And what have you got to look forward to? Well, if it's another break you're after, you'll have to wait until Easter and (are you ready for this?) that's fully 15 weeks away.
And if that fills you with dread and all you can see is 15 weeks of unremitting grind in front of you, then perhaps it is high time to give yourself a career audit.
So where do you start? Well at the risk of offending the advertisers in the job section that follows, don't start by lobbing your CV in the direction of some of the exciting opportunities' on offer.
Much better, first sit down and give yourself a bit of a career talking-to.
Geoff Thiel is a consultant with RightCoutts and spends most of his days counselling and coaching people in the management of their careers. He has his suggestions about how to start that process.
"I passionately believe that if you fully understand yourself on the one hand and what your working life can offer on the other, you will be able to make informed choices, set realistic goals, and live the life you want to live," he says.
"You start that process by conducting a personal audit which includes a stock-take of your skills, competencies and experience while also identifying what motivates and demotivates you." Thiel advises you should treat this in much the same way you would any business exercise.
"Imagine that you are the boss of Me plc' identifying your assets and deciding where and how you are next going to invest them.
"A useful process here can be conducting a life mapping exercise where you record the highs and lows and then try and make sense of them.
"Identify which skills you were using at which time, what motivated you, and what didn't.
"All of these will give you pointers to setting your future objectives."
Another part of this audit should be considering your life balance are you spending the right time with the different aspects of your life or are there other activities you would like to make time for in future?
Changing priorities
"We all give of our best when we're at ease with ourselves, and we have to understand that at different stages of our careers our priorities will change" says Thiel.
"So you will need to think through in some detail what you want from your next career move."
Setting objectives for a career search might seem obvious but many recruitment consultants will tell you that when they ask candidates why they applied for a particular job and what they want to achieve from their next career move, they receive pretty woolly answers.
Someone who is clear about what they are trying to achieve will always present better as a candidate.
Take several routes
So having conducted an audit and set objectives, what is the next thing to do? Well you can start by flicking through the jobs pages but that's not the only route talking to consultants, networking and making direct approaches are all important too.
Of course, you won't need reminding that you have to be careful not to believe everything you read and everything you are told. After all, every job advertisement will always sell the opportunity and have an element of dressing up' in it.
But, equally, your CV is a selling document too and gilds the lily' a little.
So just as you've taken stock of yourself at the start of the process, take stock of what's on offer by conducting an objective analysis of just what you're being presented with.
And if it all works out and you land a new job and get a shiny new motor to go with it? Well, it will be a case of New Year, new car rear'
nSimon Howard is a founder of Work Communications, writes the Jobfile column for The Sunday Times, and has written Creating a Successful CV'.
{{JOBS & CAREERS }}
And if that fills you with dread and all you can see is 15 weeks of unremitting grind in front of you, then perhaps it is high time to give yourself a career audit.
So where do you start? Well at the risk of offending the advertisers in the job section that follows, don't start by lobbing your CV in the direction of some of the exciting opportunities' on offer.
Much better, first sit down and give yourself a bit of a career talking-to.
Geoff Thiel is a consultant with RightCoutts and spends most of his days counselling and coaching people in the management of their careers. He has his suggestions about how to start that process.
"I passionately believe that if you fully understand yourself on the one hand and what your working life can offer on the other, you will be able to make informed choices, set realistic goals, and live the life you want to live," he says.
"You start that process by conducting a personal audit which includes a stock-take of your skills, competencies and experience while also identifying what motivates and demotivates you." Thiel advises you should treat this in much the same way you would any business exercise.
"Imagine that you are the boss of Me plc' identifying your assets and deciding where and how you are next going to invest them.
"A useful process here can be conducting a life mapping exercise where you record the highs and lows and then try and make sense of them.
"Identify which skills you were using at which time, what motivated you, and what didn't.
"All of these will give you pointers to setting your future objectives."
Another part of this audit should be considering your life balance are you spending the right time with the different aspects of your life or are there other activities you would like to make time for in future?
Changing priorities
"We all give of our best when we're at ease with ourselves, and we have to understand that at different stages of our careers our priorities will change" says Thiel.
"So you will need to think through in some detail what you want from your next career move."
Setting objectives for a career search might seem obvious but many recruitment consultants will tell you that when they ask candidates why they applied for a particular job and what they want to achieve from their next career move, they receive pretty woolly answers.
Someone who is clear about what they are trying to achieve will always present better as a candidate.
Take several routes
So having conducted an audit and set objectives, what is the next thing to do? Well you can start by flicking through the jobs pages but that's not the only route talking to consultants, networking and making direct approaches are all important too.
Of course, you won't need reminding that you have to be careful not to believe everything you read and everything you are told. After all, every job advertisement will always sell the opportunity and have an element of dressing up' in it.
But, equally, your CV is a selling document too and gilds the lily' a little.
So just as you've taken stock of yourself at the start of the process, take stock of what's on offer by conducting an objective analysis of just what you're being presented with.
And if it all works out and you land a new job and get a shiny new motor to go with it? Well, it will be a case of New Year, new car rear'
nSimon Howard is a founder of Work Communications, writes the Jobfile column for The Sunday Times, and has written Creating a Successful CV'.
{{JOBS & CAREERS }}
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