Looking for a sales job or searching for a new sales team member? Let’s do this! The new year is the start of a busy job hunting season in the sales world. With both sides playing musical chairs, it’s one of the most fruitful times of the year to find either a new job or a new salesperson.
Here are some key things to know about how to capitalize on this annual January to May job search season…
A few months ago, we talked about the fall sales job cycle. What’s different this time of year? Plenty!
First, it’s tradition here in American culture that a new year brings a fresh start. New Year’s Resolutions, right? A lot of people resolve to get a new job or to make a career change at the beginning of a new year. That means there are a bundle of new candidates on the look in the market — and that also means a potential surge of unanticipated position openings for employers.
Next, the majority of companies set their new year headcount budgets back in the fall. Now, it’s time to execute on recruiting for many of those planned hires. Managers are activating budgeted money and are ready to get new folks in the door. As we discussed back in the fall, sometimes, people get Q4 approval for Q1 and then hire before the start of the next year in order to get a jumpstart on training as well as the ramp to productivity. But most often, January is when the majority of managers are starting to get all-in on finding new employees.
Another reason for a busy new year hiring season is the “Black Monday” effect. Just as NFL owners fire poor-performing head coaches at the close of an unsatisfactory season, sales managers often have little choice but to release underperforming salespeople in Q1 due to a poor Q4 or a poor prior year sales-wise. As a result, January can be a time when a significant number of sales jobs open up as a result of terminations. 
If you’re looking for a new sales job, hit it now. Activity is some of the hottest it’s going to be all year in the first quarter. Sure, things remain active in April and May (unfilled jobs from Q1, attrition-impacted openings still reverberating through the market, etc.), but after Memorial Day, things will hit a marked slowdown. Grills have been pulled out and Summer is almost here! People who are in hiring capacities start to take vacations, and so do HR staffers and recruiters and decision-making executives. Folks out of the office more frequently makes it far more challenging to get all of the key players lined up for interviews, offer approvals, etc. Right now, while the year is new and the weather is still cold, everyone is in the office, focused on work, and keyed up to hire.
One major benefit of hiring at this time of year is that job seekers are far more intentional. Of course, throughout the year, you’ll always find a handful of people who absolutely must find a new job and who are totally serious about seeking a change. But with our cultural tradition of New Year’s Resolutions comes a stronger overall and more far-reaching determination. It’s a group mind think that has no other seasonal equal. Our recruiting team hears from more unsolicited candidates annually during January-March than at any other period in the year. If you’re looking to fill a job, now is an excellent time to land highly-motivated and active candidates.
If you’re searching for a new job or a new hire, give us a shout.