It’s that time of the year again.
The time where the winter frost freezes our toes, fingers and other body extremities, but no one minds because Christmas is “X” days away. And when that time of the year comes, so does every college student’s favorite thing following Fall semester exams: Winter Break. We all have the expectation of sleep, sweet candies and cakes, holiday parties and positive feelings spiraling down from every direction, but our loved ones may have other plans. If your parents are anything like mine, they’re grilling you on your summer plans while the last leaf hangs on the back yard tree. They’ll ask you the usual stuff, like, how are your grades? What are you taking next semester? How’s (insert-the-name-of-only-friend-they-actually-like-here)? All this can be a bit irritating, especially when you’re not even two days in to your break. However, that’s not the most annoying part. You’ll experience the ultimate feeling of annoyance when you suddenly realize: they’re right.
Now is the time to start thinking about summer plans, next semester and getting your life together while you have the time. I’ve always been a fan of reading ahead. Yet, that becomes extremely difficult when your syllabus isn’t even posted, and the book list isn’t finalized. So how can you get ahead? I’ve searched the Internet, looked at Carolina’s Career Services page, and talked to a few UNC students to get tips on how you can make the most of your Winter Break.
If you go to UNC-Chapel Hill, you’ve undoubtedly already heard of “Careerolina,” the campus career service center. Senior Tierra Williams suggests going online and looking up jobs and internships that have been posted.
“It’s kind of hard to start on your course work because you don’t have syllabi,” she said. “But, I would definitely recommend starting your internship search now, go to ‘Careerolina.’”
Williams also recommends preparing for examinations like the GRE, LSAT, MCAT, ect.
“If you plan on going to graduate school of any kind, you’re probably going to need to take a test. You can buy those books and start studying,” she said.
In fact, if we take a quick detour to careers.unc.edu, you can already see that UNC is ahead of the game when it comes to giving advice on what you can do this winter break. Assistant Director of Career Services, Vergie Taylor, wrote the blog and listed ten things you can do to get ahead. A few that maybe new to you: “Email professors or TA’s for potential leads. They often know where they’re former students landed internships or jobs,” and “Check with family and friends for potential internship or job leads.” Yes, your family and friends should be apart of your professional network as well!
Taking the time to update your online profile(s), like LinkedIn as well as your paper resume, is a critical component to be sure you make the most out of your winter break. While you’ve got the time, it’s important to show future employers that you use your time well. Be sure your resume reflects the important activities you did this past semester. While you may have not had the time to update your information, there should be no excuse for starting the spring semester with outdated information. You’ve worked hard, so share it!
Blogger Kayla Matthews is the author of productivitytheory.com. In her blog, “How (and Why) to stay productive over Winter Break,” she suggests volunteering as a way to update your resume.
“Not only will you feel great about helping others, but volunteer work is also a great way to boost your resume, which leads us to my next suggestion….Perfect your resume and cover letter,” Matthews wrote.
The blogger also suggests socializing, attending events and traveling to keep your mind clear and focused over break. You can check out the complete blog post here.
Lastly, Junior Josiah Graham said it’s important to take time for yourself during the break.
“Honestly, I would say decompress, take some time to relax,” he said. “You have a break for a reason.”
Be sure to visit Career Services to get more information on how you can make your winter break a time to develop professionally.