Recruiting into your tax team? Don’t wait for the new year.

A number of my clients are beginning to wind down their recruitment for the year and will consider recruitment plans in January. However, in my experience, I would strongly recommend that tax teams begin their search at the beginning of December. Whilst clients typically delay their hiring needs for the new year, candidates begin to look at job opportunities sooner. Here are some tips for hiring managers who are looking to recruit tax professionals into their team.

Don’t delay until January

January is a busy recruitment time, particularly within corporate tax; companies get new budgets, employees begin to change jobs and hiring managers to pick up last year’s hiring activity. Recruitment companies fiercely compete against each other which means you (the client) will be pulled in a number of directions. Starting your search in December means you’ll be ahead of the curve and have more time to speak with recruiters and you may even find the ‘perfect candidate’.  Moreover, don’t put any processes on hold until the New Year; time kills deals and you don’t want offers outstanding over the festive period, leaving candidates open to buybacks or changing their minds. 

Get the pick of the (candidate) crop

With less jobs being recruited at this time of year you’ll be able to able to invest more time into good conversations with recruitment consultancies. This will hopefully mean that the recruiters you work with will be able to conduct more in-depth searches for you allowing the top talent to be identified and snapped up. 
It’s easier to recruit at this time of year.

Candidates have more flexibility to attend interviews and can more easily take time off to complete your process. More people are receptive to approaches and conversations about new opportunities because they’re ready to make a change in the new year. Hiring managers will also have more time to meet candidates as their workload is typically lighter. 

Start sooner than later

Candidates on four weeks’ notice could use annual leave and public holidays to begin a new role at the start of January. If you need a new person in place and wait to start interviewing until the New Year then you are unlikely to have them starting until May/June – that’s nearly halfway through 2020 already! Let’s get the ball rolling sooner!

If you are considering hiring into your tax team at the start of 2020 I’d recommend starting your search now.  Contact me for more information.