I've always thought that job searching was toughest during the summer. Everyone else, or at least it seems like everyone else, is going out and having fun. You, if you're job searching, are plugging away at trying to find a new job.
A new survey from TheLadders reports that it does appear to be harder to job search during the summer:
Over 60% of job seekers find searching for a job "harder" during the summer months, versus 9% who said "easier" and 31% who said "no different."
71% of job seekers believe that employers during the summer are "less responsive," versus 10% who said "more responsive" and 19% who said "equally responsive."
45% of job seekers describe the level of competition as "more competitive" or "equally competitive" (46%) during the summer, versus 9% who find it "less competitive."
44% of job seekers are "more active" from June through August. 37% said their efforts are "no different" and 19% reported being "less active."
Hopefully, for the job seekers who are plugging away and still trying, the job market will continue to pick up this fall.
On the other hand, if you were "less active" and in a position to take it easy during the summer, now is the time to get your job search in gear if you want to line up a job for the fall. It's still a tough economy and it might take you longer than you think to find a job.
In fact, the average duration of unemployment (July 2012) was 38 weeks, with The Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting that 5.2 million workers have been jobless for 27 weeks or longer.
Read More: Tips for Discouraged Job Seekers | Top 10 Job Search Tips | Start a Job Search