Ok, it’s officially summer and the 4th of July is coming (my favorite holiday if you were wondering...LFOD baby!). The sun is finally out and vacations are starting actually happen. Alas, the summer is also one of the hardest times of the year to network and get a job. All those things we love about the summer make finding a job slow and painstakingly annoying as things get rescheduled and pushed out to make sure the whole team is around. With that, before I go on my vacation....I give you a few tips and works of wisdom for the summer job seeker.

1) Lower expectations - Take a deep breath, relax and understand things will be a little slower this time of year. Nothing you can do about and you’ll be better off just chilling out. Don’t change anything you do but realize it will just take more effort and time to accomplish your goals.

2) Amp up the networking - Summer is a great time to network. Let’s be honest, everyone is looking for an excuse to enjoy the weather...so why not take advantage of that and do a little networking. Coffee outside at Starbucks? Sounds good to me!! All joking aside, with interviews and offers taking longer in the summer.....the best way to keep momentum w/ your job search is to network like a crazy person.

3) Look beyond the postings - As we all know by now, in the current economy most jobs are being filled without ever being posted. So, in the words of those dudes from Inception....you must go deeper. Ping your network, do that networking thing and aggressively poke around to find roles that aren’t posted out on the web.

4) Refresh - Simplest tip of them all. Use the summer to refresh and recharge your job search. Recognize things slow down and take advantage of this time to make sure you are not burnt out by an endless quest for kick-ass work. Having a great attitude will get you a long way during your job search......so, enjoy the summer and knock whatever interviews you do have out of the park.

Ok, that’s it, short post by me this week. I’m taking the next week off for some RR and work around the house (hello 8 yards of mulch). Good luck with the search and until next time....