Summer Hiring Slows Down Unless You Know How to Work It
- Adam Kail
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
At Harrison Gray Search, summer is one of our busiest times of year. While many companies put hiring on the back burner when the sun comes out and calendars fill up with vacations, our team leans in. Why? Because we spend the summer months doing what we do best: consulting, coaching, and helping our clients execute effective hiring strategies when their competitors are standing still.
But for many companies, it’s a different story. Summer often feels like a hiring dead zone. Candidates go quiet. Decision-makers are out of the office. Momentum stalls. The urgency of filling key roles fades into the background until September rolls around and the panic sets in.
Why Summer Hiring Feels So Hard
Summer throws a wrench into hiring plans for a few key reasons:
Vacation Season Candidates and hiring managers alike are harder to pin down.
False Sense of Time "Let’s pick this back up after Labor Day" starts to sound like a strategy (it’s not).
Competing Priorities Business tends to shift toward operational projects, customer retention, or year-end planning.
It’s easy to justify waiting. But waiting often leads to a bigger, more expensive scramble later.
Why Summer Is a Window of Opportunity
While most companies slow down, the ones that stay active gain an advantage. Fewer companies actively seeking talent in the market mean less competition for top talent. Candidates considering making a move appreciate employers who aren’t putting things on hold. And with the right partner helping you drive the process, summer hiring doesn’t have to feel like a lost cause.
How to Win the Summer Hiring Game
Here’s what we coach our clients to do and what we actively help them execute:
Plan Ahead for Absences: Align calendars early so vacation schedules don’t derail the process later.
Simplify Your Process: Remove unnecessary steps and keep candidates engaged while others go quiet.
Stay Flexible: Offer virtual interviews and adjust schedules to meet candidates where they are (literally).
Communicate Often: Keep candidates informed and feeling prioritized, even when things slow down internally.
Work the Hidden Market: Many top candidates aren’t applying, but are open to conversations. That’s where we come in.
Don’t Miss the Moment
I get it. Summer hiring takes intention. But when done right, it sets you up for success in Q4 and beyond.
If your hiring feels stuck or slow right now, let’s talk. We’d love to show you how to turn a “quiet” season into a competitive advantage.