What Did You Do on Your Summer Vacation?

There is no vacation for the job seeker

“Summertime and the livin’ is easy.” Or, so the song goes. While that may be true for a lot of people, summer is no time for a job seeker to let up on the job search.

A big downside for the summer job seeker is that many people, such as HR types, hiring managers, recruiters, other contacts, etc., may be on vacation themselves. What’s frustrating for the job seeker who is chomping at the bit to get back to work, is that many people who are necessary to making that happen are just plain and simple are not around.

It may be especially tough when you see (most) everyone around disappearing for a couple of weeks during the summer. If you were in their shoes, you’d be doing exactly the same thing. But, as a job seeker, persevere you must.

What’s a body to do?

Well we did say that perseverance is a must. With apologies to Thomas Paine, these are the times that try job seekers’ souls.

You might fare better if you double up. Or is that double down? When you make contact with someone inside of a company, ask about an alternate contact if that person is not around. That’s a good idea regardless of the level, or involvement of that individual in the process. If your main contact is going to be gone for two weeks, you really need to have someone else to reach out to.

You’ll find that most recruiters will provide a back-up contact. After all, the recruiter (and the recruiter’s firm) have a vested interest in you landing another job. They can’t afford to let one slip through the cracks.

This is not to say that you can’t take some time to clear your mind and re-charge your batteries. Of course that applies regardless of the calendar or the season. While the temptation may be great, your summer job search must stay active – even if it’s just for 2-3 hours a day. This is no time to slack off.

More tips.