Job seekers often fall victim to the misconception that companies don't hire during the dog days. There are several reasons to turn up the heat on your job search.

By Anne Fisher, contributor

FORTUNE -- Dear Annie: Please settle an argument. A close friend of mine who has been job hunting for the past six months or so is talking about taking July and August "off," on the theory that employers don't hire anyone in the summer anyway. I got my job in mid-August last year, so I know firsthand this isn't always true, but was I just an exception, or is summer generally a good time to keep job hunting? We have a lobster dinner riding on your answer. — Cape Cod

Dear C.C.: "The idea that companies cut back on hiring in the summer is a myth," says Patty Coffey, a partner at staffing firm Winter Wyman. "In fact, most employers fill job openings at the same pace, or even an increased pace, during the hottest months of the year."

The trickiest part of a summer job hunt is, as you might imagine, scheduling interviews around people's vacations. "An interview process that would normally take three weeks may stretch out to five weeks or even longer," Coffey notes. "So candidates may have to be a little more patient than usual."

Even so, Coffey says that there are seven reasons you should persevere: More