Many of you may think job search slows in the summer. While the hiring process may slow a bit due to people being on vacation, you will be ahead of your competition if you don’t let your foot off the gas during the summer months.
Summer is the best time to strengthen your network, update your career marketing materials and explore new opportunities. And, if you don’t land something by the end of August, you’ll be ready to rock and roll when hiring really picks up after Labor Day.
To help prepare you for that promotion or new job here are my top 5 summer reading suggestions:
Friend of a Friend by David Burkus – This is the only book I have not already read, YET. I ordered it the other day and can’t wait to dive in when it arrives. This book talks about why the best way to network isn’t by introducing yourself to strangers at cocktail parties, but by developing a better understanding of the network already around you. Did you know that distant or “weak” connections can actually be the most valuable to you?
If you are on the fence about this book, let me provide some incentives to read it.
- Listen to David on these two podcasts where he shares insights and advice: Copeland Coaching and The Perfection Detox. These two podcasts are what made me go out and buy the book.
- I would encourage you to also listen to David’s Ted Talk about why you should know how much your co-workers get paid.
Workplace Poker by Dan Rust – I send this book to my clients after they land because it provides awesome insights on how to notice what is happening under the surface at work and prepare for what changes may lie ahead. It’s a fun read with many examples that will likely have you recognizing yourself and others in your own workplace.
Work It by Carrie Kerpen – I picked up this book and couldn’t put it down. It’s chalk-full of advice you can apply to your career and curates insights from all sorts of women leaders from Sheryl Sandberg and Meredith Vieira to less well-known, but very successful women like Julia Pimsleur and Carmen Collins. Women will walk away from this book feeling empowered to do something with their careers. I’m sure men could learn something here as well, but the advice does skew towards women.
The Peak Interview by Bill Burnett – This is a long-standing book on my must-read list for job seekers. Bill offers advice like no other interview book on the market and my clients have applied this advice with great success.
Negotiating Your Salary: How to Make $1000 a Minute by Jack Chapman – My copy of this book has tons of flagged pages for finding just the right things to say when the topic of salary comes up in job search. It will help put you more at ease when recruiters and hiring managers ask you too early in the process for your salary history and provide practical ways to negotiate your job offer.
So enjoy any summer vacation plans you have and conquer some professional development with these books. They are all pretty quick reads with tons of advice to move your career ahead in a positive manner.
