If you’re looking for work now, you probably don’t have any intention of stopping for the summer. In the world of job search, however, like most worlds, the bottom line rests not on what you don’t intend, but on what you do intend – and then make plans – to do. Confusing? Put another way, it doesn’t matter whether you “don’t intend” to stop job searching. What does matter is whether you’re actively making plans to keep going.
I mention this for a couple of reasons. One, I live in Minnesota where the tradition of easing back over the summer is well-established. We have all winter to work hard, so why overdo it when the sun finally shines? A lightened job search process is the unacknowledged truth for many northerners when the thermometer climbs past 80.
And two, summer brings other realities, regardless of location. For out-of-work job seekers who may be tending out-of-school kids, continuing the search may not be pragmatic. By intent or by default, the reality in these households may be that it’s less expensive to stay home with the kids for the summer months than to cobble together care that frees up time for the search.
Taking a break from the job search isn’t necessarily a bad thing. What’s bad is struggling to conduct a search when your heart isn’t in it, or when other factors conspire against you. When it seems evident that nothing is going to get done anyway, I’m usually the first to say, “Let’s put this on hold for 10 weeks. Then we’ll start with a roar instead of an exhausted whimper.”
But what if you can’t afford to pause your search? Or you really don’t want to, despite the siren call of the back deck? That’s when we need to circle back to intent. As in, “Gentlemen, what are your intentions?” That’s the line from the movie “Apollo 13” where Tom Hanks, playing astronaut Jim Lovell, essentially lays it on the line for the crew of his disabled spaceship: If we intend to make it home, we have to plan and act. Is that our intent?
History – and Hollywood – tells us the successful outcome of that pointed little pep talk. It’s been a good lesson for me as well. Since seeing that movie a million years ago, I remember that intent is both demonstrated by and carried out through our actions. So, when our actions don’t seem to match the stated intent, one of two things is likely true: The actions need to be adjusted, or the intent wasn’t truthful. That is, we said something, but didn’t really intend to make it happen.
Coming back to summer job search, my first piece of advice is to determine which camp you fall into: Do you intend to search this summer, or do you intend to take a break and return in a few weeks?
Of course, you could split the difference and simply reduce your search efforts. Careful! Recognize that moving to “job search lite” is often a way to kid yourself that you’re doing more than you are. If you’re not “all in” you’ll have to make very specific plans to ensure that something gets done or else your search will be overcome by more urgent situations.
Assuming you intend to continue your campaign to find new work this summer, here are more tips to help you stay focused.
Be realistic about other obligations and temptations. Whether you're juggling child care and family reunions or fending off the urge to hit the beach, you're better off scheduling in some of these activities than pretending they're not there.
Remember how productive early mornings can be. I'm not a morning person, so this is a hard-won tip: If you get up earlier than everyone else and devote a couple of hours to emails or other search activities, you'll be amazed at how much progress you can make.
Resist the urge to "multi-task" summer and search. Do you really think it's a good idea to bring your laptop to the beach, or to answer emails while watching the kids at the pool? No, I didn't think so.
Take stock of your progress every week. If you're not making headway, ask yourself why. Some problems can be corrected by making adjustments, while others might need an outside perspective to resolve.
Be honest with yourself. If you're not willing / able to conduct this search, or to fix the problems you identify, then move to Plan B, whatever it is. But don't ruin a perfectly good summer by "sort of" searching. It won't work, and you won't have any fun either.
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