There’s a common misconception among job seekers that the summer is not a good time to look for a new accounting job.  Now that spring has arrived (sort of) and people across the country are inevitably looking forward to the summer months when the weather is beautiful and work may slow down a bit, conventional wisdom dictates that hiring managers aren’t necessarily looking for new candidates.  However, A) this simply isn’t true – especially in today’s economy where accounting opportunities move quickly irrespective of where we are in the calendar and companies can’t wait months to fill open positions.  And B) this casual attitude towards job hunting during the summer months can create a powerful competitive advantage for you.  If you deviate from this trend and start interviewing while others haven’t even begun to think about their job-search, you will be more likely to differentiate yourself from other job seekers, get better interviews, and ultimately land your dream job.

In fact, the summer is often the best season for accounting firms to focus on their onboarding process because the busy season is over, and as a result, they have more time to devote to building and training their staff.  Hiring new staff throughout the summer is also ideal for accounting firms because during this time, firms are typically gearing up for the 4^th quarter; meaning new hires will have the opportunity to work on the monthly close, rather than a more complicated and all-encompassing year-end close.  This makes it more beneficial for you as accountants to start a new job in the summer, as opposed to other months when firms may be at their busiest, because you’ll have the opportunity to ease into your responsibilities, get accustomed to the company culture, and focus on learning any new technologies or techniques unique to the firm before getting thrown into something more comprehensive during tax season.

Another important consideration to take into account is that as summer winds down, accountants who believe the myth that hiring is not a priority for firms during the summer will begin to pick up their searches again, en masse.  At that point, it will be much more difficult to distinguish yourself from the other resumes piling up on any given hiring manager’s desk.  In addition to professionals believing the summer hiring myth, others may be taking extended vacations if their firms have an overtime bank policy.  This may limit their access to job-search resources and make it difficult for them to devote much time to interviewing.

If you’re in the market for a new job, don’t get lured into a false sense of security that major hiring decisions won’t be made until September.  While other job seekers might be taking it easy over the summer, ramp up your search and leave your competition at the beach!