The holidays are a great time to focus on career development. This time of year is usually a time of reflection for people. Where are you now and where do you want to be in the future? The holiday season is a strategic time to work on career development. Here is how you can use this holiday season to ramp up your career development:
Paper and Screen Presence
If you have some downtime during the holidays, use it to ramp up your presence on paper and on screen. Refresh and update your resume. While you’re at it, do the same with your LinkedIn profile. Add any accomplishments with specific examples of your impact. Fill out the skill section in your LinkedIn. Make your resume and profile keyword saturated. Think about what keywords would you look for if you were looking for a person in your position or in the position you want to be in. This will make you more searchable and catch the eye of niche recruiters, such as animal health recruiters, talent acquisition in companies, and hiring managers.
Networking
This time of year is great for networking. There are tradeshows, fundraisers, and other events taking place. Even finding a place to volunteer could be a great way to network and for a bonus, volunteering always looks great on a resume. Even connecting with others in the industry through LinkedIn is a great way to network. This could be to previous colleagues, past managers or friends in the industry. Sending a nice holiday message and reconnecting could bring opportunities or new career paths that you may not have expected.
Inquire about opportunities
This is a great time to apply for jobs or schedule interviews. Some companies may go on hiring freezes while others are going to take advantage of the market. The holidays can be a low-pressure time to take off work for interviews. Look into the career pages of companies you would like to work for or check out job boards to get an idea of what is available. Connect with an industry recruiter to get connected immediately with companies you will know are actively filling roles.
Going into the holidays this year, reflect on where you are in your career and where you would like to be. What steps will it take to get to that point? Set short-term goals that will lead to long-term goals. Use these simple steps to prepare yourself to ramp up your career development this holiday season.
Are you looking for top talent in the Specialty Chemical, Plastics, or Animal Health industry?
Contact us to discuss how we can bring top leadership talent to your team. Boaz Partners is a premier executive search firm focused on the direct recruitment of executives and professionals for the specialty chemicals and animal health space. We are your partner, and our focus is on custom recruiting solutions.