The Big Freeze: 6 Ways To Turn It Into An Opportunity

The UK, Europe, parts of Asia and the US are this week in the grip of arctic conditions.

Which means that some of you will struggle to get into work this week, whilst many job seekers will find it difficult to make contact with recruiters and contacts who themselves have struggled to make it into the office.

So you have 2 choices:

a) You can sit around complaining about the weather and travel problems,

or

b) You can create your own weather by turning the big freeze into an opportunity by investing any additional time you have on doing those activities which you never have time for and so give your career a kick start at the beginning of the year.

Here are 6 suggestions on how to turn the freezing lemons into ice cold lemonade this week:

1.  Sign up to / update your LinkedIn profile

If you’re not on LinkedIn you’re not on the radar of recruiters and companies looking for people like you. So invest some time this week on creating an updated profile and connect with everyone you know regardless of whether you’re job searching or not

Similarly if you are on LinkedIn but have an outdated profile and/or a limited number of contacts – spend some time this week updating and you can put your marketing on auto pilot over the coming weeks months.

2.  Update your resume / CV

It doesn’t matter whether you plan to change jobs or not. You never know when you may see a great job posting, receive an interesting call from a head hunter or find yourself on the wrong side of an internal restructuring.  So invest some of that spare time this week on getting the CV/resume updated so that you’re ready when you need it.

3. Research that new career or business idea

Have you had thoughts about changing careers or starting a business? Can’t find the time to get it off the ground?

Well here’s your chance.

If you can’t get into work – or find your week disrupted because others can’t travel - invest the additional time you have on researching and making progress with your career change or new business idea.  Whatever your ‘Plan C’ is - get it off the ground this week.

4.  Reconnect with old contacts

All the opportunities and contacts you need are in your diary or mobile phone contacts list – or the diaries or mobile phones contacts list of everyone you know.  So use any downtime you have this week to reconnect with people you may have lost contact with. Your old boss, ex-colleagues, ex-clients etc.

Just pick up the phone or ping an email to just say ‘hello’ and wish them all the best for 2010.  No agenda, no goals, no objectives - you’re just looking to catch up on their news and re-establish the relationship.

5.  Create more flexibility in your work schedule

Ever fancied having more flexibility and freedom in your professional life? If so, the big freeze is a great opportunity for you to start making inroads.

If you can’t travel into the office due to the weather, ensure you work your butt off whilst at home on current projects and workload so that you can create measureable results to prove how much more productive you are when you work from home.  Then use these results to negotiate more flexibility in working patterns so that you can work with greater degree of flexibility away from the office.

6. Start a blog in 90 minutes

Spend 30 minutes to buy a domain name from www.GoDaddy.com and then head over to www.WordPress.com to create your blog for free.  Then spend 60 minutes to create a short and simple article as your first blog post and get it onto the web quickly.

Having set it up, be consistent in sharing ideas, tips and resources related to your area of expertise (or the area that you’re most passionate about) and you will start attracting opportunities you didn’t even know existed.

Quit worrying about the snow and bad weather, and instead start creating your own ‘weather’ by investing some time in yourself. Your car may be stuck in the snow this week, but once the thaw sets in, you’ll be ready to fly...

By Sital Ruparelia

Comments

[Tim]

Hi Sital:

Brilliant post with such a simple, powerful message. As I write this, I can see snow falling..big time...supposed to be about a foot of snow here. Wow, I love the premise of creating your own weather. Thanks for this!

[Corey]

I like your tips and I am especially interested in tip 6. I have been thinking about starting a blog about the field I want to get into but I am a recent graduate. This area doesn't have many blogs but the few are by experts (including a writer of a book I used)and my concern is really about authenticity and respect. Would writing a blog in a technical field alongside a couple experts hurt my job search? I have a few ideas about how to avoid this but I would be interested in your thoughts.

Thanks for this post.

[Sital]

@Tim - thanks. glad you enjoyed it!

@Corey - get started with the blog.

I've been blogging about career management for less than two years. Yet I am writing on this blog and on other sites with well known experts who have much more experience than me and have written more books than me (i'm due to publish my first book this year)

The expert status comes from sharing ideas and information that others value. Not from how many years you've been doing it for. You may have less experience, but you'll have a different opinion, style and voice. The process of blogging helps you find that voice and style.

If you blog about the area you're interested in and the content is good, it differentiates you from the crowd and helps your job search rather than hurting you. If you're concerned about the impact on job search, begin by leaving your actual name off. In the bio write "Recent Graduate who is passionate about xyz industry and looking to share ideas, resoures and opinions whilst having conversations with people in the field"

So just get started on the blog. Then once you've a few posts, go onto other blogs in that field and comment on the blogs (add opinions, share ideas, resources etc). People in that field will start taking notice after a while and start visiting your site. Voila! You have a presence and reputation far quicker than your peers - and all without sp&mming. Good content just draws people to your site

Best of luck!

S

[twitter.com/MomsGot2Run]

Great suggestions for #CareerSearch2010

[Paul Bailey]

Good suggestions. It's always a good idea to "Reconnect with old contacts" Tip 4. Your next job just might come through one of those contacts.

It's always good to stay connected.

[Corey]

Thanks Sital, I already post comments on one of those expert blogs with my real first name and already have a wordpress registered with my name. I guess I can start a new blog in a few days without my name and gauge the reception.

[Sital]

Corey - perfect. all the best

[Staffing Agency Philippines]

There are many ways which you can find job. Its just a matter of how you are courage to do. Nowadays that jobs are scarcely offered. And many people are being laid off from their job and struggling to find a new one. Internet is a great opportunity. Without knowing the ways, you're lose. Just be positive.

[Louanne]

Great tips and information about blogging. Thank you for sharing.
http://www.cornwalljobs.org