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10 tips to Improve Your Profile and Enjoy Your Holidays
12 de August de 2021
“What is difficult? To keep a secret, to be able to bear an injury, to employ leisure well” — Quilón of Sparta.
Chillon of Sparta is known to be one of the seven wise men of Ancient Greece thanks to his great teachings and wisdom. He was so wise that, since the year 600 b.C., he was already thinking about the difficulties of making good use of our free time — a problem that is still unresolved to this very day.
It’s August. The sun hits hard and responsibilities are less. In most European countries, work seems to have stopped. But that doesn’t mean that your career plans and your professional development have to stop as well. If when September finally comes, you don’t want to be left feeling as if the holidays went by too fast and that you haven’t made the most of your summer holidays, then pay attention to this.
Chillon said it right: it’s very hard to employ leisure well. That’s why we’ve contacted the experts, so that they can help us plan our holidays, make the most of them and have no regrets when they come to an end. Together, they’ve written ten commandments —using Word, not stones— to carry out during these months of rest.
The 10 Commandments — for Your Holidays:
- Invest time in outdoor leisure activities, like practising sports or visiting places.
- Enjoy time with your family and friends.
- Reflect on what you’ve accomplished during your last semester and set new challenges that motivate you moving forwards.
- It’s a good time to practise and expose yourself to new languages.
- If you’re looking for a job, then put in some daily minutes to look for opportunities. Don’t forget to check out LinkedIn.
- Contact people you want to make part of your networking mission or sign up for events in your sector to meet new people.
- Read a new book.
- Check out the different options for free education and training in order to develop new skills.
- Examine the new competencies you’ve gained and add them to your CV to keep it updated and ready to use.
- Disconnect from duty and daily stress. Recharge batteries and come back with positive energy!
Holidays Aren’t Holidays if You Don’t…
Because there are some things that just need to be there.
Alba Salas - Career advisor EAE
“...If you don’t manage to mentally disconnect from work duties, daily stress and routine. Disconnecting is necessary to recharge the batteries and come back to work with renewed energy. During the holidays, it’s important to focus our energy on our personal life, our relations and our family. Take care of this aspect of your life and put in the time.”
Carla Piovesan - Career Advisor EAE
“... If you don’t change settings. During the holidays, it’s important to clear the mind, rest, organise, plan new ideas and goals, and take advantage of this time to recharge with good energies.”
The Benefits of Organising
For those of us who don’t want to fall into the sofa-fridge-sofa trap.
María Gracia Banderas - Career Advisor EAE
“A routine will always allow you to stay in line with your goals. If you don’t write it down, your calendar will be less full. That’s true. But, remember: that which is difficult to visualise is also difficult to execute.”
Patricia Panero - EAE Career Services Manager
“The two fundamental aspects of the holidays are their temporality and their imminent end, which means our imminent return to the usual. In order to make the most of them, it’s important to rest and do those things you like but for which you never find the time. But this doesn’t mean leaving everything behind. For example, one thing you shouldn’t leave behind is the calendar. The key to making the most of your free time is having a good organisation. Depending on your personality and preferences, you can organise yourself with a daily routine or by establishing concrete goals at concrete moments. In this way we can rest assured our goals will be kept in check and we’ll be keeping away from our two worst enemies: procrastination and lack of clarity.”
If You Have a Job
There are mistakes that can stop you from fully enjoying your holidays: not applying enough sunscreen and:
Mirian Gimeno - Career Advisor EAE
Try to avoid going through your email or even whatsapp groups. This could require an answer from you at that moment where you might not want to answer but, being committed to your job and coworkers, you may want to help.
If You’re Job Hunting
The best time of the year to go to the beach and… to find a job?
Jorge Saiz V. - Career Advisor EAE
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking that, because it’s summer, selection processes are going to slow down. We shouldn’t apply for jobs once a week — for example, applying on friday for what’s been published on a monday or tuesday. We don’t know what’s going on in the company. We should think that, if it’s the middle of the summer and they’re posting job offers, it’s because they’re probably in a rush to cover that position. That’s why it’s important to pay attention. We need visibility and applying once a week won’t give us any!”
Ricardo De La Hoz - Career Advisor EAE
“The summer is a good time to anticipate job/internship offers and the best way to do this is by being bold and carrying out spontaneous or self-applications. Basically, making a list of your target companies —i.e. the companies in which you think you could fit— and writing straight to their Human Resources department (through LinkedIn, email, phone call, etc.). Before reaching out, we must be familiar with the profiles they have recruited in the past as well as their style, mission, vision and company values. In this way, we’ll be able to better understand the type of people they look for in their teams and personalise our message.”
It’s not a weird thing to do! We promise you! Last year, 56% of companies that were looking to hire did so through spontaneous applications.
Now you know about all the tips to have a much more productive summer. Remember to find balance: It’s as important to carry out the tasks you’ve planned as it is to have moments to let go of all of them.
Article written in collaboration with:: Mari Cruz Picazo - Career Advisor, Jorge Saiz V. - Career Advisor, Ricardo De La Hoz - Career Advisor, Mirian Gimeno - Career Advisor, Patricia Panero - Career Services Manager, María Gracia Banderas - Career Advisor, Alba Salas - Career advisor y Carla Piovesan - Career Advisor .