Summer’s here (in the northern hemisphere, at least)…

And this means, longer days, lots of sunshine and for many, holiday time.

But what does it mean for your job or career?

What should you be doing in the Summer to boost your career?

Listen in to this vital episode and find out more …

Hello and a very warm welcome to Episode No 44 of ‘Your Bravo Career’

 

My name is Mark Crossfield, I’m a Professional Career Coach / helping you to love your job and build a great career.  

 

How you can enjoy what you are doing day each day at work

and how to build a great career along the way.

Scene setting

Welcome into episode 44 where I’m going to be talking about how you can use your Summer wisely to support you in your job or career.

 

 So, today I have 6 things, yes 6, that you can do this Summer to improve your job or career.

 

No news today, so, let’s get straight into it …

Here are my 6 tips for career success this Summer

 

Tip one is to …

 

1.    Get Organised

 

Yes, my first tip is to use your Summer to get organised ahead of what will likely become a much busier time at the end of Summer and into September.

 

Use the time now to de-clutter your workspace and make it a pleasant place to work in. Give your desk a good clear-out and set some time aside for a digital tidy-up as well.

 

Also, if you are going to be away on holiday, remember to leave your 'next action' notes somewhere prominent so that you can be confident about what you need to do next when you return to your workspace.

 

My next tip builds on the theme of getting organised and that is to spend some time …

 

2.    Planning and goal setting

 

Reviewing your year in the Summer, at the midpoint, is an essential annual activity and an opportunity to take stock of where you are, reflect on your year so far, and note your achievements. 

 

So, what did you achieve so far this year? What has gone well and what didn't go so well? Look also at your day-to-day activities to see what has been taking up the majority of your time?  How are you doing overall? If your energy, confidence or happiness levels aren't where you would like them to be, make a note of this.

 

How have you done with any goals that you have set yourself at the start of the year or since then? Are you on course to achieve your goals or do you need to make some changes to ensure you achieve them?

 

And finally, are your goals still relevant? Do you need to amend or even change your goals? I find that, quite often, some goals will be no longer relevant or will need to be amended in some way. Now is the time to make those changes.

 

As I say, this review process is a great activity to do in the Summer as you have time for reflection, and you can easily course-correct if you need to.

 

Ok, so that's the second idea to undertake some planning and goal setting.

 

And that leads to the third idea which is to …

 

3.    Review your profile

 

When I say your profile, I am of course talking about your CV and LinkedIn profile. Whether you’re in the market for a new job or not, it’s always a good idea to review your professional profile a few times a year. Summertime is a great time to do this and even small changes to your profile can have a big impact. 

 

Here are some suggested changes you can make.

 

Update your CV and LinkedIn role descriptions by reading from the bottom up and consider deleting older roles that might not be so relevant anymore. 

 

Update your skills and add any new professional skills that you might now have and consider removing some of the more dated skills which have ceased to be as relevant.

 

Now is a good time to also make sure you have a professional-looking and recent photograph.

 

You might also need to update your formatting as readability is important and remember white space is good, it aids understanding and clarity.

Refresh Contact Information and ensure that you’re using a professional email address for communications. 

 

Remember, your profile should be a concise document so make sure in particular that the top portion reflects your best, most relevant experience. This may mean, in some cases, moving sections around. Once you’ve had several jobs, for instance, your education probably belongs at the bottom of the page, not the top. 

 

Finally, proofread your profile. This is a particularly important when you have just made many small tweaks here and there. If you can, get a trusted friend or colleague to read it for you as well.

 

Ok, that’s your profile sorted, now let’s move on to the fourth tip, and that is to use the Summer to …

 

4.     Network

 

Now, you might be thinking that networking has a bad reputation as a sleazy activity carried out at conferences, seminars, meetings and other professional gatherings. This is not the type of networking I’m suggesting here. Nor do I think it’s a race to have as big a network as you possibly can. 

 

Instead, networking is about strengthening your existing connections and thinking of them as being part of your support team rather than considering them as just people you happen to know or work with.

 

Summertime is a great time to do this as it can be easier to meet up with people and generally people tend to be more open to talking with you at this time.

 

The secret to networking is regular catchups, the more you can connect with and understand these individuals, the more you will deepen your connection with them.

 

Networking is a 2-way arrangement, of course, so always be on the lookout for how you can add value to your network. You can do this in several ways:

 

-           Ask how you can help them in their role and what support they may need

-           Look out for ways you can support them and provide assistance

-           Share information and resources that can help them, and generally

-           Be a good ally

 

 

Building your network will give you additional support when you need it. Whether this is about learning a new skill or looking for a new job

 

If networking is new to you, LinkedIn is a great starting point. And, remember if you do jump on LinkedIn, make sure you connect with me.

 

Ok, that’s the 4th tip, networking and that leads onto the 5th tip, which is …

 

 

5.     Self-Development

 

Summer is a great time to undertake some self-development and there are lots of resources you can use to support you to do this. These include great books, audiobooks, podcasts, YouTube videos and learning channels such as LinkedIn learning.

 

We've never had more information available to us. 

 

Two of the best books on navigating the world of career selection are:

 

-  Working Identity - Herminia Ibarra

-  The Squiggly career – Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis

Working Identity is still probably the best I have read on this subject. It’s an old book, and I have read it many times and highlighted the best bits.

 

Both books are highly recommended, and for many people, this may be enough to support you in understanding yourself better and making intelligent next steps in managing your career.

 

The steps needed to secure a job include CV preparation, job application writing, and succeeding at a job interview. All these steps can be fairly alien if you are not used to them. Thankfully there are a lot of books available to help you in this area and two of the best are:

 

Both of these books are useful in helping you to prepare your job application and CV and also to get you ready for your interview. Preparation is the key, and therefore, these books are highly recommended.

Having decided on a career and succeeded in securing a role that ticks all your boxes there are still many challenges to enjoying your role and succeeding at work over the long term. Two of the best books that can support you with these challenges are:

 

 

So, go and check out some of those recommendations or create your own plan for self-development this Summer.

 

And that leads us on to the final tip today, and that is to use the Summer to …

 

 

6.     Take a break!, yes Take a break!

 

Repeated studies list the importance of taking breaks, and time away from work is an ideal opportunity to do just that. You don’t need to spend the summer on the beach to take a break, by the way, just doing something you enjoy away from work for a while is all it takes.

 

Breaks allow us to stay sharp and focused, and it helps with your enthusiasm and commitment to your job, which is extremely important when it comes to enjoying work.

 

It’s also a useful time to think about your career values.

 

Your career values are your beliefs about what's important in your work and the things you find meaningful in your job or career.

 

These are unique to you. 

 

Some people are very focussed on salary while others seek to use creativity, and still, others want a role with flexible hours, and that fits in with the rest of their life.

 

So, spend this summer thinking about your values. And I also think it is useful to at least consider alternative career roles. Even if doing this re-affirms you are in the right role it will be worthwhile.

 

And, as I have said before you can do this by thinking of some alternative job or career options that are:

 

 

-           Roles similar to those that you have already done

 

-           Roles that are different but complementary to the work you have done, this is where there is some kind of overlap

 

-           and 

 

-           Breakthrough job ideas which are completely different from anything you have ever done before.

 

 

Looking at career alternatives is important because it gets you thinking about whether there is a more enjoyable role or job or even career that would be better suited to you.

 

Sometimes we don’t realise our job is mediocre until we see the possibilities of what else we can do.

 

And, as I say, sometimes looking at the alternatives re-affirms how much you do enjoy your current role and that’s great as well. So looking at alternatives is a win-win activity.

 

OK

 

 
Summary
 
So, there you have it, 6 tips for career success this Summer

 

6 things you can do this Summer to improve your job or career.

 

Here they are:

 

1.    Clear the Decks! - Get Organised this Summer

2.    Planning and goal setting – make hay while the sun shines

3.    Review your profile – Get your CV and or your LinkedIn profile up to date

4.    Use the Summer to improve your support Network

5.    Use this time for self-Development, and

6.    Remember it’s Summer, so, … Take a break!,

 

So, that’s it! We’ve come to the end of another episode.

 

I hope you enjoyed the show.

 

I’ll be along in a couple more weeks with another one, so, why not subscribe if you haven’t already, so you don’t miss it.

 

As usual,

  

You can email me at mark@bravocoaching.co.uk and you can find the show notes at bravocoaching.co.uk/podcast.

   

Have a wonderful week and I will speak to you again in a couple of weeks time.

 

Bye for now.