What to Do When Your Job Search is On Pause
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Have you put your job search on pause?
Maybe you're feeling burned out from endless online applications, or you have a job that requires you to stay where you are for now. Whatever the reason is, summer is a natural season for rest and reset.
If you are not urgently job searching but still want to use your time off strategically, here are five ideas to try:
Visualize where you want to be next summer. Creative visualization is a powerful tool that involves creating a highly detailed image in your mind of a future that you want to create. The brain doesn't fully distinguish vividly imagined experiences from real ones. Painting a picture of your future self can help you figure out what you really want out of a job, which will make your search journey easier. (When you're ready to try it, here are some instructions.)
Collect dream job descriptions without any intention of applying. Don't worry about whether you're qualified for these roles, just keep the ones that get you excited. When you have a few collected, take a look at them together:
What common themes do you notice?
What surprises you?
Do the positions require skills or experience that you lack, or need to strengthen? If so, it could illuminate an area of growth for you in your current position.
Nurture your network. Starting to network now is a good idea, because it takes time to build relationships. And, summer travel schedules may mean it takes longer to set up a meeting time.
On the plus side, if you're under less pressure to land a new job, your networking conversations can be more exploratory, less transactional, and ideally more enjoyable for everyone involved. (For more, check out this advice from a client who networked her way to a dream project.)Refresh your professional brand. With your time freed up from job searching, it is a good time to take a step back and reflect on the story you are telling yourself and the world:
What are my strengths?
What are the themes that keep coming up for me at work?
What problems do I help solve?
Then, take a look at your resume and LinkedIn profile and make sure that it truly reflects how you want to be seen in your next career move. Taking a broader view of your achievements will help you tell your story in a way that provides context for future employers and makes it easier for them to see your potential.
Seek inspiration, not results. The most meaningful opportunities often emerge when you least expect them. Summer is the best time of year to shake up your routines and find yourself in new situations, where unexpected opportunities can arise.
There is actually a name for this: Planned Happenstance Theory, or planning for the unplanned. The key to making planned happenstance work for you, experts say, is to follow your curiosity. So take that trip, sign up for that workshop, check out that art fair – anything that invites inspiration to find you.
A pause in your job search can still mean progress. Use this season well, and when you're ready to search again, you'll do it with more clarity, confidence and connections than you had before.