3 Things To Do Over Winter Break If You Want To Land A New Job By Q2 2019

3 Things To Do Over Winter Break If You Want to Land a New Job by Q2 2019   January is traditionally the biggest hiring month of the year. If you want to take advantage of it, you’d want to have your résumé and LinkedIn profile keyword optimized and branded to convert readers into excited employment prospects. If you haven’t gotten that far yet, hold the presses. Yes, of course, I think you should have a fully keyword optimized and branded résumé and LinkedIn profile (especially the LinkedIn profile,) but you can be in action without them. It takes quality time (and/or an investment for services like ours) to produce highly effective content. Get on that ASAP so that you can be responsive to opportunity, but I would encourage you to be proactive over being responsive over winter break because few employers are going to be monitoring incoming candidates. The proactive piece of the job search is what MOST people are missing or fail to continue once momentum starts to pick up. Then, if a few opportunities stall or die, they have to start back up from 0 momentum. Allocating time to proactive search methods is the key to building and sustaining momentum so that you get to a point where you have 4-5 viable opportunities in play, any one of which could turn into an acceptable offer at any moment. Then you have a new problem â€" figuring out which one is the best one. That’s a problem I love my clients to have. So over winter break lay the groundwork for a proactive job search, while perhaps preparing yourself to be responsive. Then, in spite of traditional advice that has you setting up time-consuming, hard to schedule one-on-meetings with the people on your lists, schedule 15-20-minute tele-coffees (a term I borrow from Neen James) with a specific agenda â€" learn more about if your solutions are right for the peoples’ problems and if a more extensive conversation is justified, which may just be an interview. You’ll also be finding out if your contacts have other problems you might easily solve by referring to someone or something. When an interview isn’t the result, aim to get 3 referrals/introductions. Whether you are home with your kids who are home from school, or you have family visiting, like so many this time of year, tele-coffees (or tele-teas or tele-happy hours) are usually something you can still accommodate. Leverage the time that can be spared to make some progress, deepen connections, and expand your network rather than taking time away from people to be with your computer screen. Get the rest you need and deserve. Immerse yourself in the hum of holiday hoopla, but when the humming starts to get irritating, take a little break and do something for you that will move you forward toward a happier new year. It doesn’t take as much time, effort and energy as most think to build sustainable job search momentum. In fact, finding ways to minimize how much time is required is paramount to being able to form good habits around job search activities that produce results, which is how you make sure that momentum continues, peaking when you receive not just one, but competing offers. A song from one of the underestimated King’s albums, “Universal James”. Karen Huller, author of  Laser-sharp Career Focus: Pinpoint your Purpose and Passion in 30 Days  (bit.ly/GetFocusIn30), is founder of Epic Careering, a corporate consulting and career management firm specializing in executive branding and conscious culture, as well as JoMo Rising, LLC, a workflow gamification company that turns work into productive play.   While the bulk of her 20 years of professional experience has been within the recruiting and employment industry, her publications, presentations, and coaching also draw from experience in personal development, performance, broadcasting, marketing, and sales.   Karen was one of the first LinkedIn trainers and is known widely for her ability to identify and develop new trends in hiring and careering. She is a Certified Professional Résumé Writer, Certified Career Transition Consultant, and Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist with a Bachelor of Art in Communication Studies and Theater from Ursinus College and a minor in Creative Writing. Her  blog  was recognized as a top 100 career blog worldwide by Feedspot.   She was an Adjunct Professor of Career Management and Professional Development at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, will be an Associate Professor in Cabrini University’s Communications Department in 2019,  and is also an Instructor for the Young Entrepreneurs Academy where her students won the 2018 national competition and were named America’s Next Top Young Entrepreneurs.