Profile Building is a continuous process

Lot of IT Professionals don't deeply consider what motivates them, what drives them and what’s their goals are. many of them start their planning based on peer pressure or notions of a formula that one must follow.

• ·     Is there a formula ? IT Professionals often erroneously jump into making list of things to do, based on what they hear from their colleagues, friends and family members. But, well intentioned advisor will guide them to reflection and introspection - the first steps towards building a strong profile and application. Aspirants can begin by weighing the following factors and asking themselves some questions.
• ·     Previous experience: Look back on the year or a few years, set goals for the near future or year and think about,

1. “What do I want to do?” ,
2. “What have I not been able to do so far?” ,
3. “What else did I do last year besides my studies?” ,
4. “Can I do something more or different this year?” and
5. “What do I want to invest my time in?”

• ·     Make a statement: Make notes while asking yourself

1. “What is my purpose or intent of that activity?”  and
2. “What interests me, what affects me or upsets me?”

• ·     Do some reflection: Gauge if the activity is helping to achieve long term self-development goals beyond just profile-building “Is it something that I want to continue doing in ?”
• ·     Resist peer pressure: How an individual spends his or her time, is that only thing under that person’s control. It is, therefore, importance to chart one’s own plan and resist peer pressure.
• ·     Be flexible, adaptive, positive: “If I don’t have access to opportunity A, can I look at opportunity B instead?” and “Do I have a plan B?” 
• ·     Set goals: “By when do I want to achieve this goal?”, “What exactly do I intend to do?”, “Am I being realistic in my expectations?” and “Do I have the time to do this?”
• ·     Set one’s own pace: Some aspirants do deter with schedules and some are spontaneous.
• Repose: Remember that an individual may not feel productive or motivated at all times, so it is acceptable to have moments of repose.

This bring us to the activities that one can participate in, to make the most of one's time during a holiday break and eventually build a strong application. 

1. Study & prepare for standardized examinations that you plan to take later in the year. (international certifications)
2. Keep researching on google about your choices and have mentoring sessions, can be webinars.
3. Do research about your type of profile on LinkedIn and compare career trends with yours
4. Revamp your resume, adding removing keywords, use tabular formats for Experience & Education
5. Help your community by volunteering. 
6. Upskill by trying out a new activity or by learning online platform
7. Have fun and do not forget to relax.

https://issuu.com/spanmagazine/docs/english_span_-_july_aug_2020