We are now well into the summer season. For many in job search there is a temptation to not put as much effort into their search. One belief is that with so many hiring managers on vacation, there won’t be many people hiring again until the autumn. For others, formal networking groups that they attend choose not to meet during the summer. It is also human nature to see many others on vacation, so why not me? However, the savvy job seeker realizes summer has many built in advantages that actually aid their search.
Individuals tend to be more active in the summer. The weather is usually better there are more outdoor gatherings, new people to meet. Those people are potential contacts to assist you in your search. If your thought process is not to share that you are in search with those that you meet, particularly if you don’t know them very well, I’d advise you to think again. Over the last several years so many individuals have been in transition, they can empathize with your current situation. Yes, you don’t just blurt out to someone I’m looking for a job and ask them “Do you have a job for me?” However, it is a perfect opportunity to explain what work you have done, what you are looking to do and companies that you are targeting. You never know to whom you are talking. You never know whom they may know. However, the contacts you make are not going to be able to help you if you never let them know you are in job search in the first place.
When one is in transition, and they’re not working at all, job search is their full time job. When you were working full-time it is likely you worked for most of the weeks during the summer, and perhaps had a week or two of vacation during that period of the year. Things should be no different now. If you have built a solid job search campaign you have done such things as assessing what it is you want to do next in terms of a career, developed your pitch to introduce yourself to others, have researched your industry and companies in the industry, developed a resume’, practiced interviewing and written and sent many an introductory cover letter or follow-up thank you letter. To the extent that some of the items I have listed in the last sentence are not regular staples of your job search strategy, then frankly you have a lot of work to do this summer to get your job search campaign in shape. If you are well versed in all of them, (and well versed means doing them continually, having many leads going at the same time, adjusting as necessary), then summertime can be a time to do some self-study courses to improve your skills. For example, if you are not social media savvy, perhaps you will use the time to create and build up your Linked In profile. Or maybe you will take that computer course in Excel or Powerpoint you have been meaning to take.
While many of these suggestions would appear to be ones you could be doing all year round, then you are getting the point. The summer is no time to slow down or even suspend your search. Yes, you should take time for yourself to enjoy, (whether it is a day trip here or there, or even a family vacation). However, if you choose to take the entire summer off from your search you are falling behind others that are keeping their searches going, and making it that much more difficult for yourself to get restarted when you look to resume your activities in the fall. There are always people with whom to network, research to complete, letters of introduction to write and phone calls to make. Additionally, there will be hiring managers interviewing candidates during the summer. Yes, that hiring manager may use some vacation time themselves. However, they are also looking for that next great candidate to come in and address the issues they need solved in their department or business. However, you cannot be that candidate if you choose to spend your summer on the sidelines.
