4 reasons why everyone should take a break from work
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We have heard these stories many times. A sudden change in life or a layoff forces a professional to shift gears and suddenly he finds himself faced with hours of work to get his job done CV to update and define yourself as a professional before even starting your job search.
What if it didn't have to be this way? What if you had been doing the work all along?
Even if you are happy and content in your job, you should take precautions to deal with a job loss or sudden change. This is where “me time” comes into play.
If professionals took some time every few months to focus on and track where they are in their careers, they would be better able to adapt to and take advantage of sudden career changes.
You may now be asking yourself, “How can I make the best use of my professional “time out”? Here are a few ideas!
Constantly track your professional skills and achievements
Whether stored in a notebook, a diary, or on a computer, professionals should keep a running list of their skills, quantifiable work products, and awards and recognition.
You may be wondering, “Isn’t that the purpose of mine CV ?"
No!
Not everything fits on a resume, and the skills and quantifiable accomplishments you list will vary depending on the job you're seeking.
If you keep a list of this information, it will be much easier to include the information you need in the resume, which makes writing the CV relieved. Plus, we are all busy people and forget things. If you have your running list regularly update professional skills and achievements , you can make sure nothing is forgotten while it's still fresh in your mind.
Another benefit that comes from regularly recording all of this information is that it allows professionals to take a constant inventory of their best and most important skills. You may have acquired over 100 great skills throughout your career, but ultimately what matters is proving that you have the 8-10 required for a particular job.
Plan and prepare for professional development opportunities
Promotions and opportunities for advancement don’t usually just fall into your lap. It often comes down to good preparation and a proactive approach.
When professionals take the time to step back and regularly assess where they stand, it becomes much easier to put themselves in a position to take a step. For example, simply ask yourself, "What do I want to do next?"
If you're seeking a promotion, you should take time to consider what additional responsibilities are associated with the job and whether you have the required skills. If this is the case, you can prepare for a promotion before the position is even advertised. That's called being proactive!
If not, this is a good opportunity to identify the skills you are missing and create a plan to acquire those skills. In some cases, it can be as simple as taking on new responsibilities in your current job. In other cases, you may need to look into online courses or certification programs.
It's much better to take action now than to find out you're not qualified when a promotion opportunity comes along.
All of this information is also very useful when you're going through a performance review or having a career conversation with your boss.
Manage your personal brand and networking efforts
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One of the worst things a professional can do is rely only on their network when they are in need. Those who do this have to scramble to find a job and ask favors from acquaintances they haven't spoken to in years.
The key is to provide value to your network when you are happy and confident in your career. Then, when you find yourself in a professional bottleneck, you are more likely to find contacts who can help you or refer you.
It's important for all professionals to pause from time to time to evaluate their networking strategy and think about how they can provide more value to their networks.
There are many ways to offer value but one of the best ways is to offer value by leveraging your personal brand.
You can leverage your personal brand and provide value by focusing on a few areas of professional expertise and experience, creating content around those experiences, and sharing that content online with your professional network and others.
The content can be an article, a short social post or a video, it doesn't matter. You never know what people are going through or searching for in their careers. Sometimes the smallest insight or personal experience can have the biggest impact.
The best thing about this strategy is that it allows professionals to share their knowledge as an asset while signaling to their network how they want to be viewed as a professional.
Taking occasional time off to strategize your personal branding and networking is essential to your professional success.
The key to an efficient and successful job search
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Assessing skills and performance, planning professional development, and personal branding and networking are important at all stages of a professional career.
Professionals who focus on these areas not only have a head start in building their careers, but also an advantage if they suffer a setback and need to look for a new job. Because they have taken the necessary steps from the beginning, these professionals can build their careers efficiently. Job search strategy and carry it out since much of the work has already been done.
Using your free time to focus on and evaluate your professional situation can set you up for your current and future professional success.
