Summer Break? Your Ideal Job’s at Stake!

Summer in the northern hemisphere can be a blessing or a curse depending on the weather. But all too often, executives eager to make a professional change use it as an excuse to procrastinate. We highlighted this risk last year in “The Lazy Days of Summer: Procrastinate at Your Own Risk.”

Sure, it is true that overall employment may dip in the summer, but you are not everybody. You are an executive, and that market behaves completely differently.

First, senior executives often utilize their summer holiday breaks to catch up on strategic work. They consider gaps in their organization. Underperformers who need to be replaced. Or even unrealized business opportunities in search of a dynamic leader. This is particularly true of the unpublished market—where fully 75% of our clients land. This is because we train clients to present themselves not as a job seeker but as a business solution.

When those relaxed senior executives become aware of someone who can really move their businesses forward, of course they make time regardless of the time of year.

So, if you are not active in the executive market this summer, then, indeed, that ideal role you have been looking for will likely go to someone else who is.

Last year our clients saw very steady interview activity during the summer and, more generally, in Q3. (See the Weekly Hiring Line Activity Q3 2021 graphic.)

We celebrated this, too, of course as we broke some internal records: 100 Job Interviews in One Month!

And September is always a key month in the hiring calendar. This is likely due to the relaxed-thinking executives who are re-evaluating during their summer holidays. You can see there was a surge first in interviews and then in hirings in August. They are followed by a similar surge in interviews in September. Of course, to have interviews and offers, you need to get into the market sooner as opposed to later and not just in a mad rush. After all, we will delve into your targets during the Clarity Program©. This is where we help package you to present your brand coherently and persuasively to your target opportunities. And that takes a little time and thought.

But, again, if you are not in the executive market because you think there is a hiring lull during the warmer months, then others are enjoying the interviews, receiving the offers, and landing the key roles—not you.

Second, exactly because some people think this is a quieter period, there is less competition in the market place. When you are considered for a position, experience demonstrates there will be more latitude in compensation because there are fewer qualified applicants during the summer. Of course, Barrett Group clients enjoy an advantage in this area anyway because of the negotiation support they receive at the offer stage. We can virtually always add $10,000, $20,000, $30,000 or more in total compensation due to our three decades of experience in supporting senior executive negotiations.

Third, access to decision-makers is always key. But the Barrett Group process opens up the entire market, not just the publicly visible published market.

Yes. Recruiters might well receive fewer assignments during the summer months, but recruiters represent only about 10% of the executive market in our experience. Similarly, the volume of published opportunities on the job boards such as Indeed, LinkedIn, and others may also dip a bit during this period, but these represent only 15% or so of client landings. However, the vibrant unpublished market seethes with activity pretty much all year long, and perhaps a bit more so when senior executives have time to catch their breath and think about their challenges and opportunities. This is exactly when our clients gain access using our unique methods to present themselves as solutions.

Our clients know they are not alone.

Clients enjoy the benefit of a six-member team of experienced Barrett Group professionals to help them navigate the hurdles in today’s executive job market with a proven methodology more than 30 years in the making, thoughtful preparation, effective marketing collateral, insightful research, encouragement and coaching, and concrete situational advice.

Clearly, our process works.

Look at our Hiring Line data. Look at our Success Studies. See how Forbes magazine has again cited us as one of the best in the business now for the third year.

By all means, enjoy your summer, but don’t sacrifice your ideal role. Let the Barrett Group show you that bountiful harvest that awaits you in the next season of your career. Let’s talk.

Peter Irish, CEO
The Barrett Group