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Career Strategy

January 2026: Time to Grind and Get Hired

By Yeetcode Team •

It’s January. The holidays are over. The decorations are down. And outside? It’s freezing.

You know what that means? It’s grind season.

While everyone else is recovering from their New Year’s Eve hangover and making vague resolutions they’ll abandon by February, you have an opportunity. The cold weather is keeping you inside anyway. The distractions are gone. And the job market? It’s about to explode.

January 2026 is your moment. Here’s why—and how to make the most of it.

The January Hiring Surge Is Real

Every year, the same pattern repeats. Companies slow down hiring in late November and December. Budgets are frozen. Decision-makers are on vacation. Everything pauses.

Then January hits, and the floodgates open.

Why Companies Hire Aggressively in January

Fresh budgets: Q1 starts with new headcount allocations. Hiring managers finally have approval to fill those roles they’ve been sitting on since October.

New initiatives: Annual planning happened in Q4. Now it’s execution time. New projects need new people.

Backfilling departures: The holidays trigger job changes. People gave notice in December after securing new roles. Now companies need to replace them.

Pressure to hit goals: Managers want their teams fully staffed early in the year. Empty seats in January mean missed targets in December.

The result? More open roles, faster hiring processes, and recruiters actively hunting for candidates.

Recruiters Are Hungry Right Now

Recruiters have quotas. January is when those quotas reset—and when the pressure to fill roles is highest.

Right now, recruiters are:

This is the opposite of December, when everything moved at a glacial pace. January is when things actually happen.

The Cold Weather Advantage

Let’s be honest: what else are you going to do?

It’s dark by 5 PM. It’s too cold to go outside. Your social calendar is empty after the holiday rush. Netflix is running out of shows you haven’t seen.

This is a feature, not a bug.

The same weather that makes January miserable for socializing makes it perfect for focused work. You’re naturally inclined to stay inside, hunker down, and get things done.

Embrace the Hibernation

Think of January as your personal training camp. Athletes don’t build championship skills during the season—they build them in the off-season, when no one’s watching.

January is your off-season. The cold weather is your excuse to:

By the time spring arrives and everyone wants to go outside again, you’ll have months of preparation under your belt. You’ll be interview-ready while they’re just getting started.

The Math That Should Motivate You

Let’s get specific about what January preparation can accomplish.

The January Timeline

January 1-15: You commit to daily practice. Even just 15-20 minutes per day. You’re building the habit and shaking off rust.

January 16-31: The habit is locked in. You’re solving problems faster. Patterns are clicking. You start feeling confident.

February 1-15: You’re applying to jobs and getting interviews. Your preparation is paying off. You recognize problems instantly.

February 16-28: You’re in final rounds. Multiple companies are interested. You have leverage.

March 1: You’re reviewing offers. You negotiated because you had options. You’re starting your new role with a significant salary bump.

Total time invested: 8-10 weeks of consistent practice.

Result: A new job, potentially $20,000-$50,000+ in additional salary, and career momentum that compounds for years.

The Daily Investment

What does “consistent practice” actually look like?

Minimum viable practice: 10-15 minutes per day

Moderate practice: 30-45 minutes per day

Intensive practice: 60-90 minutes per day

Even the minimum—10-15 minutes daily—adds up to 5-7 hours of practice over a month. That’s enough to solve 60+ problems and internalize the most common patterns.

Why This January Is Different

Every January brings a hiring surge. But January 2026 has some unique factors working in your favor.

The Tech Market Is Rebounding

After a challenging 2023-2024, the tech job market has been steadily recovering. Companies that paused hiring are now backfilling. Startups that tightened belts are expanding again. The roles are coming back—and they need to be filled.

AI Skills Are In Demand

Companies are scrambling to build AI capabilities. But here’s what they’ve learned: AI doesn’t replace engineers who understand fundamentals. If anything, it makes strong problem-solvers more valuable.

Your algorithm and data structure skills are exactly what companies need. Engineers who can think clearly about problems, design efficient solutions, and understand complexity trade-offs are more valuable than ever.

Remote Work Expands Your Options

The shift to remote and hybrid work means you’re not limited to companies in your city. A developer in Austin can interview for roles in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, or anywhere. Your job market just got 10x bigger.

This also means more competition—which is exactly why preparation matters. The candidates who’ve been grinding while others scroll will stand out.

How to Make January Count

Knowing January is important isn’t enough. You need a plan.

Week 1: Build the Foundation (January 1-7)

Goal: Establish the daily habit, no matter how small.

Daily commitment: 10 minutes minimum, every single day.

Focus areas:

Key habit: Practice at the same time every day. Morning coffee, lunch break, or before bed—pick one and stick to it.

Week 2: Expand Your Patterns (January 8-14)

Goal: Start recognizing common problem patterns.

Daily commitment: 15-20 minutes.

Focus areas:

Key habit: After solving a problem, identify its pattern. “This was a two-pointer problem because…”

Week 3: Increase Difficulty (January 15-21)

Goal: Graduate to Medium difficulty problems.

Daily commitment: 20-30 minutes.

Focus areas:

Key habit: When stuck, use hints strategically. Learn from the solution, then try a similar problem.

Week 4: Prepare for Action (January 22-31)

Goal: Get interview-ready and start applying.

Daily commitment: 30+ minutes.

Focus areas:

Key actions:

By the end of January, you’ll have 30+ days of consistent practice, 60+ problems solved, and the confidence to tackle technical interviews.

The Mobile Advantage

Here’s a secret: you don’t need to be at your desk to prepare.

The time is already there. You’re just not using it.

That’s 50-85 minutes of potential practice time, scattered throughout your day. Time you’re probably spending on social media anyway.

Why Mobile Practice Works

Zero friction: Your phone is always with you. No setup required. No excuses about not having your laptop.

Fills dead time: You’re not adding practice time to your schedule—you’re redirecting time you were going to waste.

Builds consistency: It’s easier to maintain a daily habit when practice can happen anywhere.

Complements desktop work: Use mobile for pattern recognition and concepts. Use desktop for implementation practice.

Yeetcode: Built for This

This is exactly why we built Yeetcode as a native mobile app:

The cold January weather means you’re probably on your phone more than usual anyway. Make that screen time count.

The Competition Is Sleeping

Most people won’t read this post and take action. They’ll think “good advice” and then scroll to the next thing.

They’ll tell themselves they’ll start preparing “soon.” They’ll wait until they see a job posting they like. They’ll procrastinate until February, then March, then suddenly it’s summer and they still haven’t started.

That’s your advantage.

While they’re sleeping, you’re building skills. While they’re making excuses, you’re solving problems. While they’re waiting for motivation, you’re creating momentum.

By the time they finally start preparing, you’ll have months of practice behind you. You’ll be getting offers while they’re still trying to remember how binary search works.

Start Today

Not tomorrow. Not Monday. Not “when you have more time.”

Today.

Here’s your action plan:

Right now (2 minutes):

  1. Download Yeetcode on your phone
  2. Solve one Easy problem
  3. Set a daily reminder for tomorrow

This week:

This month:

The outcome:

January Won’t Wait

The hiring surge is happening now. Recruiters are filling roles now. The weather is keeping you inside now.

This is your window.

You can use January to transform your career. Or you can let it pass like every other month, full of good intentions but no action.

The developers who land great jobs in 2026 aren’t smarter than you. They’re just the ones who started preparing when they had the chance.

Your chance is right now. It’s cold outside. You’re already on your phone. The job market is hot.

What are you waiting for?

Download Yeetcode and solve your first problem today. Ten free attempts, no signup required. Start building the skills that will define your 2026.

The grind starts now. The results come later. But they only come if you start.

January is your month. Make it count.