When you hear the words Spring Break, you might think of parties and drinking all day and being near a sunny beach. For a lot of people though, that’s not necessarily the truth. So what do you do if you’re stuck at home or in Lawrence? Sure its a nice break, but after day 2 or 3, when you’ve finished binge-watching House of Cards season three, you might start to get a little bored. Keep away the boredom and help yourself out when you’re not overwhelmingly busy by doing a few of these productive things over break.
1. Polish up your resume
Let’s get this one out of the way quick. Whether you’re a Freshman starting out or a Senior ready to get a job, your resume should be polished for any situation. Check out different resume layouts you can play with and figure out how to quantify your accomplishments so they stand out. You can even get your resume checked out by a professional in the KU Career Center, either in person OR online! The resource is here and free, so why not use it?
2. Apply for internships/jobs
Going right along with your resume is actually getting a job or internship. No one has time with classes to check out all the opportunities available, so use your valuable free time to get job hunting! Use the KU Career Connections and other degree-specific job resources like the Journalism, Business and Engineering Career Centers. Use your LinkedIn or check out websites like The Muse, GlassDoor and the Her Campus Careerette Center.
3. Start your portfolio
Take it from a senior on the job hunt- starting your portfolio early is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Start a folder on your computer or Google Drive for anything that might look good to a potential employer, from class projects to student organization work. You may not use all of these at every interview, but it will be much better to have it all in one spot than to be prepping for an interview unsure of what you want to show off.
4. Figure out your schedule for next semester
I may just be a huge nerd, but this is one of my favorite things to do (I’m actually really sad that I won’t get to do this again next year)! Check out what you still need to finish for your degree and figure out what classes are best to fit those needs. Don’t settle for just the boring classes either– fill your Humanities credit with English 325 (Intro to Popular Literature) or Theatre 380 (The Work of Bob Dylan).
5. Organize your stuff
Throughout the semester, stuff gets messy and its not always easy to find time to clean it up. Organize your closet or binders or your room in general. You’ll feel accomplished and you’ll make the rest of the semester that much easier.
6. Goal plan
This may be one of the more fun things you can do with your time! Set some goals for yourself, both long- and short-term. I like to do different lengths of time- so I write my goals for a month, six months, a year and five years from now. I also split up my goals into categories, writing some personal goals, work goals, class goals, relationship goals, etc. However you want to do it, writing down your goals is a great way to focus yourself on the future and start planning for how to reach those goals. This is a great activity to do with a trusted friend or mentor and it can be around for you to look at when you aren’t feeling so great about things.
7. Catch up on homework
This is boring, but all this free time provides a really good excuse to get all your homework out of the way. Let’s face it- when you get back to your friends, do you want to be doing homework for hours or do you want to have fun? Use this time to get ahead and you’ll thank yourself later.
8. Apply for Her Campus KU
Join one of the best student organizations on campus and get yourself some real-world experience at writing, editing event planning, social media, publicity and designing. Her Campus KU is always looking for new members, so apply today!