How the Quality of Your Downtime Can Influence Your Job-Search
Summer plans are underway, and we all need a well-deserved vacation. Far from self-indulgence, downtime is a necessity not only for the body, but also to sustain productivity and spark creativity.
If you recharge well, you’ll be in tip-top shape for the fall. A good asset, especially if you plan to look for work. Here are some thoughts to help you make the most of your time off, and put into perspective recent news of recession risks, and how they may affect your job search.
Let’s start with downtime. It turns out, there’s a good way of enjoying it and many misguided ones. We, Italians, may have invented the art of dolce far niente — that accomplished custom of sweet doing nothing — but as new Americans, our habits may have changed a bit.
Doesn’t it feel like we’re encouraged to be constantly on, that we should be active, and occupied with something most of the time? If so, you’re not alone, feeling drained and fatigued is quite common nowadays.
“Human beings aren’t robots, and overwork leads to burnout, disengagement, and resignations,” says Jay Dixit, in his article for the Neuro Leadership Institute. The brain also needs unstructured time, he adds, “with no goal in mind and no targeted focus of attention.” Rather than”wasted time,” that’s healthy downtime.
Take a look at this fun chart, also by the Neuro Leadership Institute, and check out some of the activities that will replenish your energy this summer, versus those that won’t. Binge-watching, doom scrolling, and even mindful meditation, are not helpful when you need to destress. You’re still asking your brain to focus when all it needs is…sweet doing nothing.
A walk in nature will relieve your thinking brain and activate the “imagination network,” says Dixit. You’ll be refreshed, more productive, and generate original ideas.
Wouldn’t you want to feel like that by the time you’ll be looking for work? The latest news talks of recessionary trends, and labor market corrections that show hiring slowdowns and layoffs. They’re mostly in “technology, cryptocurrency and real estate firms,” reports Katia Dmitrieva for Bloomberg News.
Above all, it doesn’t have to spell doom and gloom for your future employment. “Some people may need to prepare for a longer job search and broaden their possibilities,” says Andrew Seaman, managing editor for jobs and career development at LinkedIn News.
Abel Mucyo, a guest speaker at The JobUp, shared a valuable perspective with my alumni at the end of May. As the national outreach manager of Upwardly Global, a leading domestic nonprofit in immigrant integration, he knows new Americans well.
Instead of thinking of the labor market as either in favor of the candidates or not, especially immigrants, a more accurate way of looking at it is that the market is super in favor of strong candidates.
“If you are a strong candidate; if you know your value; if you learn how to interview well, then, I will tell you,” he says. “It doesn’t matter when. The market will always be in your favor.”
That’s what we make sure of at The JobUp.
At The JobUp we work on your success together. Among the things we excel at is filling the information gap: You will learn “What you don’t know that you don’t know,” as I like to say, and acquire the skills you need to overcome occupational barriers. Do you need support? Join The JobUp program here.
You can reach me at Tiziana.Rinaldi@Journalism.cuny.edu
