Every experience involves learning, and it is essential to take what you have learned in the past and apply it to the future. That said, it is equally imperative that you are always learning and applying what you have learned in the real world. The goal of this article is to demonstrate ways of being proactive during the summer so that you remain well prepared for when your next internship season comes around.
One of the most valuable things necessary for progress in the work world is experience. Even if you did not get an internship or the opportunity you were hoping for this summer, remain action-oriented and pivot toward what you can still accomplish with your time. Keep developing knowledge and skills through other work experiences, career research, networking, informational interviewing, job shadowing, volunteering or other ways to get closer to your career goals. It is to your advantage to utilize other opportunities for work experience. It is better to have any experience on your resume when you are first starting out; new experience, even if unrelated, can transfer better than no experience at all. An experience like this still allows you to meet specific goals as well as begin to grasp how to navigate workplace dynamics with coworkers and superiors.
Part of being able to capitalize on opportunities is being aware of openings relating to your desired career field. It is important to keep up to date with companies you are interested in working for through LinkedIn, Handshake, or WayUp and develop a good awareness of recruiting time periods. If you are consistently aware of the opportunities that open up and are appealing to you, this gives you an upper hand in preparing to apply.
The final part of being prepared I want to talk about is keeping all your resources up to date. This means that it is important that you update things like your resume, LinkedIn, and other career tools of that nature. It is better to update these items as they happen so that you are not playing catch-up later. Updating information sooner may allow you the opportunity to add a skill or activity that you participated in that might have otherwise slipped your mind or been an omission from your resume. Let each update of your profile or resume be an opportunity to consider best practices and ways to strengthen your communication and marketing of yourself.
All one can do for any break, semester or season is put the best foot forward and find ways to grow in new ways. Part of putting your best foot forward is ensuring that you are proactive and engaged to take the initiative to be a candidate ready for hire. May this summer season be a time when you can prepare for the seasons ahead. Hard work does pay off, and if you work hard during this summer season, you will benefit in the long run.