Welcome to The Hero 🗞️. This is approximately a 2.5-minute read.
🔍 Why candidate interest in January feels (and is) different
📩 The short window most hiring teams miss
💡 Why top candidates disappear by mid-Q1
TL;DR
January is a FAR better month to recruit than December.
Candidates re-enter the market after year-end bonuses pay out and PTO wraps up, making them more open to conversations and new opportunities.
🚨 The End of Year Hiring Myth
People love to say December is a great time to hire…
It’s not.
Headcount doesn’t magically appear.
Budgets are tapped out.
And most high-quality candidates aren’t looking to move during the holidays.
Bonuses hit.
Commissions are paid-out.
And any remaining PTO gets used.
This happens every year like clockwork.
The full breakdown is just below - don’t miss it! 😉
Links of the Day:
🔗 Best Links
Here are some of the best links I’ve found since last time I emailed you:
🗺️ Interview Strategy
Review Resumes (link)
Create a Job Description (link)
🔎 Onboarding & Ramp
30-60-90 Day Plan Templates (link)
Data-Driven Onboarding (link)
😊 Engagement, Morale, Empowerment, Wellbeing
Employee Engagement 2025 (link)
Team Morale Tips (link)
📊 Retention & Churn Reduction
Build a Retention Program (link)
What Is Employee Retention? (link)
🧠 The Yearly Reset
At the start of every year, we see the same pattern.
A candidate replies within hours.
Curious.
Engaged.
And genuinely interested.
But the window is short.
January is when curiosity peaks - and people are most open to exploring what’s next.
By the end of February, that window closes as priorities lock and execution takes over.
That’s why timing matters far more than most people realize.
🧠 Pipelines Are Emptier Than They Look
Most teams quietly stop sourcing candidates right around Thanksgiving.
And for most teams, December’s a write-off.
So January opens with:
Fresh reqs
Empty pipelines
Hiring managers asking for candidates NOW
Outbound recruiting works because January brings:
More candidate interest
Less competition
Faster decision-making
Approved budgets
By February, everyone’s chasing the same people.
🪟 The Window To Plan For
The January advantage isn’t permanent.
It lasts just about 3 - 5 weeks.
After that:
Candidates get buried with work
Reply rates dip
“Let’s revisit later” turns into “See ya never” ✌️
Most teams don’t miss January because they’re busy.
They miss it because they’re still planning - and assume the best talent will still be around in late February.
… they won’t.
To Sum It Up…
January doesn’t create opportunity.
It rewards preparation.
Candidates are in the market.
Pipelines are thin.
Competition is slim.
The advantage goes to teams who move early.
And To Wrap It Up…
January isn’t when you start hiring.
It’s when you find out if you were ready to hit the ground running or not.
Because by the time most get their plans set…
The best candidates are already scooped up and hired.
HOW WE CAN HELP?
There are a few ways:
Or you can just reply to this email.
I reply to absolutely everyone who writes me back 🙂
