The journey toward your dream internship or job can feel like navigating a maze, with more questions than answers popping up at every turn. Is this the right role for me? Does this opportunity excite me? Will my application make it into the right hands? Will I ever find my dream internship or job?
However, a crucial question that you may not have yet considered is timing. In other words, you should be asking yourself, ‘Am I looking for internship and job opportunities at the right time of the year, and when should I be applying?’
Like most things in life, timing is key when applying for internships and jobs, and understanding when to send in your applications can significantly boost your chances of success. To shed light on how students can optimize their job applicants based on employer activity, we analyzed data from thousands of recruiters using our platform from spring 2022 to 2023. Read below for what we’ve discovered.
October sees the largest number of openings for both STEM and non-STEM positions
According to our analysis of job postings from spring 2022 to 2023, we've discovered that October is the most popular month for employers to have open roles for internship and entry-level opportunities — and that goes for both STEM and non-STEM fields.
If you're a STEM student, you'll notice opportunities dwindling as the school year progresses, with a slight recovery in August. For those of you in non-STEM fields, the decline continues until December and then picks up again in February.
Lastly, the summer doesn't seem to bring a significant number of roles in either STEM or non-STEM fields. This makes May through July a fantastic time for ensuring that your resume, LinkedIn profile, and RippleMatch account are all ready to go for the fall. Plus, the summer is also an optimal time for narrowing down exactly what you’d like to do in terms of what type of internship or job you’re looking for, what industry you’re most interested in, and researching companies with a culture and environment that excites you.
September is the best month to find and attend recruitment events
Our findings show that September is the busiest month in terms of recruitment events for early career candidates, with 26% of all recruitment events for the year on our platform taking place just as students get settled back on campus.
It’s clear that most employers view September as an ideal time to increase brand awareness and invite talent into their funnel as they begin to open roles for them. This is the perfect opportunity for students to showcase their credentials to potential employers, so use September events to get a leg up on the competition.
For emerging graduates and students looking for internships or early-career jobs, it’s important to remember there are many opportunities in the fall. Understanding that September is typically when recruiters build brand awareness for their companies, and October is when employers start receiving and reviewing student applications is key to getting a head start in the hiring process.
Regardless of the time of year, RippleMatch's platform is a great place to connect with top employers and learn about job openings and recruiting events. Get started today by creating a profile at RippleMatch.com.
