The Seasonality Of Search
It’s the day after Memorial Day . . . . . we are officially in (Minnesota) summer! While weekends are always welcome, this time of year they are almost sacred. We have beautiful summers in Minnesota – but they can be short. What does that mean for search?
How long does a search take?
This is a common question regardless of the time of year. No one comes to us with a long timeframe when there is a search need. Openings are immediate and important. The opening caused by growth, turnover or retirement always comes too quickly. Plans can be made in some cases; others happen based on the market, internal changes, etc. Regardless, a critical opening is challenging for the organization.
The answer to the search length question is ‘it depends.’ We generally know how long it takes to get candidates. Clients promise to get people through the interview process as quickly as possible. They also promise that they will minimize the number of interview visits if possible.
Let’s go ‘up north’!
Regardless of what we really do on weekends, the joke in Minnesota is that we go ‘up north.’ In some cases, this is literal; in most cases, it is figurative. Either way, Minnesota summer weekends seem to start at about noon on Friday. We recover on Monday morning. Our weeks are shortened.
Then we take vacations. Students are off of school. While there are countless in-town activities for all ages and stages, families use the summer to take vacations. We joke that one of every three Minnesotans is gone on any given day during the summer. That isn’t just the candidates; that is also the decision-makers inside of organizations.
Add these two things together – we now have a very short summer season . . . . . at least in the office.
"Calendars kill candidates"
Internally and externally, this is one of our favorite quotes - and it is true. Too much time between candidate communications and/or interviews can dampen the enthusiasm of a candidate. They wonder about the delay, the commitment by the organization to the position, and the commitment to the organization to the candidate.
Summer searches take a couple of extra weeks
It is not an endless period of time, but summer searches do take additional time due to all of the above activities. We can help you shorten the process by pre-planning dates/blocking calendars early. Let’s plan together. We can minimize the discomfort of the opening.