It's not early in the process anymore.

Phase 1 happens in January-March, when new schools or new positions are hiring for for next year.

Phase 2 is the retirement wave, which happens February through April.

Phase 3 is the "fill the vacancies caused by Phase 1-2" phase, happens usually until early May.

Phase 4 is the "I'm choosing to find a new job outside teaching, and those jobs open in March and April, usually after UIL.

Phase 5 is the musical chairs phase, coinciding/overlapping slightly with Phases 3-4, where people go from one position to another. It lasts until school starts. We're in Phase 5.

Phase 6 is the "last minute hires" phase for those vacancies whose candidates chose another job or for positions that came open unexpectedly for various reasons, this one lasts until September or so.

We're not early in the process anymore, even if there's still a lot of jobs to be filled.