Signs of coming Fall are around us. For me, that means sharp pencils and the start of the new school year. It also means looking forward to the first football game of the season. All of which combined with cooler days and colorful leaves make Fall my favorite season. After many years in the
search business, I’ve realized that the
hiring cycle has seasons as well.

Fall is the time of year when the eye is sharper on the year’s end-goal. Sales teams are getting clearer on their performance to meeting quota. Activity should be high to ensure that there’s a healthy pipeline to support coming in over goal at year’s end and have a strong start to the coming year. If your team’s projections aren’t where you think they should be, one of the problems could be that you don’t have the right sales reps on your team.

If hiring is in your future, think through how long this will take. Remember, the more narrowly you define your candidate profile, the more time and expertise it will take to access qualified candidates. The candidates the JESSI Search team reaches out to consistently report getting bombarded by calls from those looking to hire them. It takes expertise, skill and timing to be the one who gets a response.

Seasonality also affects how long it will take to gain a conversation with candidates. For instance, getting response from sales candidates can be very difficult in the months of June and December. These are months when they are especially focused on their quarterly goals and finishing the year strong.

If your hiring efforts aren’t getting you the results you would like, consider bringing in experts in talent acquisition. The JESSI Search team is recognized as specialists in acquiring top sales talent and other customer-facing positions, including executive-level roles.

Do you have a favorite season? What does it represent to you? Share your stories. We love hearing from you!