Christmas break is a time of recovery. Another semester filled with quizzes, exams and papers has come and gone. On the first day of break you will have (hopefully) destroyed a week of finals. Enjoying this time of recuperation is normal–catching up with friends back home and reconnecting with your Netflix queue are completely acceptable things to do over the chilly break. But what if you could get ahead over Christmas break? Just add a few minor to-do’s to your other Chrismas plans and you’ll be set for next semester in no time!
1. Polish up your resume
No matter what year you are in school, a resume is crucial. An efficient resume can help you land positions in campus organizations and internships, which can determine what kind of job you get after graduation. The first step is to edit out any information that is no longer relevent. College freshmen, I hate to break it to you, but all of the resume you wrote in high school doesn’t help you anymore. The next step is to add more information if you’ve joined another organization or were recently inducted into an academic honors society. Finally, you can edit the entire resume making sure to pay attention to updating dates and your GPA. Updating your resume every month or so means it will always be updated, and Christmas break is the best time to squeeze in some editing.
2. Look into and apply for internships
Your resume is spotless and updated. So now what? It’s never too early to look into internships. Take time over Christmas break to figure out what you want out of an internship. There are a lot of things to consider before deciding where you want to apply. Where do you want to go? Do you want to stay close so you can still take classes? When is the application deadline? Does it meet your school’s internship requirements? After finding the answers to these questions and more, you can start comparing. If you start looking now, any questions you may have about the application process or the internship can be answered before you even apply. Companies sometimes even give priority viewing to students that apply early. Happy internship hunting, collegiettes!
3. Organize your laptop
After an entire semester of papers, slideshows and study guides, your laptop might be a wreck. Once grades are posted, it’s always a good idea to clean out your laptop. Keeping papers that you received high grades on could be helpful for a portfolio down the road, but minor items like slideshows, study guides and that boutique’s website you keep bookmarking to the desktop clutter your laptop. Organizing important documents by class will help you easily find documents down the road so you can brag about your writing skills to a potential employer. Deleting the rest will clear room on your memory, which can help the operating system run faster and smoother. Your laptop will thank you later.
4. Start buying textbooks at cheap prices
In the war on rising textbook prices, sites like Amazon and Valore Books can help you get textbooks for less. Many sites have new and used books to satisfy all preferences. Many professors submit their textbooks requirements to their university bookstores. These lists can usually be found online with pictures and an ISBN (international standard book number) for the books so you can find them online. If you start comparing prices early, you’ll be ahead of the game and score textbooks at the cheapest prices. Other students will get stuck buying the books at full price when they get back to school. Luckily, you’ll be ready to go for the semester with a few more bucks in your pocket.