How Long?

A fair number of candidates ask me how long the average job search takes. Whether prompted by their current search having taken much longer than anticipated (I think many of these people are really asking if they are doing anything wrong in their search), or for planning when to move from “just starting to test the water” to seriously searching, the answer is to brace yourself. Searches can take a long time, and it seems to be getting longer.

While there are exceptions, we’ve noticed that employers are taking longer in nearly all aspects of the selection process. Once the decision is made to hire, the offer process moves quickly enough, but the initial review and interview phases can take many weeks. Clients have lost plenty of star candidates by dragging their feet.

We are not alone in our experience - I network with other recruiters that have the same complaint. Some employers are not putting any significant priority on their hiring timeline.

I found an interesting article on a couple of the blogs that addresses this very topic. Check out this entry from CareerHub: Job Search Time Projected to Increase.

The important point of this entry is not to discourage every active job seeker, but to encourage you that it may not be what you are, or are not doing. It may be a that your search is going to take longer than you originally thought. And, to all those seekers who are just casually searching - perhaps you should start taking your search more seriously now, rather than later?