Summer break is almost here and your student may have plans of completing an internship, taking classes, traveling or working a summer job. Although the summer can be filled with downtime, there are a number of things your student can do to plan for the next academic year and get ahead!
Resume Updates
Even if your student is currently interning or working, it is never too soon to be thinking about the next job or internship. Encourage your student to spend some time updating his or her resume this summer and have at least one other person edit the document for content and grammatical errors. Your student can schedule an appointment to meet with University Career Services over the summer to discuss his or her resume with a Career Counselor or visit University Career Services for specific resume tips and tools.
Tip: If your student is preparing for a job search next year, encourage him or her to create a master resume with all of his or her professional, extracurricular and volunteer opportunities. When the time comes for your student to tailor his or her resume for a specific position, this will save time!
Networking
Is your student interested in a particular industry and wants to learn more about what that job is like? Encourage him or her to identify network contacts who can provide an inside perspective on a career field. To identify people in your student’s network, University Career Services recommends thinking of the five F’s: Friends, Fellow peers and alumni, Faculty, Family and Foundations and professional associations.
Students can cultivate relationships with network contacts by scheduling information interviews to ask questions about their career, industry and organization. For more information about networking, informational interviews and for a list of sample informational interview request emails, visit University Career Services.
Tip: Make sure your student has a list of questions before the informational interview. This will help your student stand out and be prepared to make the most of the opportunity.
Volunteer
Volunteering is a tremendous way for your student to give back, learn new skills and explore future careers. Your student can develop important soft skills that employers are looking for while developing a sense of civic responsibility. If your student is interested in continuing to volunteer when he or she returns to campus, there are many opportunities available through Social Action and Integrative Learning!
Tip: Encourage your student to be strategic with his or her volunteering and look for opportunities that are related to a career or field of study he or she wants to learn more about!
We hope these tips help you provide your student with ideas and resources to make the most of the summer and get a head start on planning for next year.
Carolyn Kleiman
Career Counselor
University Career Services