Making Summer Productive

Are you stressing out because your summer plans are not what you expected? Well, don’t worry, it will all come together. We may feel that we are behind because we may not have landed an internship or our ideal summer job, but don’t fear. There are plenty of other ways to make your summer productive. Here are some ideas to guide you through summer work!

#1 Keep looking for an internship—this is important because you never know when an opportunity will arise. Companies recruit at all different times of the year, especially depending on the field of work. Don’t fret, just persevere and keep going on job sites or LinkedIn to find opportunities that might interest you or fit with your summer plans!

#2 Work on the skills you want to improve—this is more for you than your employers, but it makes you a desirable candidate if you can provide a wide range of skills that you excel at. Take the summer to work on skills you want to develop and improve in order to stand out to employers. In the long run, it never hurts to work on minimizing your skills gap.

#3 Always look at the positives of your job—just because you do not have the most ideal job for your future does not mean that you will not get anything out of it. Every job teaches you something different and helps you grow as an individual. Use this to your advantage. Whether it is working on various skills or developing a network connection, use whatever job you have got to improve yourself for the future.

#4 Volunteer or take the initiative—these activities may not get you paid, but they do offer experience to put on a resume, and they usually make you feel rather rewarded. Volunteering is great way to help your communities and gain some experience in different areas of work. You can also take initiative and use your imagination and create something that interests you and makes you proud of your work, whether that is a project, book, etc. Nothing is too little!

#5 Network—summer is a perfect time to network with people in your area. It never hurts to have connections in all different kinds of industries. It also never hurts to use your network to help you figure out what areas of the job market you are interested in. Use this time to shadow potential jobs you are interested, interview people about their career fields, and if needed, gain as much advice as you can in order to help you move forward.

These are just a few ideas of what to do with your summer so you feel productive. Just remember that everything you do teaches you something in one form or another. Keep hunting for your opportunity and happy summer!

 

Living life one adventure at a time!

By Alyssa Steinman
Alyssa Steinman