The best time to apply for jobs is actually the end of the year, a tech recruiter says. Those companies are serious about hiring.

• Bonnie Dilber is a recruiting manager with 9 years of experience.
• She says if a company posts a job this time of year, they are serious about filling it.

If you see a newly posted job this time of year, apply!

I'm a recruiting manager at a tech company, and I've been in recruiting for 9 years. One thing I can guarantee is that if a company posts a job this time of year, they are serious about filling it.

This means they are going to move quickly and prioritize a more efficient hiring process.

People who have been hiring for a while know that the end of the year is one of the hardest times to hire. It's hard to schedule interviews around holiday schedules and planned time off for both applicants and hiring teams.

On top of that, many employed people are not interested in pursuing new jobs at the end of the year because it can interfere with their bonuses, which are often paid out early in the new year. Those who do apply for roles may want to start a few months later to ensure that they receive those bonuses, which can be a barrier for hiring managers.

The end result? Many hiring managers and recruiting teams will want to wait until after the new year to post jobs.

But those hiring managers who post jobs in December do so knowing that there will be more challenges with scheduling and managing the hiring process. They also know they will have a more limited candidate pool.

They're only going to do this when there's a lot of urgency about filling the role, which means you can count on the hiring process to move quickly.

Jobs that are posted in January are also worth applying for

And when they post jobs in January? Well, often those are roles that really need to be filled quickly.

They may be roles they weren't allowed to post until the new budget was approved, or that they couldn't manage hiring for during the hustle and bustle of the winter holidays. And they are now feeling the pain of being down a person or two.

This time of year, I've seen hiring managers schedule multiple interviews at once, ask to skip recruiter screens in order to move more quickly, and review resumes themselves to try to speed things along.

I've seen teams that usually take three to four weeks to run a hiring process extend offers in under two weeks because they feel the crunch of needing someone in the seat.

How can you take advantage of the end-of-year hiring crunch?

1. Filter job boards for roles posted in the last few days.
   These are roles that will likely have smaller applicant pools and teams that are really urgent about hiring.

2. Make it easy for recruiting teams to schedule with you.
   For example, you can add a scheduling link to your résumé, or add a note on interview availability. Using a dedicated email just for your job search can also help ensure you don't miss any opportunities to schedule interviews.

3. Be flexible around start dates.
   If a company is urgent about filling a role, they may prioritize candidates who can start in a few weeks vs. those looking for a longer timeline. If this means leaving money on the table at your current job (for example, an end-of-year bonus), you can always try to negotiate that in the form of a sign-on.

4. Consider reaching out to hiring managers.
   With fewer meetings scheduled this time of year, hiring may be a top priority for them, which means they might be more open to scheduling conversations directly with candidates.

The job market in 2023 has been tough, and early 2024 is probably going to feel similar. But companies are still hiring, and people are still landing great opportunities.

Hopefully, by taking advantage of the timing, targeting recently posted roles, and demonstrating urgency in the process yourself, you can join them.

Bonnie Dilber is the business recruiting team lead at Zapier. Before moving into tech, she spent years in education and nonprofits as a teacher, program manager, and recruitment leader.