5 Tips to boost your career over Christmas

[Monirul Islam]

For many, Christmas is a great time to sit back and relax, visit family and friends and have a well earned break. But if you are thinking about a career move, then you can also use this time to help ensure your career gets off to a great start in the New Year. Here are some tips from Personal Career Management to help:

Make the most of Christmas parties
Office Christmas parties are a great time to talk to key people within your organisation who you would not normally have easy access to.  Introduce yourself and ask whether you can come and see them in the New Year.  They are far more likely to be responsive to this rather than an email out of the blue from someone they half-know.  The same goes for parties outside the workplace.  Make the most of talking to new people, explaining what you are looking for next career-wise and seeing if they may have some useful advice and suggestions.  Have fun at your parties but also use them to start career conversations and build upon relationships that you can follow-up in the New Year.

Re-establish old connections
Christmas is the perfect time to get together with connections you have not seen in a while. Invite them for coffee or lunch where during the course of your discussions you can ask their advice, remind them of your skills and ensure that they keep you in mind for any opportunities that might arise in their network.

Get your Christmas card list ready
Send Christmas cards electronically or by post to your connections with a nice, thoughtful message. This helps remind them that you are around should they or someone they know be looking for someone with your professional background.

Take time to review your career options
Don't rush into job searching.  There are always options and you should research different alternatives to establish which is the best path for you before starting to send off your CV.  This includes looking at whether there are any internal opportunities at work.  Perhaps you should arrange to have a career conversation with your manager to see how you can develop your career.  Look at roles that interest you in different organisations and new sectors and research the selection criteria so that you know if these are jobs you could apply for now, or whether you need additional skills or experience to become a strong candidate.  Consider working freelance, setting up your own business, or creating a portfolio career where you work in a number of different professional roles.

Revamp your CV and LinkedIn profile
If you are looking for a new role, the Christmas break is the ideal time to spruce up your CV and get your LinkedIn profile job search ready. Make sure you add any new skills and achievements, tailor your CV to the jobs you are applying for and stick to 2 pages if you can.

Create a Career Action Plan
Whatever your decision, making a career action plan will be helpful. Set yourself clear objectives, write down what you will do and when to achieve those targets and incorporate these as tasks into your daily calendar. You can download this Free Career Action Plan Template to help.

If you are thinking about a career move in 2018 and would like help in exploring your career options or your job search campaign you can contact our partners Personal Career Management for a free introductory meeting.

Don't forget to check out their Christmas gifts which might be ideal for you, family or friends who are interested in a career move in 2018.

Source: https://jobs.theguardian.com/article/5-tips-to-boost-your-career-over-christmas-/?s=2