Beat The Summer Slump And Keep Your Career Momentum High

Many companies and working professionals hit ‘pause’ on productivity during the summer, a slower quarter for many industries. Due to more relaxed workplace policies, planned vacations, and summer break for families with children, the influence of warmer weather and longer daylight hours during the summer, studies show, directly impacts job productivity, which could in turn hinder professional growth.

The drop in productivity during the summer months can slow down your career momentum: recurring performance meetings and yearly goals take a backseat, catch-up emails go unread, and workplace trainings stall. But the summer months can be quietly impactful for your career. Here are a few strategies that can keep your career momentum high during the ebbs and flows of the slower summer months.

Your network can go silent as the summer months roll in, making way for much-needed vacation time and juggling work while catering to children out of school. This season doesn’t leave much room for connecting formally but can be a useful time to informally catch-up with past and present colleagues.

Dedicate the summer season to intentional relationship building. Whether it’s a simple email or LinkedIn message checking in with past colleagues or connecting for lunch or coffee with a potential client or vendor, the slower summer months is great timing to field new connections and enhance older ones informally. It leaves room for casual meetups outside of industry events that dominate the busier quarters of the year.

Clear out and follow up on LinkedIn messages and emails that may have piled up over the course of the year during busier seasons. The summer is an optimal time to tout your wins and update your network and potential clients on projects you’ve worked on throughout the year. Use the season to also refresh your professional profile and portfolio while reconnecting with your network to potentially garner new business.

Halfway through the year, the professional goals we’ve set can seem like a distant memory. What was once attainable and achievable at the start of the year can take a backseat or abandoned altogether during the summer.

The slower summer months in the workplace is the perfect time to reevaluate your career path and goals. Spend these sluggish months to review and refine your career goals and aspirations. Assess and celebrate your progress and modify any goals that may not align with your career aspirations and your professional growth over the year. Break down your goals into manageable, smaller tasks you can pace yourself through to finish the second half of the year strong.

At work, summer is a great time to conduct an informal mid-year review with your team or manager to ensure you are on track with your targets and are aligned with the company’s objectives. Soliciting positive feedback is helpful to make the second half of the year more productive.

Invest more in your career and gain new skills that will keep your expertise fresh. Between e-courses, bootcamps and professional certification classes, the summer is a great time to upskill yourself professionally.

Many colleges and online programs offer accelerated courses for working professionals looking to develop or gain new skills that can enhance their career. Whether your job requires certifications or not, some professional programs are great to have under your belt, such as project management. Project management can be beneficial in a variety of industries, and many online programs, such as Coursera, offer courses in learning project planning, stakeholder management and engagement, cost estimation and more. Courses in AI training and machine learning are also popular programs that could help you navigate the ever-evolving concepts around artificial intelligence and how you can be impactful in your role using new AI tools.

Some courses build toward a degree or professional certificate and can be done at your own pace, making these months a great time to focus on a new skill and enhance your career and pad your resume. Your company may also sponsor training and courses for its employees, so make sure to check with your manager to see what is already offered through your company.