It’s the dog days of summer, it’s a Friday, and if we’re honest – most people would rather be at the pool than in another hiring meeting. Yet the work still has to get done, seats still need to be filled, and your team still needs support. The real question isn’t “Should we hire now or wait until fall?” It’s “How do we keep hiring smart without burning everyone out?”
The good news: summer actually gives hiring managers a unique opportunity. Inboxes are a little quieter, calendars have a little more breathing room, and that combination is a chance to get intentional instead of just pushing everything to September. A thoughtful half-hour now – tightening a job description, trimming a bloated interview process, having a realistic comp conversation – can save weeks of scrambling later.
For hiring managers: keep momentum without the burnout
It’s okay to acknowledge that everyone’s energy is a little lower right now. That doesn’t mean hiring has to stall – it means the process should flex with the season instead of fighting it.
A few “Friday-friendly” ways to keep things moving without overwhelming your team:
- Prioritize one critical role.
Instead of trying to solve every vacancy at once, pick the single most important hire to move forward this month. Momentum on one search beats stalled progress on five. - Shorten the process.
Aim for two interviews instead of four. Combine stakeholders into a single panel when you can, and empower that panel to actually make a decision instead of routing it through another round of approvals. - Pre-book decision windows.
Before you even start interviewing, get hiring managers to block specific times for debriefs and offers. Vacations and out-of-office weeks are the number one reason momentum quietly stalls in July and August – book around them in advance rather than scrambling after the fact. - Refresh your pitch.
Candidates right now are weighing cost of living, career growth, and culture more heavily than they have in years. Make sure you can clearly and specifically articulate how the role helps with at least one of those – vague “great culture, competitive pay” language doesn’t land the way it used to.
And build a little levity into the process itself. Lighten the interview schedule on Friday afternoons. Open a call with a quick “any weekend plans?” icebreaker. Send a follow-up note that sounds like it came from a person, not a template. Candidates feel the summer slump too, and a bit of warmth and humor is an easy way to set your company apart from everyone else running the same tired process.
For job seekers: the summer slowdown works in your favor too
If you’re job searching right now, it can feel like everything has slowed to a crawl – and to some extent, it has. But that’s not necessarily bad news for you.
A few things worth keeping in mind:
- Fewer applicants are actively pushing hard right now. Many candidates mentally check out until after Labor Day. Staying engaged and responsive this summer – quick replies, flexible scheduling, genuine follow-up – makes you stand out simply by showing up.
- Hiring managers have a little more time to actually think about who they’re talking to. That can mean more thoughtful conversations and less rushed, transactional interviews. Use that space to ask real questions about growth, flexibility, and culture – the things you’re weighing most right now.
- A little humanity goes a long way in both directions. If a hiring manager opens with small talk about weekend plans or sends a note that doesn’t read like boilerplate, that’s a signal about how they treat people day to day. Pay attention to it.
- Momentum matters. If a process is moving – even slowly – a prompt, warm response from you can be the thing that keeps you top of mind while a hiring manager is juggling vacations and a lighter team.
Give yourself some grace
Hiring in this market is hard, even when the sun is shining and the calendar says “summer.” Whether you’re the one doing the hiring or the one hoping to land the next role, the dog days reward the people who stay a little more intentional, a little more responsive, and a little more human than everyone else who’s decided to wait until fall.
If your Friday to-do list includes “figure out a hiring plan” and you’re not sure where to start, we’re always happy to be a sounding board – whether that’s mapping out your next key hire or taking a few searches off your plate so you can actually enjoy a summer weekend.