What Recruiters Are Looking for Right Now (Before Year-End)
This will be my 11th year recruiting during the fall and holiday season in some form or another. Most people will tell you that the job market seems to slow down this time of year, but I don’t think that’s an accurate representation at all.
Rather, recruiters and hiring managers are actually racing the clock during Q4. Some companies are trying to use their 2025 budget before it’s too late. Others are trying to finalize headcount before budgets reset in January. And some are trying to get a head start on building out strategic pipelines before the January hiring surge.
So here’s what recruiters are focusing on right now, and here’s how to make sure you’re on their radar.
Prioritizing Ready-to-Hire Candidates
Some of us are trying to race to the finish line before it’s too late. The reality that most of us in recruiting know is that we only have about 3 weeks of hiring in November before the Thanksgiving holiday week, and then another 2 weeks sandwiched between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And for those critical roles that we must fill this year, we’re looking at candidates who can commit before year-end and move through our process quickly.
What Does This Mean For You?
Well, if you’re well-qualified for a specific role, you can probably expect recruiters to respond to you faster. That means you, too, should respond fast to messages and interview requests. If you delay, it may be a signal that you’re not the candidate we can get across the finish line before year-end.
I know there are people on LinkedIn who will tell you not to use the Open to Work status, but let’s be real, most of those people are not recruiters. At this time of year, you better believe recruiters are filtering and prioritizing candidates who mark themselves are available quickly, and that usually corresponds to the Open to Work status.
Similar to being able to respond quickly, have your references locked and loaded. Don’t put them on your resume (that’s so 1990s), but have them ready. That means you’ve already asked those people for permission to use them as a reference, that you have their email and phone number, and you can give them to a recruiter without delay.
Prioritizing Roles That Affect Q1 Performance
So what are these roles that recruiters are prioritizing with ready-to-hire candidates? Well, that’s easy. They’re the ones that will affect Q1. Typically, these are jobs in finance, operations, and even logistics that get urgent attention.
I often see urgency for hiring accounting talent to prepare for year-end close. I see warehouse managers being prioritized before holiday shipping begins, and I’ve also seen many hiring teams have urgency to hire sales reps ahead of Q1.
As I write this, I’m recruiting for a Sales Analyst and a Controller - all critical to fill before the year ends.
What Does This Mean For You?
First, if you work in any of those jobs, don’t stop applying. Many people have the attitude of, “Oh well, hiring slows down at the end of the year, so I too am going to take a break.” That’s great if you can afford to take a break, but if you need to get back to work, don’t let off the gas.
The other thing I recommend is to make sure you show your economic ROI on your resume. Recruiters want candidates who’ll deliver results fast. This is true most of the time, but I find it even more important when filling these critical, urgent year-end jobs.
What does that look like? Here are a few examples. If you’re a Controller, mention in your resume how many financial audits you’ve been through with no significant findings. If you’re a sales analyst, talk about how you’ve improved pipeline velocity through your analysis and recommendations to the teams you’ve supported. These are examples of how you show economic ROI. It boils down to this simple truth. Can you make me or save me more than I’m paying you?
And this isn’t just for finance and sales roles either. Take an HR Manager as an example. Have you reduced the number of Workers’ Comp claims? That has an ROI to it. Have you mitigated risks and kept a company in compliance? That, too, has an ROI attached to it. No matter your role, I promise that you have an economic ROI to claim and show.
Looking for Long-Term Fit
I think it’s important to make sure you don’t mistake urgency with sacrificing qualifications. I find that just because a role is urgent to fill this year, it doesn’t mean that the hiring team is more flexible with the requirements they are looking for.
The former Director of Talent Acquisition for Johnson and Johnson put it this way: It’s not about filling jobs fast. It’s about improving the quality of the hire, improving retention, and employee performance.
While you may face less competition because there are fewer people searching for jobs at the end of the year (historically, application numbers drop significantly at the end of the year), I don’t think this means it’s a good time for career changers. Employers are making year-end hires. If they didn’t have a program in place to train people up, they most likely won’t be investing in that at year-end either.
What Does This Mean For You?
Be particular about the jobs you apply for. It’s not a quantity game; it’s about finding the right roles that you fit and going after them.
Continue to emphasize the things you have all year long, such as stability, adaptability, problem-solving, and a learning mindset in interviews.
Make sure you have a story that makes sense about how each job you are interviewing for fits into your long-term growth story, and be sure no one views it as a “quick move”. No one wants to replace your role 6 months later.
Building Pipelines for January
Many internal and agency recruiters start building their Q1 pipeline of talent now. They don’t wait until Q1 to start identifying potential new hires. While they may not engage you in a formal process at the end of the year, you can bank on the fact that they’re thinking about the hires they will need to make in Q1. Many of them will be having preliminary conversations with potential candidates. Some of them will even begin to post job openings for the roles they are forecasting.
What Does This Mean For You?
First, keep applying to jobs. Many applicant tracking systems (ATS) will display candidates in the order they applied. Even if a recruiter doesn’t look at your resume until January 1, you’ll be one of the first ones they see. And that’s the worst case. Many will look at your resume well before then - even if they’re getting a head start on pipelining.
Connect with recruiters who have posted jobs that you could fill. In the recruiting world, we often try to proactively connect with talent for roles that we 1) frequently fill, 2) are difficult to fill, and 3) that we have forecasted. Find agency recruiters that specialize in your field and connect with them. Let them know that you, too, are being proactive and that even though there isn’t an opening right now, you’d like to connect and keep the communication channel open for the future.
If you’re on LinkedIn, comment on posts and engage with brands you’re interested in. Anything that helps you stay visible is helpful.
Recruiters are Racing the Clock and So Should You
Hiring managers and recruiters are facing year-end pressure right now. They are also in planning mode. While there may be more jobs available in January (historically speaking, anyhow) and companies are more aggressive about hiring, there’s also a lot more competition.
All those new-year resolutions about finding a new job lead to more people vying for the same jobs.
November is the time for the final push. There are companies out there looking to spend their budget before it expires at the new year. It’s crunch time for them. You’ll find the teams hiring right now tend to be the serious ones about hiring. They move quickly and have better communication.
So while you may not see as many companies hiring, when you do find one, don’t delay.
Cole Sperry has been a recruiter and resume writer since 2015, working with tens of thousands of job seekers, and hundreds of employers. Today Cole runs a boutique advisory firm consulting with dozens of recruiting firms and is the Managing Editor at OptimCareers.com.
