Lots of the women I often talk to plan to change jobs in September once the summer holidays are over.
And while you don’t want to be spending your summer job hunting, if you don’t plan ahead, come September, you’ll get caught up in the back-to-working-in-the-office frenzy.
Before you know it, you’ve missed out on a golden opportunity to get ahead of the crowd.
To help you feel like you’re doing something without spending hours and hours on your job search in the summer (after all, we’ve got the Olympics to watch!), I’ve created a 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
This might be the simplest and quickest week if you’re already crystal clear in your thinking about what you want from your next career move.
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
However the activity that always produces the most lightbulb moments in my workshops is getting clarity on your core values i.e. what’s most important to you about how you live your life.
Get clear on your core values, and 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.
Read more about your core values here.
Week 2 – Skills audit
In week 2, take 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, it’s about taking 30 minutes to get ready to get boldly visible on LinkedIn.
While updating your whole LinkedIn profile might seem daunting, in 30 minutes you can update:
- your LinkedIn photo so that you make a better first impression
- your headline
- your summary (About) section
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? Your headline needs to include some of your job search keywords.
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.
And for even more LinkedIn job search tips, join my online class on Wednesday 8 September at 1pm – register HERE.
Week 4 – Presentation
Week 4 is about refreshing and updating your CV. It’s easiest to do this after you’ve updated your LinkedIn profile.
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.
- Does your CV include those keywords you looked at in week 3?
- What about the layout and format? Is it crisp, clean, and typo free?
- Are you using action words e.g. led, organised, coordinated, directed to describe your achievements rather than simply listing responsibilities?
Week 5 – Preparation
In week 5, it’s time to start identifying how to prepare for your job interview so that you become 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
Many women are absolutely brilliant at creating connections, building relationships and developing a network.
However when it comes to leveraging that network, we tend to shy away from doing it because we worry what others might think.
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 time when it’s incredibly powerful to leverage your network and ask for help.
All you need to do is to reach out to former work colleagues, fellow user group members (via LinkedIn or Facebook or email) and tell them about your plans to look for a new opportunity in September.
Or if you know somebody who works at your dream company, reach out 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.”
How to kick start your job search after summer
This summer job search plan gives you the structure to 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 of 30 minutes or less, on the key activities: Clarity, Skills Audit, Visibility, Presentation, Preparation and Leverage so that you’re all set with a clear road map for your job search in September which means you can relax by the pool this summer!
p.s. If this has made you realise you could do with some extra support, check out Job Search Confidence which has been designed to help ambitious women find their dream job with confidence and ease by crafting a winning CV and LinkedIn profile and feeling fully prepared and in control of the job interview, so that you are THE stand out candidate.
Doors for Job Search Confidence close Sunday 26 September.
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