The Best (and Worst) Times to Job Search

Here in San Francisco, spring has fully sprung. Sun's out, fun's out, bbs. ☀️

And what about hiring? Is it true that it has seasons?

Yes! Without a doubt. In fact, I had two clients in February mention how quiet it was over the holidays, and then 💥BOOM💥, they both started getting interview invitations galore.

Turns out there’s something to all that talk about end-of-year quiet and the September Surge.

Here’s what I tend to see seasonally in my clients’ job searches—and understanding this can save you a lot of unnecessary stress during a job hunt.

❄️ January through March—this is go time. New budgets open, teams finally get approval to hire, and everyone comes back from the holidays thinking, “new year, new job.” Momentum is high… and yes, competition is too.

🌷 April through June—things start to slow a little. If you see a role in April, move quickly. By May and June, decision-makers are distracted, calendars get messy, and people are already mentally halfway to summer (or planning that trip to Italy 🇮🇹).

🏖️ July and August—the sleepy season. Hiring doesn’t disappear, but it definitely pauses. Instead of panicking, this is a great time to refresh your résumé, build skills, and get yourself ready for the next wave.

🍁 September and October—it’s time for the infamous September Surge. Budgets reopen, urgency comes back, and it’s one of the best windows of the year to make a move.

🎄 November and December—holidays, budget closures, and a lot of “let’s revisit this in January.” Not failure. Just timing. Use it to reset and prepare.

So if your search feels slow right now, don’t panic and start rewriting your entire life story.

There is not yet a need to buy land in Iowa that you can later resell to Anthropic for a new data center.

Sometimes you’re just pushing during a quieter season.

The real advantage is knowing when to sprint—and when to proactively get yourself ready for when things pick up again.

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As we head into a slower time of year, this is usually a good moment to zhuzh your résumé—before everyone else hits the fall in a panic. If you’ve been meaning to update it, now’s the low-pressure window to do it.

Shoot me a DM, and we can get to work!