How to get ready to find your dream job during the summer holidays

Phew it’s hot!

And when it’s hot and sticky, it’s hard to concentrate.

Even if you’re desperate to find a new job.

Given the vagaries of the British summer, the mini heatwave may pass or linger all summer. Whichever we’re blessed with, if you’re job hunting, you probably don’t want to spend your whole summer frantically scanning the job ads and searching LinkedIn for your dream job.

However you’ll get a huge advantage if you plan ahead over the next few weeks, so that come September, you don’t get waylaid by the back-to-work frenzy which means that you’ll be one step ahead of everyone else who starts their job search in September.

To help you feel like you’re doing something constructive, but without feeling like you’re spending hours stuck indoors instead of enjoying the sunshine, I’ve updated my summer job search plan.

Your 6 week summer job search plan

This summer job search plan will help you:

Work productively on your job search in short bursts so that you enjoy the summer break and still be setting yourself up for job search success in September
Take action in small chunks, 30 minutes or less, on key activities so that you can plan these around your holidays
Set you up for success in September with a clear road map of what you need to do so that you don’t panic and feel overwhelmed
Keep your job search activities ticking over so that you don’t lose momentum and don’t miss out on any golden opportunities while you’re enjoying the summer

This summer job search plan is designed to help you kick start your job search after summer without overwhelm and frustration by focusing on one key activity a week, between now and September.

Week 1 – Clarity

Week 2 – Skills audit

Week 3 – Visibility

Week 4 – Presentation

Week 5 – Preparation

Week 6 – Leverage

Week 1 – Clarity

If you’re already crystal clear in what you’re looking for and what you want from your next dream job, this will be quick and easy.

If you’re not sure, then this is for you.

Take 30 minutes to journal and reflect on what you are looking for in a job:

Job role
Ideal employer
Team size
Sector
Flexible working
Hours
Salary
And values

Values are in bold because if you are short on time, then focus on identifying your core values because this is fundamental to finding your dream job. Your core values are personal to you and determine what’s most important to you about how you work and live your life.

When you get clear on your core values, decision making will be SO much easier because you’ll be able to see straight away which jobs or employers are a good fit for you.

Week 2 – Skills audit

In week 2, use your 30 minutes to do a skills audit using my popular Hell Yes, Hell No list.

Get a clean sheet of paper – divide it into 3 columns. At the top of column 1, write ‘Hell Yes‘, column 2 ‘Hell No‘ and the 3rd column ‘Maybe‘.

Write down all the things you LOVE about work in the Hell Yes column. Is it working with Excel spreadsheets, talking to customers, problem-solving, being part of a team, fast pace … Think too about the environment – do you love the hustle & bustle of a busy office or do you prefer a calm atmosphere?

In the Hell No column, write down all the things you hate. Maybe it’s working with Excel spreadsheets, or talking to customers … we’re all different. What one person loves, another person hates.

Anything you’re not fussed about, goes in the Maybe column.

And if your Hell Yes list is much longer, that’s ok and very normal.

Week 3 – Visibility

In week 3, take 30 minutes to get ready to get boldly visible on LinkedIn.

Updating your whole LinkedIn profile might seem more than you can fit in, however in just 30 minutes you can update three key things: your photo, your headline and your summary.

When recruiters search for potential candidates on LinkedIn, they are 14x more likely to look at those profiles with a photo.

Remember that your photo needs to reflects you in your work environment.

Check this article here for more tips on what makes a good LinkedIn photo.

When it comes to your headline, think about this from your potential employer perspective. It needs to hook the curiosity and draw people in. What will future employers be searching for?

Identify the keywords that your headline needs to include so that you are more likely to show up in search results.

Finally review and update your summary on LinkedIn so that it tells a story about WHO you are, WHAT you do and HOW you do it. Discover how to write a powerful summary that makes you the stand-out candidate HERE.

For more LinkedIn job search tips, check out the recording of my free class available to download and watch HERE.

Week 4 – Presentation

In week 4, now that you’ve updated your LinkedIn profile, think about you present yourself in your CV.

If you haven’t written a CV for years, start by writing out your career history.

Note the highlights from your career history – for example your proudest achievements, your biggest challenges, your worst mistakes (and what you learnt from it), the best employer, the things you find easiest.

Now review your CV objectively and check that these highlights are reflected in your CV.
Make sure your CV includes the keywords you identified in week 3.
Assess the layout and format? Is it crisp, clean, typo free with plenty of white space?
Are you using action words e.g. led, organised, coordinated, directed to describe your achievements rather than simply listing responsibilities?

Check out the free resources HERE for more top tips on CV presentation.

Week 5 – Preparation

You might think this is being a bit too premature, but if life is a bit more relaxed in the summer, it’s a great time to reflect on your achievements and experience so that you can get fully prepared for your dream job interview which means that you’ll be THE stand-out applicant.

First grab yourself a copy of my Ultimate Job Interview Checklist.

Next check out this guide to 15 Tough Job Interview Questions and How To Answer Them.

Practice the STAR technique which will give you a structure to follow when answering interview questions.

Start with the SITUATION – briefly set the scene and provide some context.

Next TASK – explain what you needed to achieve.

Then ACTION – describe what you actually did.

And finally describe the RESULT – what was the positive outcome and what did you learn.

Week 6 – Leverage

When I ask clients how they leverage their network, their typical response is that they avoid doing it because they don’t want to be a nuisance or a burden. In other words, we worry about what others might think.

So while many women are absolutely brilliant at creating connections, building relationships and developing a network, they’re not so good at leveraging that network.

The whole point of creating and building a supportive network is to reach out to your contacts and connections when you need help.

Job hunting is THE perfect moment to get comfortable with using your network to ask for help.

So for week 6, I want you to spend 30 minutes to leverage your network.

Reach out to former work colleagues, fellow user group members (via LinkedIn or Facebook or email) and tell them about your job search plans.

Who do you know who works at your dream company? Connect with them and ask for a virtual coffee to find out more about what it’s really like to work there.

Naturally this won’t get immediate results during the summer holidays, and it’s why I’ve left it until week 6 but it gets you started with a baby step that is simple and straightforward.

Not sure what to say? Because sometimes it’s easier to edit somebody else’s email than start from scratch, here’s the wording I suggest to my clients:

“Hi Jane, I hope you’re enjoying the summer. I’m planning to look for a new career opportunity in September. I’d love to catch up over a coffee after the summer holidays. In the meantime, please let me know if you hear of any suitable openings at your firm or elsewhere in the City.”