Use the Holiday Season to Get Prepared

Summary: The holiday season brings days off from school or work when we can finally take some time to get organized and take our career further along to success.

September is finally upon us. The holiday season is approaching quickly, providing the opportunity to get ahead in our work and school. When in college, our time is often focused so much on school work that we forget to work on other projects that will advance our careers. This includes finishing projects that we started the year before and making goals for the next year.

Here are some things we can be doing during the holiday season to better our careers:

• Take advantage of LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the worlds largest professional network that is easy to use and can increase your network. Having a profile before you graduate from college will help you be prepared for the job search for the best careers. Answer these three questions when sitting down to put your profile together: 1) What is your biggest accomplishment in your career and how are you highlighting it? 2) What is it about other profiles that stand out to you and how can you do the same to your profile? 3) What do you hope to gain from your profile?

• Write down your dream job

We may be imagining our dream job or dream company every day but how often do we actually write that down? Putting our dreams onto paper will help them feel more real and attainable. Be as specific as possible when writing about every aspect of ideal job.

• Show what you have to offer

Make a list of all your skills, talents, knowledge, and other accomplishments that you can use to show a company your value. This will help you know what job postings are best for you and what you can truly offer.

• Make goals

You don’t have to start new goals on January 1^st. Start immediately so that you are on your way to a career instead of sitting on the back burner waiting for the right time. Make deadlines to go along with your goal to keep you in check. Be specific about the deadlines. A deadline could be about applying to a certain number of jobs and then the next deadline could be about getting a specific number of interviews scheduled by another date. Follow the SMART plan to make your goals realistic.

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