PLAY MORE.

This weekend I am in MInneapolis for two of my nephews' high school graduations (how they all get so old as I stay so young is beyond me), so I took a road trip with my 12-year-old niece, 10-year-old nephew and 5-year-old son.   We stayed in a hotel on the way to cut the drive time in half, and of course, headed straight to the pool.  Instead of doing my usual sit in the hot tub and watch the kiddos play, I decided to get in the middle of the fun.  We had handstand competitions, then walking handstand competitions, dabbled in a little "Marco Polo" (I learned my 5-year-old is a ruthless cheater), and then spent about 20 minutes going from sittng in the hot tub to jumping in the cold pool.  We laughed a lot.   It was joyous.  It was ridiculous without any rhyme or reason.  It felt wonderful and I was reminded of how we all forget to play as adults.  So, this weekend I encourage you to play like a child or just play more.  Put down the vacuum, close your laptop, and just play with your kids, nephews or nieces, or call a friend for a bike ride.   Just play, your soul needs it!  

Should You Give Your Job Search a Summer Vacation?

Many job seekers mistakenly assume that companies do not actively hire during the summer months, so they may opt to take a break from their job search.  Let me dispel that myth.  Companies are actively hiring through the summer months.  Remember, the recruiting calendar that I blogged about in January.   Great news for job seekers, Q1 and Q2 2015 were even more active than I had forecast earlier this year. So, get ahead of other job seekers putting their search on hold for the summer and keep your job search active.  They will enter the job market again in the fall creating more competition for open positions.  

Here are a few more reasons to keep your job search active in the summer months:

Summer is a great time to network.  Let's face it, summer is a great time to be more social and expand your network.  Reach out to your colleagues and grab a leisurely lunch or play a game of golf.  Make your desire to make a career move known within your network.  Get your referral network working for you as employee referrals are one of the best ways to get hired into a company.  Summer is also a great time to request informational interviews.  You may have an easier time getting your foot in the door.  Don't forget social networking either.  Get in touch with former colleagues who may be in another town and keep your social media presence active.  

Companies take more time to interview and assess candidates in summer months.  Call it a summer attitude, but I have always found hiring managers and interviewers in general, to be more laid back in their approach to talking with candidates during summer months.  Most people are taking some time off, enjoying the weather, so are more refreshed and relaxed.  This is not meant to suggest that candidates are not assessed and evaluated during summer months.  It just seems more time is taken in interviews and conversations with potential hires.  In general, summer is a season when people are just happier and in a better mood than usual because of their own vacations or time spent enjoying the great weather.  They may have staff on vacation and a lighter schedule, so will take more time interviewing you.  Take advantage of that!

Summer has longer days.  Use the longer days and slower pace of summer to take some extra time to research your industry,  interesting companies, and see who is hiring and learn more about open positions.  Take the time to think about your career and what's next for you and what you may want.  What do you really enjoy doing?  What do you want to do more of or less of at work?  Use the extra time summer brings to do some thinking.  It will be easier to focus your job search once you define what you want to do, and more importantly, what you do NOT want to do. 

Summer reading.  Many of us seek out good reading material for the long summer weekends.  Get your resume on some reading lists. Take the time to update your resume and social media profiles.  Be thoughtful, take your time and have them proofread.  Ask friends and colleagues to review and edit.  Seek feedback and advice.  Follow companies and market influencers.  Take a stab a writing an article or two on a subject that you are an expert on and post it.  Be proactive in building your own market presence.  Make sure that your messaging aligns from your resume to your social media presence.   If you don't know how to use LinkedIn, Twitter and other social networks, then take the summer months to learn.  

Stay consistent in your job search activities to land that next position, even during the summer.  Keep active during the work week in your job search.  Remember that is important to relax and recharge your batteries too.  So, if you continue your job search activities during the week, then take the weekend off to relax and get a little sun.  Just remember your sunscreen.  You don't want to show up to a job interview sunburned!