What’s your summer job search plan?

We’ve all heard the experts advice that we need to “treat our job search as a full-time job”.  That’s typical of expert advice that comes from folks that are not in the job market and do not understand the realities of today’s job search.

Spending day after day in front of your computer all day is a recipe for discouragement.  Let’s face it.  There are just not enough open positions to justify an all-day search regimen.  I recommend a different approach.

As we roll into summer, the hiring activity is sure to slow down.  I know, it’s hard to believe it could be slower than it is now.  With this in  mind, we should all have a plan in mind for job search strategy over the summer months.  Rather than staring at the laptop all day, let’s take a fresh look at what will give us the highest return on our job search time, while at the same time, stopping to “smell the roses”.

Shift your summer activities from pure job search, to a networking effort.  Rather than focusing on getting job interviews, let’s use this time to focus on building our business network.  This is a great time to network your way to those informational coffees with CEO’s.  This is a great time to be attending those organized networking events.  This is a great time to go back to your Linkedin connections and schedule a “catch up” coffee.

How you work this strategy into your daily plan really depends on your individual situation.  My day now has the morning dedicated to networking and network building.  My afternoons are “my time” to do something enjoyable, and get the mind off the job search for a while.

Hope this helps.  Let me know your thoughts.