By Crystal Cory, CPDC Career Coach
Summer is here! The sun is shining! But now that we made it this far… what should you do with your summer? Check out this list of 5 things for some ideas of what you could be doing this summer.
- Grow your skillset
When you think of growing your skillset, you probably think of the usual ways of doing that – internships, part-time jobs, full time jobs, etc. But there are also other ways of challenging yourself. Identify an area where you feel like you need some practice or experience, and design a personal project to get you that experience. Are you a photography major that hasn’t done product photography? See if you can practice for your friend’s Etsy store. Are you a math major that wants to get experience in Python? See if you can give yourself a project that increases your knowledge. These projects are not only great ways to test your skills, they are also 100% resume worthy and something employers love to see.
- Talk to some professionals to explore career paths
Summer is a great time to explore lots of different career paths using what is called an Informational Interview. For those unfamiliar, I wrote an article on my personal LinkedIn that details how it works. If you have questions about a specific career, if you want to learn what’s possible, or if you just want to get some advice, conducting some informational interviews is a great option.
- Update your documents
Since the school year just ended, now is the perfect time for you to update things like resumes, portfolios, LinkedIn/Handshake profiles, and anything else that you have. The classes that you took and skills that you’ve developed are still fresh in your head, so getting it down on paper now will be more helpful in the long run. When you don’t have the pressure of an upcoming job/internship search, updating your documents is a lot easier. In addition, you never know when an opportunity might arise, so being prepared at all times is a good habit to get into. You can review your documents and get virtual support here.
- Wear sunscreen
Protect your skin. It’s just a good idea.
- Take a break
I recognize the irony of me including this in a CPDC blog post, especially when the first three things are career-related tasks. However, not everything has to be go go go all the time! If you feel super tired after the past year of crazy and feel like you just need to chill for a bet, you have my permission to do so. You can’t perform at your best if you aren’t recharging yourself when your batteries are low. Spending time in nature or with family, doing some hobbies that have fallen by the wayside, or even catching up on your favorite show is actually beneficial in the long term.
As a reminder, our office is open during the summer, so if you want to take this opportunity to make progress on some career things, feel free to schedule an appointment! We will also be taking a break with the blog this summer and will be posting monthly instead of weekly.