10 Things You Can Do This Summer to Enhance Your Career

It's summer.? It's hot.? Your energy reserves are depleted.

Maybe you're bored.

Maybe you're burned out.

Don't despair.? Summer can be a great time to recharge your batteries and enhance your career.? Here are 10 ideas for digging out of the dog days doldrums:

1. Read.? Are you curious about a new development in the field?? A new practice area?? A new technique, perhaps?? Browse the ACA Publications on-line bookstore for inspiration.? (Start at our homepage, www.counseling.org, click on Publications, then find "Browse the on-line bookstore.")
2. Write.? Who in academe hasn't heard the phrase "Publish or perish?" ?If the ebbs and flows of the academic year are part of your life, maybe the downtime of summer would be a good time to do some research, write your first draft, or shop your manuscript for publication.? Why not start an outline of that book you have in your head?
3. Take a class.? Something career-related, maybe?? Why not try continuing education online?? Check out some of ACA's exciting new offerings.? (Start at the home page, then click on "Continuing Education On-line.")? Or feed the right side of your brain by taking an art class or attending an outdoor concert series.? Maybe you could pick up some new (and helpful) computer skills by enrolling in a community education course.
4. Teach a class.? Granted, it's probably too late to get on the schedule for the local community college's summer offerings, but what about teaching a parenting workshop at a local church or synagogue?? Or start a self-help group at the Y.? Contact local schools to arrange a workshop for teachers.? Develop a series on different counseling topics in conjunction with your public library.
5. Get on a speakers' bureau list.? Check with libraries, newspapers, television and radio stations, the Chamber of Commerce and local professional organizations.? An "expert" is anyone who knows more about a topic than you do, right?? Why not be the "expert" that the media calls on for a counselor's viewpoint on the latest headlines?
6. Network.? (That would be an ACTIVE verb!)? Have lunch with a colleague you haven't talked to for a while.? Collaborate on a project with a classmate from grad school.? Meet with the new director of the rehab center.? Lots of career-changing information is exchanged in informal settings.
7. Attend a professional conference.? Lots of great workshops and a change of scenery (or climate!) can nurture you occupationally, spiritually, socially?hey, that's starting to sound like a wellness model!
8. Volunteer.? Could the community center use some help from someone with your expertise?? How about the hospital or area nursing home?? What about your ACA state branch?? A volunteer stint can introduce you to contacts that might lead to part-time consulting or full-time employment, depending on your career goals.
9. Do an internship.? What would two weeks to a month in the HR department of your area's largest employer helping to develop an EAP do for your career?
10. Update your resume or curriculum vitae.? Ideally, any time you publish an article, deliver a presentation, teach a class, join a professional organization, etc., you should revise your c.v.? Some experts recommend a semi-annual dust-off, but why let it get dusty in the first place?? "Vitae" is from the Latin for "life."? Keep your career alive!