Job market seasons vary by country and industry, but summer and Christmas time generally stand out as quiet seasons. Often, it causes frustration for fresh graduates, who are exiting universities at both of those times. If some will be lucky enough to have an offer in their hands before the graduation party, more will still be uncertain about their start moving into professional life.

In large private companies and organizations, including those recruiting at ASSA, the recruitment of fresh graduates and young professionals tends to be more centralized, with application processes starting in the autumn or early spring. However, not all organizations, and certainly not all countries, are participants in the centralized economics job market. As a result, it becomes tough to withstand this kind of competition for organizations with smaller resource capacities and less international exposure.

At INOMICS we have been keeping track of these trends for a number of years through our growing user base and we have noticed that July and August are actually the best months to start looking for candidates for entry-level positions, especially if you are targeting candidates internationally. Even though it is perceived that all the top candidates are already taken a year before graduation, the later job market does not necessarily mean the recruitment of lower quality candidates. Many academically strong students prefer to concentrate on their final thesis work and exams, putting a job search off and delaying their job market entry. As many companies will only start their hiring season in the autumn, the summer months become the best time to approach candidates either getting an early start on their job search or those a little late to the game.