Managing Your Job Search During a Vacation

Managing Your Job Search During a VacationManaging Your Job Search During a VacationIf youre in the middle of a job search, you understand how time consuming that process can be. From scouring job boards and introducing yourself to potential employers, to networking and reaching out to past coworkers and bosses, theres a lot involved with finding that dream job.Unfortunately, the process of finding a new job can take a while, and during that time you may find yourself in need of a vacation. Or perhaps you find yourself in the middle of a job search during a time when you had already planned to take some time away. It is possible to take a vacation and still charge ahead with your job search, as long as youre strategic.Consider following these steps if you need to job search during a vacationtischset aside time to keep searching.Taking some time away from the daily grind of work and searching for a new job is a great way to get some much-needed rest and to recharge your batteries. If youre looking for a new job, though, its important to understand that opportunities can pop up at any time, and you wouldnt want to miss one just because you were away.To that end, make it a goal to set aside a small amount of time each day to check in with your resources to make sure you arent letting opportunities slip by. That could mean taking 30 minutes at the start of the day to log on to your email to see if any notifications or correspondence has come through, or maybe it means briefly logging on to those job boards before you head to bed to see if anything looks interesting.Be sure your systems are in place.Itll be easier to step away from the day-to-day tasks of searching for a job if you know that youve done all you can to make sure any job opportunities you want to know about will come to you. That means making sure that all your job board notifications are turned on before you leave so that jobs that might be a good match will come right to your inbox and you can easily check them (and apply, if need be) while youre away.Turn on your out-of-office reply.Even if you arent currently employed, set up a thoughtful out-of-office message so that prospective employers who reach out while youre on vacation understand your potential delayed response. Assure people in your message that although you are away, youll still be checking your email every day and will respond to anything important as soon as you can.Do as much as you can before you leave.If you can be as effective in your job search as possible before you leave, youll have an easier time stepping away for a couple of days. That means making sure your resume is up to date and is ready to be sent at a moments notice if need-be, letting any potential employers youve already been in contact with know about your time away, and RSVPing to any upcoming networking events youre interested in before you head out the door.Be prepared to hit the ground running when you get back.Lets be honest- sometimes we ne ed a vacation from our vacations. Getting back into the routine of things when you get home can take time, but if you can do everything possible to ensure a smooth transition back to your job search when you get back, youll save a lot of time. That could mean tidying up your office area before you leave and leaving yourself a to-do list for when you return, including setting up some meetings ahead of time with former coworkers.Vacation is important, so you should definitely take some time away. Still, if finding the right job is important to you, as well, take a little time to set up these suggestions so that you can enjoy your vacation while knowing youve done everything you can to ensure your job search continues while youre gone.BROWSE OPEN JOBS