Boy is it ever hard to keep motivated in a career search when friends and family are donning their swim suits, taking vacations and hitting the beach! What to do…?Here are a few tips to keep you motivated when the Sun is shining and summer is in full swing!

1. Stay Thirsty My Friends!
The hot summer days brings on a renewed desire for refreshing drinks with umbrellas, iced cappuccinos and frozen smoothies consumed under the shade of some tree or on some beach somewhere. One of the things you can do to stay thirsty with career activities is to keep ‘front and center’ the end goal of your desired end. Resting under the shadow of your budding career aspirations is possible when you do not lay it aside but keep it on the calendar with daily activities of networking, research and reaching out to people in the labour market. If you are thirsty for forward motion you can achieve it while others are on their sabbatical and career activities slow down overall.

2. Believe!
Opposed to some people’s belief and advice the summer is still a good time to look for work. When many people are on vacation and works loads often are reduced professionals often have more time to meet and connect. This takes research and reaching out…but the pay offs are like a good tan. You just keep exposing yourself carefully and strategically and eventually it will pay off. After awhile those around you will be saying, “Hey that new career looks good on you!” As well, when other students are just figuring out what to do this Fall to advance your career, you will already have a handful of people you are connected to. If you believe it – you will do it!

3. Timing.
Have you ever been walking down the street on a breezy summer days and watched a sports car or older muscle car go by? It just projects the feeling of it being time to play and bring out the summer toys. Because of this and other summer fun, you will hear people say Summer (along with Christmas) season is the worst time to look for work. Although the work loads can decrease during peak holiday periods, there is a history of great success for those who do not let assumed slowdowns handcuff their aspirations and throw their job search activities into neutral. The summer will soon return to the Fall work schedules and the inevitable “back to the daily grind” work flow. My experience with my clients is that those who remain active during the slower periods find themselves in a better position than those who wait for things to ramp back up again. Delaying results by using the busy ramping up period of September to make contacts means you will likely be making connections for positions October and beyond. For those who seem the summer as good timing for pursuing work are the ones targeted for hiring when the workload increases in September when things the kids return to school and work returns to normal.

4. CPA Recruit.
For those of you pursuing the CPA firms for Fall recruiting, you just simply cannot afford to waste you summer away. Whether you are taking a full course load or not you must remain active and proactive with networking, career research and preparation. It is very encouraging for me when a student comes into see me and they have a list of the companies they are approaching, networking contacts in place and draft cover letters for companies ready to be reviewed. It speaks of preparedness and certainly makes for a much better coaching experience for both the student and career consultant. This is prime time for all those seeking positions with public firms whether small, medium or large. This is the time that you should make looking for work and full time job!

Lastly, enjoy the summer too! Take your breaks, find a chair under a tree to relax a bit, take a ride in a car with the top down and make sure you take care of you. A happy and rested job seeker is a successful job seeker.

Good luck and enjoy yourself this summer!

Russell Garrett is the Owner of Protocol Business Solutions, a Certified Career Consultant and the DAP Career Coach. He will be available to meet DAP students for CPA Application Reviews and Interview Preparation during in-person coaching appointments taking place in July and during the CPA recruiting period. He will also be delivering workshops on Interview Preparation. Appointments and workshops will be posted and can be registered for on COOL. Or, if you are a DAP student and have career related questions or wish to book an online coaching appointment, he can also be reached at dapcareersupport@sauder.ubc.ca