People often ask if it’s a good time of year to be hiring or looking or not. There are seasonal movements within the edtech industry, but the short answer is always yes. It’s always a good time to be hiring or looking for a job in edtech, different seasons might just focus on different positions.

We used to say that Q4 was the strongest time of year to hire or look for a job, with Q1 as a runner-up, since that’s when budgets are planned and getting started. However, in looking at actual data, every year a different quarter is the best, and unlike in other industries, we don’t see a big falloff or expansion over the summer in edtech. In fact, in half of the past six years, Q2 has had the most new hires (although we don’t yet have Q3 and Q4 data for 2023).

In our industry, hiring often follows macroeconomic news. Or rather, hiring follows investment in edtech, and investment follows macroeconomic news.

Most of our clients have calendar-year fiscal years, but most of their clients have July-June fiscal years that track more closely to the school year. Clients hiring with an eye to their clients’ schedules make a lot of sense, so sometimes hiring calendars are based on the selling season, which is the school year.

As we said, each quarter has a different focus when it comes to hiring, but there’s never a bad time:

Q1
The new budget is received and companies may have room to restructure or hire new talent.

Q2
Near the end of Q2, the school year is ending and the selling season in K-12 and higher education is winding, so it’s a good time to hire people to train to be ready to go in Q3. Most schools get their new budget in July and will be looking to implement new edtech solutions.

As schools move into summer break, it puts a bit of a pause on market and client-facing efforts so it’s a good time to regroup. During the slower summer months, companies can do training and implementation so that when school starts in the fall salespeople are back at it.

With it being summer, hiring managers have to navigate personal travel schedules more, but it’s a more spacious time for people in general. This can work to your advantage whether you’re hiring or looking for a new gig. With the extra space and summer often being a bit more laid back, candidates may have more time to interview, which benefits both sides.

Q3
Early in Q3 during the summer, there’s still extra space for some of the activities mentioned under late Q2.

Companies often focus on hiring to have people in place at the beginning of the school year, or they look for people who can move the needle on deliverables before the end of the year.

Q4
Budgets are being set in preparation for the new calendar year. If there are leftover funds, this may be a good time to hire new talent and get them up to speed before the first of the year.

It’s always a good time. Can we help you find that new talent or new job you’ve been looking for? Give us a call at 877-HIRE-EDU – we would love to chat with you!