Life-Life Balance

6 Tips for Being Productive Between Jobs

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Congratulations! Accepting a new job offer can be extremely rewarding and demonstrates your perseverance. You can finally hand in your notice, make a fresh start, enjoy a new salary and explore new opportunities. Here are some tips on making your transition productive:

  1. Get to know your new commute
    The first day of work will come sooner than you realize. Help minimize issues on your way to the office by getting to know your commute beforehand. On your first day, you will be making more decisions than usual as you’ll be working on making a good first impression. What should I wear? What should I do with my hair or make-up? Should I take a brown bag lunch? Who will I meet? What will be my first task? As Tim Ferriss argues, setting rules for yourself so you can automate as much decision-making as possible can help prevent overwhelm.

  2. Don’t buy a new wardrobe…yet
    Stocking up on a brand new wardrobe to treat yourself can be tempting, but wait until you’ve completed your first week in the new role. Focus on gauging the formality of dress and then consider buying some additional items. Unless you don’t have a few staples from your previous role (which really shouldn’t be the case and indicates you’ve not invested well in your wardrobe), it’s important to keep your costs under control as you transition. Buying that $300 tailored suit may feel like an investment, but if you turn up on your first day and your boss isn’t wearing a tie, you’re going to feel overdressed and overcapitalized.

**3) Update your CV
**It can be easy to think you’ll remember what you did in your previous role when you start applying again, but why take the risk? As a minimum, get your LinkedIn profile updated. It remains a powerful tool for future recruiters and will help you find future roles and opportunities. If you want to take the time, get your CV ‘master’ updated. When you see a role that you’re interested in, you’ll have less work to do to update it and can instead focus on tailoring it.

  1. Tick off life admin tasks
    Not visited the dentist in a year? Working in an office job can make it challenging to complete ‘life admin‘ tasks or errands. Book in appointments to the doctor and dentist. Set up that new savings account and start your new role financially ready.

  2. Consider the bigger questions
    Where do I want to be in a year’s time? Five years’ time? Ten years’ time? The transition period between jobs is the perfect opportunity to step back and reflect on *what *you want andhow your career will look.

  3. Set goals
    After considering the bigger questions, it’s time to set tangible goals. What will success look like in six months’ or a year’s time? What is the one thing you want to have achieved in a year?

What other things are on your check-list before starting a new role? Add your suggestions to the comments.