5 Tips to Fight the Summer Hiring Slump

The summer is a notoriously slow time for recruiting. Both job seekers and hiring decision-makers are often out of office, resulting in longer delays and fewer activities. However, when you have the right engagement strategy, your summer hiring goals don’t have to take a back seat to summer vacation.

Keep these tips in mind as you fight through the summer hiring slump.

1. Use Social Media

When candidates receive a cold introduction from recruiters, there’s a necessary period of warming up in which prospective candidates will want to know about you and the opportunities you have to offer. Mutual connections can speed up this phase because they can prove your sincerity and legitimacy. Use LinkedIn to gain a glimpse into candidates’ professional networks and find connections you share. Even connections in the second degree – a friend of a friend – can become useful bridging tools.

2. Add Hiring Support
   Clients may not be hiring for the typical roles that you are used to, but many of them are hiring for other roles that you can take advantage of by supporting them. You can use your current active talent pool to gauge what new positions you can support for your clients during slow periods.
   
3. Streamline the Application Process
   Candidates can become disengaged with the hiring process when they must take redundant actions. For example, if you require applications to supply a resume and cover letter and then ask them to input all of that information into a form, they may become frustrated and quit the process mid-way. Take some time to assess every step of your hiring process and look for areas where you can remove unnecessary steps and make the workflow faster and easier for candidates.
   
4. Use Candidates Referrals
   Have a client and need candidates? Ask your previous placements/candidates for referrals. Have a candidate you placed? Ask them to refer you to their past or current company. This works way more than most people think.
   
5. Seek Out Early Talent
   One demographic that will be actively seeking new roles during the summer is graduates. Whether you seek interns or graduates to fill junior roles, now is the time to advertise and engage with candidates.

You may not be busy with recruiting efforts now, but that won’t last long. The big recruiting peak of the autumn is just around the corner. Now is the right time to strategize and consider what roles will need to be filled in the coming months.