Quick July market tech hiring update, and there’s a lot going on to be excited about.
Summer hiring
I’m noticing a pattern that’s now repeated two years running, which is that hiring and interview momentum is building through Q2 rather than kicking off at the start of the year. Jan/Feb just don’t feel like the “fresh job start” months anymore.
The highest volume of new Executive job openings so far this year came through May/June. Possibly a summer surge to ramp up before August holidays.
My guess is it’s linked to April budgets, but I’m genuinely curious what others think is driving Q2 hiring rather than Q1.
AI, healthtech and fintech
AI, Healthtech and Fintech are leading the pack right now in terms of where the activity actually is in London.
Seed stage / Series A expansion
I’m also having more late seed-stage conversations with companies about to secure Series A than I have since 2022. Early-stage companies are getting backed for the first time in a while, all with an AI angle even if they’re not AI companies themselves.
With this hiring wave building, I’d like to think we’ll see senior talent hit by recent layoffs get reabsorbed, even while cuts continue elsewhere in the large enterprises.
Jobseekers are being a lot more realistic these days too. That means people are going back into the office, taking roles that weren’t their first choice although good positions. All very different to the US. We hear about job hugging and candidates refusing to move jobs even for big pay rises.
Scaleup execs heading back to corporate roles
I’m also seeing scaleup execs heading back to corporate roles, (reluctantly), but the pay is pulling them back after a few years in the more fun but unpredictable startup/scaleup environments.
Anthropic and OpenAI London expansion
Plus as mentioned previously with Anthropic and OpenAI London expansion I still think we’re heading into a genuinely positive 12 months for the UK tech job market, obviously only in specific pockets and sectors.
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