September Is The Adult Version Of ‘Back To School’ And A Great Start To Finding A New Job And Reinvigorating Your Career

You may be 30, 40 or over 50 years old, but once September starts, you revert right back to your childhood school days and feel like it’s the real beginning of the year. Summer is over, school starts and you’re back to reality. After all of these years, your mindset hasn’t changed. We’re conditioned to see this time of year as a new beginning. The weather gets a little cooler, leaves turn from green to brown, night falls too soon and you feel differently. It’s time to leave the summer behind, become serious-minded and get your head back in the game. If you’re on the job hunt or seek to improve your career, now’s the time to start taking action.

Pre-Covid-19, no matter how robust the job market was, the summertime interview process was always stunted by starts and stops due to vacation schedules. A candidate is asked to interview, but the hiring manager is on vacation. When she returns, the human resources person is out. Then, when he returns, the job applicant is on her scheduled trip with the family.

It’s been an acknowledged tacit understanding between management and employees that it’s sort of okay to coast throughout August. Now that September is here, hiring managers wake up to all of the work that needs to be done and recognize the urgency of filling their empty seats with new hires. They realize that they have September through Thanksgiving Day to hire. As we head into December and the holiday season, everything slows down again — similar to August.

Since we’re still in a pandemic, it’s not reasonable to believe that we will revert back to how it’s always been, but it’s likely that things will at least pick up a little. The data from the U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics shows that millions of new jobs were added over the last few months. States have been slowly reopening. We haven’t heard too much about the Covid-19 death count.

During the last five months, there were few signs of people getting new jobs. Now, it has become much more common. Anecdotally, I’ve seen a steady increase in the number of job seekers on LinkedIn indicating that they’ve finally found news jobs. The stock market has been doing amazingly well. The smart money is betting that the economy and the job market will improve over time. It just feels like people are ready for a change.

Treat this September like it is January — a new start. Think of it as a do-over. Forget about all of the bad stuff that has happened to you over the pandemic. Block out the past negativity and begin with a clean slate. View things as if you’ve just begun your search or seek to revitalize your career.

Now is a perfect time to regroup with your network, take a fresh look at your résumé and LinkedIn profile. Get in touch with recruiters in your space. Practice and perfect your elevator pitch. Speak with your boss to discuss your career goals and ambitions. View September as the starting point of finding a new job and enhancing your career.

Source: FORBES