The long lazy days of summer always tempt me to slow down, work less and savor the fruits and outdoor concerts.  Now that I run an Italian ice cart in downtown Ann Arbor, my summer’s are far busier and brimming with projects and work.
So when I wrote about summer job search for the Washington Post and ways to network at summer picnics for Glassdoor.com, I felt the heat rising on summer as a work-able season. Businesses move full speed ahead in the summer months (and some are in overdrive). Many people land jobs in July and August, and many more get interviews that lead to jobs in September.
Yet sometimes the summer slowdown still beckons. So lately, I’ve been using summer to swing my motivation into super-speed, and you could too. Consider these :
* August is a great time for temping. It’s also a great time to sign on for contracts for projects that must be finished in the fall. August ranks as one of the biggest months for vacations, and yet projects and products still need to launch in the coming months. So polish up your resume and approach three temporary agencies this month. (For more on picking a temping agency see my AARP Bulletin article . )
* Reward yourself with a picnic or watermelon. Set a couple of goals for the week — whether it’s writing, promotion, outreach or developing relationships or LinkedIn profile. Make sure it’s a goal you can achieve – like contacting five human resources or hiring managers or finishing two chapters in a book  you are writing. Then when you achieve them, help yourself to a luscious serving of summer.
* Use summer’s beauty to inspire you. Take a small note pad along for your morning walk to capture ideas. When you’re on a garden tour, introduce yourself to the organizers – or better yet volunteer to be a docent. Saunter through a farmer’s market and make note of those that are thriving – they may need a part-time social media manager or marketer. As you kayak or hike, use the tranquility to restore your balance and build your confidence.
* Plan for summer bliss. Even if you’re jobless, you have friends who are going on vacation. Maybe you could stay at their house for a week as a “get away time.” Or plan a couple of pool parties at your neighbor’s pool and offer to bring along lemonade and plenty of fresh vegetables and dip as a summer snack. Take a long weekend to see friends – and don’t plan any networking or job search during mini vacation. If it happens anyway, that’s organic growth.

And as my articles pointed out, people are sometimes more open to conversation and networking at summer social events. Here’s some of the Washington Post tips from Kate Wendelton of the Five O’Clock Club and Tom Dezell, author of “Networking for the Novice, Nervous or Naive Job Seeker,”
Just don’t spend too much time in conversation about your career strategies at the picnic or garden tour. Save that for indoors on a work day when success — not sunshine and summer games – is the focal point.

Article links:

Washington Post summer search heats up:  http://bit.ly/cJXwAi  and sidebar / tips: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/10/AR2010071001115.html?waporef=obinsite

Glassdoor blog post: http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/working-summer-picnic/

AARP Bulletin temping can be tempting but requires research http://bit.ly/9ONrsF

It’s 3:51 a.m. and I’m wide awake. I’ve answered two questions on LinkedIn and done some work on my Brazen Careerist profile. Now I’m ready to find another task to undertake.

Insomnia comes into my nights fairly regularly. So I’m starting to make use of the time – often two or three hours that always seem to start around 3 a.m.

This is the first time I’ve written a blog post, but I have written a lot of emails and provided some Answers on LinkedIn. As I hope you know, the Answers section is a great place to showcase your expertise and provide someone some insights, information, connections and well, answers.

If you’re actively managing your career, you  too can use this night time window of time to your advantage. Here’s seven ideas for insomniac career success:

1. Build your network. Send requests to connect to five former colleagues on LinkedIn or Facebook. (I’m actively building my LinkedIn profile and presence so if you already know me, please be in touch.)
2. Upload a new photo of yourself to your profiles. Your old one may not be professional enough, or give the vibe you want.
3. If you’re worried about something, do some research and reading so you feel more prepared. I’ve done this lately on my seasonal teen-jobs and Italian ice business Mity Nice, and I always feel better when I’ve done some due diligence.
4. Write a couple of Twitter posts. Send one and save a couple for tomorrow, when you’re tired and can’t think of anything worthwhile to say. Better yet, answer someone’s Twitter query with something helpful or funny.
5. Update your Success file with a few recent accomplishments, praise notes, etc.  If you don’t have one of these, it’s so worthwhile. It is similar to a resume but more eclectic: Use it to record and recall your successes – very useful when you’re asked to tell about yourself or need to boost your confidence.
6. Set up a Google alert on a career topic that’s crucial right now. And if you haven’t already, set up another to watch for any mentions of yourself. (If you have a common name, come up with a second or third term to make sure it’s not the woman across the country or in the next city who shares your name.)
7. Write a thank you note to two people who helped you recently. Yes, I mean pen to note card and while you’re at it, send your Mom or Aunt Lil a card telling them how much you love them.

And if you’re still not feeling ready to return to bed, read a chapter in a a career or self-help book. I like Adaptability by M.J. Ryan and just finished Donald Miller’s A Million Miles in a Thousand Years and appreciate his message of changing your life like you’d revise a manuscript or story. These books may not put you to sleep, but they will put you in a better frame of mind.

And yes, when the yawns come, give into the need for sleep. First though, set your alarm back 20 minutes, and add a few extra spoonfuls of coffee to your machine.

Skip lunches out or Starbucks on the way into the office to save some cash. The latest Harris Poll confirms it: More people are “brown bagging it” to cut costs.

The survey focuses on small ways Americans are saving money, by going to hair stylists or barber shops less frequently or buying refillable water bottles. The biggest way of saving: Almost two thirds of the 2,576 people surveyed say they’re buying more generic brand merchandise in the last six months.

One cutback though comes with substantial career concerns: We mean the 45 percent of Americans who stay in and eat peanut butter sandwiches or leftover spaghetti.  Make that 56 percent for Gen Xers, those ages 34-45. Clearly brown-bagging can bring real savings. If you spend even $5 or $6 a day for an affordable lunch out, you’re dropping $25 to $30 a week on meals. The adds up to $780 over six months on burgers and fries or veggie wraps and salads.

All that time, you may be insulated from important insights and information, as well as work friends. You could miss out on important gossip or details on changes coming in your department or organization. These are often shared outside the office – at lunch or over happy hours after work. Or you may miss out on new job possibilities, or start-ups or consulting gigs that could bring a second source of income.

So no matter how much we understand and embrace the new frugality, we also value camaraderie and celebrations – and those often happen over meals. Don’t risk damaging your reputation or developing one as a staid and unsociable sort over a few dollars.

In these tough times we cannot afford to become cut off from our work colleagues – both as a source of information and as supporters of our new projects, career goals or needs for personal development.

So if you’re one of the Americans who have been eating lunch at their desk – or sitting alone in a corner of the corporate cafeteria, a bit abashed by the boring brown bag, it’s time to break bread with your boss and coworkers.

Here’s five ways to be frugal and use food for professional fellowship:

• Plan an office party at your home. Come up with a reason for the gathering – sometimes a silly idea like your 1,000th day on the job or something serious like your best friend’s promotion or new baby. Then make sure you have all the food and drink organized before the event begins so you can concentrate on connecting with the crew.
• Get with the gang every other Friday. Your new scrimping and saving is laudable, but leave room for the occasional team gab fest in your favorite eatery or bar. Be smart and selective about when to show up – and make sure you have a sweet or smarmy answer to the “where have you been?” question.
• Create a souper star support group. This group is focused on frugality and career success. Heat up some soup – store bought or homemade – once a week or every other week and warm up your career prospects too. To take this beyond a chat and chew, look for career advancement articles or tools to share. Or ask each person to find one book that may be valuable to all and report on it. My current choice: The Power of Small / Why Little Things Make All the Difference by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval (Broadway Books, $17.95, 140 pages).
• Start a bagels and bargains group. This also could also be called bagels and bravery  or bagels and balance – depending on your focus and hopes. The point is: Build your network – and your reputation for creativity and community. Be sure to share career insights along with money-saving ideas. Make sure you rotate the bagel buying, and get buy-in from your HR Department and boss.
• Produce a monthly or quarterly office potluck. These can be great fun – and great for business. They strengthen the camaraderie and connections, and give workers a chance to show off their culinary talents too. One consulting firm even created a friendly competition for the best dish from the worker’s ethnic background – and then published a cookbook from their entries. Your office might not want to take it that far, but a quarterly shared meal may mean the folks in accounting are more likely to share their expertise with sweetness. A potluck can be a great way to stage a brainstorming session, a sales meeting or a meet the new staffers gathering. And if you organize this, you’re at the nexis of information and people – and you’re seen as someone who understands motivating staff and being frugal with corporate expense accounts, both pluses for your next performance review.

Of course, there’s other ways to stay attuned to the news and gossip besides noshing on noodles. Coffee, salads, dessert, wine and cheese or an ice cream social – something I used a few summers ago for my team.

So engage your creativity along with your appetite for career information and connections.

^^^^^^^

If you’re interested in reading more on Americans frugality, as documented by The Harris Poll, go here.

If you want some recipes for your first office potluck, I’ve appreciated several luscious dishes from Susan at  Farmgirl Fare . Or make the first one a recipe you received from Mom or Dad (even if they never posted anything on a blog, they feed us for years).