“I think I’ll just enjoy my summer…” she said as we were wrapping up our call. This was several years ago, and I remember exactly what I thought at the time, “You’re going to lose your momentum, you’re going to forget why you started this process, and it’s going to feel like too much work to re-engage in September.”
Those are just three good reasons why you shouldn’t randomly decide to put your job search on pause (there are reasons you should, but that’s for another message).
Hang on, I hear you saying, who am I to take a relaxing summer vacation – especially after the year we’ve had – away from my job-hunting readers and clients?
I hope I am the person you count on to tell you the truth. If you are actively job hunting, if you want to catch a wave of really good, increasingly well-paid opportunities – don’t stop now!
One of the things I do for my clients is job sourcing, which means I am immersed in hiring trends, industry shifts and economic indicators. Here is what I am seeing from that work, and from my role in career services at the University of Delaware:
- Employers are becoming desperate to fill roles as they try to regain ground lost in 2020.
- Recruiters are finding it more difficult to find qualified candidates because people are stepping out of the market – meaning you can step in!
- Starting salaries are increasing – across the board – and new hires are negotiating increases, titles, and perks with surprisingly little resistance
- The economy is opening up in waves, affecting different industries differently. But one thing that is consistent is that vaccinations are driving new job creation, and summer is when we are going to see the full impact as most of the US population has the opportunity to get vaccinated.
In my observation, a “pause” in a job search generally leads to years of inaction, not just months. Find your new job this summer so that next summer you won’t be sitting at your computer thinking, “if only…”
I am a career REBEL!
I define my work.
My career is in my hands.
I stand up for who I am and how I contribute to the greater good.
I will invest my portfolio of knowledge, skills, and abilities
where they will earn the most significant return.
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