common post-mortem I’ve seen?
“We just launched at the wrong time. Next time, we’ll know better.”
And yet – next time, they repeat it.
What Great Talent Teams Do Differently
- They time their launches intentionally.
Not every open headcount needs to go live immediately. Great teams stagger hiring based on historical performance and internal availability – not just budget timing. - They staff and pace accordingly.
Recruiters aren’t miracle workers. Don’t staff your team like August is equal to May. - They communicate expectations across the org.
Hiring is cross-functional. If your interview panel is unavailable for two weeks, don’t pretend you’re running a “fast process.” - They use off-seasons strategically.
Summer and December are for pipelining, brand building, and fixing what’s broken. They’re not dead time – they’re prep time.
If your hiring plans don’t reflect the calendar, they’re only theoretical.
And if you want real results, you need more than urgency.
You need timing.
Hiring is human. And humans don’t operate on spreadsheets. They operate on rhythm, availability, motivation, and life. Respect that, and you’ll build better teams with less friction, fewer excuses, and a lot more foresight.