The great Kiwi summer is finally beginning (at least here in Wellington). Someone even asked me ‘what are your plans for the summer?’ I’m pretty sure I could easily spend it lazing around with friends and family and having lovely weekend lie in’s but….I feel like I should be doing something more with my time…..I call it the ‘blue sky effect’, that feeling you get when you see blue sky and feel happier, more inspired, with bundles of energy ready to do anything!

Full time work can still take up a lot of time, as can study, but summer is often a great time of year to learn new things and meet different people. We are generally more relaxed, less pressured and more receptive to new experiences. Career wise this can help, especially when it comes to networking. There are usually more social occasions and this is a great way of being able to make new contacts in a more relaxed environment.

The BBC ran this article during the northern hemisphere summer on what key LinkedIn influencers had to say about using summer to give your career a boost. Hopefully it will give you some inspiration for doing more with those long, lazy days.