If you have been sitting on the fence about seeking out a new job, and need a little incentive, I have big time news for you. November is the best time to prepare for a job search. The time is now to start planning your move. There is nothing mystical about this. The reasons tie back to a typical company’s business cycle. One cyclical piece in the cycle is when to make new hires. By looking at a typical business cycle, we can see why this is so., and makes November he best month to start planning a move.
The key to understanding why November is a great time to start a job search is the fact that most company’s business year aligns with calendar year. By this I mean that for most companies the end of their business year aligns with the end of the Calendar year. By doing some simple research I found that between 70% to 80% of all business assign their end of the business year date as December 31st. A discussion of why this is so would take some time – but one obvious reason is that every year the federal government assigns the end of the tax year as December 31st. So, to align business year with federal tax year keeps accounting, and reporting more straight forward.
But there is more to business cycle than knowing end of business year. The timing of hiring is based on company projections and planning. For most companies the most significant planning is around next year’s business. This tends to happen in the business fourth quarter. So, if the business year aligns with calendar year, here is what the months look like:
October – Collect actual Sales/Revenue, and Expenses from 3rd Quarter (3rd Quarter ends September 30th)
November – Create Sales/Revenue, and expense projections for 4th Quarter. Based on projections for current year do goal planning for next business year. Identify resources needed for reaching next year goals.
December – Create job requisitions, and start interview process.
January (1st Quarter New Business Year) – Collect of actual Sales/Revenue, and Expenses for 4th Quarter, and past year. Make new hires.
In the employment industry, it is generally believed that all things equal, January is the month that typically nets the newest hires. (For one article on this topic, see https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/job-search-recruitment-cycles). And in looking at the outline of the typical business cycle above, we can see why this is so. At this point you might be thinking, “But wait, if most hiring is in January, why start my job search in November?” The answer to this question has to do with planning, and availability.
To do the best job with your job search you need to do some planning. You need to update, or even write a resume. You need to organize your thoughts around a new job – what things are critical to have, and what things to you can be flexible on. You need to consider industry, location, and narrow down the companies you want to work for. (BTW – a Career Professional like a Career Consultant, or Career Coach can provide good value in the planning stages of a job search.) I expect you can see with a list of things to get in place even before you apply for a job, there is a fair amount of work here. And this takes time. Days and even weeks can roll by until you feel you have a good job search plan in place. For this reason, with the assumption of an actual offer in January, I strongly suggest you start planning, and start a to do list for a job search in November.
The other piece that can slow the process down is Holidays. When you have everything in place you need to pursue a job, and the company has everything in place they need to, you still need to get through the interview process. With end of year holidays starting in November, manager availability becomes more and more problematic. Sometimes there can be a gap with Human Resources, or Recruiting people, as they take vacations just like everyone else. With the disruption of Holidays in mind, you ideally want to have the first interview sometime in November, or December. When you make the first cut you will be called back very late November, or as time permits in December, even into early January. Planning around the disruption of the Holidays in mind, set a goal of putting your plan in action in November.
So, if you have been considering a change in job, or career, the message here is that November is the ideal time to get off the fence and take action. The reason November is the best month to engage in a job search is due to the cycles of a typical business, where Business Year is aligned with Calendar Year. Planning, and budgeting for new hires typically starts in mid- 4th quarter. Just as the business has processes to work through to deliver that hire, you have some planning, and action steps to take as well. This planning and preparation takes time. And the best time to plan a job search, and get your action plan in motion is November.
Author: Brian Kail, MBA, CPC is a Career Consultant and Coach. For more information see AscendProCoach.com
The key to understanding why November is a great time to start a job search is the fact that most company’s business year aligns with calendar year. By this I mean that for most companies the end of their business year aligns with the end of the Calendar year. By doing some simple research I found that between 70% to 80% of all business assign their end of the business year date as December 31st. A discussion of why this is so would take some time – but one obvious reason is that every year the federal government assigns the end of the tax year as December 31st. So, to align business year with federal tax year keeps accounting, and reporting more straight forward.
But there is more to business cycle than knowing end of business year. The timing of hiring is based on company projections and planning. For most companies the most significant planning is around next year’s business. This tends to happen in the business fourth quarter. So, if the business year aligns with calendar year, here is what the months look like:
October – Collect actual Sales/Revenue, and Expenses from 3rd Quarter (3rd Quarter ends September 30th)
November – Create Sales/Revenue, and expense projections for 4th Quarter. Based on projections for current year do goal planning for next business year. Identify resources needed for reaching next year goals.
December – Create job requisitions, and start interview process.
January (1st Quarter New Business Year) – Collect of actual Sales/Revenue, and Expenses for 4th Quarter, and past year. Make new hires.
In the employment industry, it is generally believed that all things equal, January is the month that typically nets the newest hires. (For one article on this topic, see https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/job-search-recruitment-cycles). And in looking at the outline of the typical business cycle above, we can see why this is so. At this point you might be thinking, “But wait, if most hiring is in January, why start my job search in November?” The answer to this question has to do with planning, and availability.
To do the best job with your job search you need to do some planning. You need to update, or even write a resume. You need to organize your thoughts around a new job – what things are critical to have, and what things to you can be flexible on. You need to consider industry, location, and narrow down the companies you want to work for. (BTW – a Career Professional like a Career Consultant, or Career Coach can provide good value in the planning stages of a job search.) I expect you can see with a list of things to get in place even before you apply for a job, there is a fair amount of work here. And this takes time. Days and even weeks can roll by until you feel you have a good job search plan in place. For this reason, with the assumption of an actual offer in January, I strongly suggest you start planning, and start a to do list for a job search in November.
The other piece that can slow the process down is Holidays. When you have everything in place you need to pursue a job, and the company has everything in place they need to, you still need to get through the interview process. With end of year holidays starting in November, manager availability becomes more and more problematic. Sometimes there can be a gap with Human Resources, or Recruiting people, as they take vacations just like everyone else. With the disruption of Holidays in mind, you ideally want to have the first interview sometime in November, or December. When you make the first cut you will be called back very late November, or as time permits in December, even into early January. Planning around the disruption of the Holidays in mind, set a goal of putting your plan in action in November.
So, if you have been considering a change in job, or career, the message here is that November is the ideal time to get off the fence and take action. The reason November is the best month to engage in a job search is due to the cycles of a typical business, where Business Year is aligned with Calendar Year. Planning, and budgeting for new hires typically starts in mid- 4th quarter. Just as the business has processes to work through to deliver that hire, you have some planning, and action steps to take as well. This planning and preparation takes time. And the best time to plan a job search, and get your action plan in motion is November.
Author: Brian Kail, MBA, CPC is a Career Consultant and Coach. For more information see AscendProCoach.com
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