5 ways to make progress on your career change over the summer

So here we are! The summer holidays are upon us.  When you have a family, this can be one of the busiest and trickiest 6 weeks of the year, but in-between all the lunch-making, snack-getting and attempts to keep the kids entertained, it is also a good time to reflect on what we do (and don’t) want from our lives and careers going forward.

In this blogpost, I have listed 5 things you can do when you get a few minutes peace over the holidays, that could really make a difference to how you feel about approaching and making changes in your career and home life come September.

Build your connections and network

One of the main ways to unlock potential future career opportunities is through the friends and connections we already have. If you are thinking of career change, take time over the summer to consider the people in your social and professional circle who would be interesting to have a conversation with.

One way to approach creating a list of contacts is to consider familiarity and context.  At the top are the people you know well who you can have a candid and explorative conversation with. These conversations are useful to build confidence or explore ideas. You can work your way down to your more formal and strategic contacts as you grow in confidence and clarity on the type of opportunities you are looking for.

Use the time to get clear on what you do (and don’t) want from your career

When we crave change it can be tempting to go in all guns blazing and head straight for job sites expecting to find our perfect role – and then get rather despondent that when it doesn’t appear.

Instead, flip the process on its head. Step back and take time to interrogate what it is that you really want this change to look like.

If you have quarter of an hour that you can carve out during the summer, you can take my 15-MINUTE CAREER CHANGE CHALLENGE.  It’s a downloadable PDF that takes you through my 3-step method to getting clarity on what you want and finding career happiness.

Create a career map

If you are a visual person, you’ll love this.  Get a lovely blank piece of paper and create a visual map to brainstorm all of your ideas. Think about the type of organisations or sectors you want to work in, and what sort of roles interest you.

Interrogate each of these ideas and career pathways by asking yourself what attracts to you it, and also what might be less appealing. Take note if there are any barriers to achieving this pathway – such as training or qualifications – and what you could actively do to overcome this.

Lastly, identify any actions you can take between now and September to help you get closer to your career change goal.

Make a schedule

The best way to stay on track with any goal is to write it down and then make a plan. Start by thinking about what you would like to have achieved by the end of the summer, then break it down into smaller milestones and then even smaller micro steps.

The smaller the steps, the easier it is to get started and make continuous progress.

When you are ready, start to think about updating your CV & LinkedIn

My advice would always be to hold off on working on your CV and LinkedIn until you have done some work on getting clear on the types of roles or opportunities you are looking for. It’s OK if you are pursuing several different pathways, but what you want to avoid is wasting precious time applying for roles you don’t really want.

The focus should be on creating a LinkedIn profile and CV that is crafted with your end destination in mind.

If you know that you’d like help with your CV and LinkedIn, check out my self-paced course Get Your Story Straight. It includes 2 x 60-minute 1 to 1 coaching sessions to review and then refine your CV & LinkedIn with a set of videos, PDF guides and resources to keep you on track.

If you have made it this far and know you want to make a change and would like more help, I run a group coaching programme Relaunching Brilliantly in February and September each year to help you get laser focused on your career .   To find out more go to Relaunching Brilliantly.