With job opportunities on the horizon, it can be stressful to get internships and relevant work experience completed in such a short amount of time. Trying to build your resume while juggling school work, a social life, and a job can be hard.
School is already stressful enough. Zoom has taken over at every university. It has become incredibly difficult to learn online and maintain good grades. However, here are four ways to stay on track and get the most out of your college experience.
- Devote different days of the week to different classes
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Devoting each day of the week to a different class can help you stay organized. Having one class to worry about a day will help you finish assignments without worrying about your other assignments for different classes.
This is the best way to maintain a full workload. Focusing on one day at a time will limit stress and make you feel better about your work progress. Assigning days to certain classes can then clear up your weekend. This allows you to set aside weekends for an on-campus job or internship search.
- Look for internships, even if everything is online
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Although you might not think that you’ll get the same kind of experience with a virtual internship, you can still learn valuable skills that transfer to real life. Many companies and businesses have adapted to the pandemic and are making it easy to gain experience right from your laptop.
Many places have adjusted their internship requirements to best fit online students while still giving students the opportunity to work. Do not be afraid to reach out to companies — even if they are not currently hiring. The best thing you can do is show interest in a company, and the worst they can do is decline the offer.
- Take online skill classes
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There are so many online skill classes that you can take to better your skills for your resume. If you feel like you’re lacking experience in some area, take online courses such as learning photoshop or mastering Excel.
A lot of online websites offer free classes that will help you brush up on things you may have forgotten how to do. If there is a certain skill that most internships are including on their listings, learn how to acquire that certain skill. By doing this, you will be able to add another thing to your resume that could impress your next employer.
- Network, Network, Network
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Join a club where an industry professional or Penn State alum can talk about their experience and how they landed their first job. It is important to listen to other people’s tactics and how they landed a position at a job you might one day aspire to have.
Most speakers give tons of helpful advice and wouldn’t mind answering any questions you might have. Many industry professionals are willing to connect with you on LinkedIn and other social media platforms. Going to Penn States gives you such a huge alumni network — people who went to Penn State love hiring other people who went to Penn State.
All in all, there are two ways to look at the virtual side of things. You can look at it negatively and decide to be unproductive, or you could make the most of it and use this time to connect, network, and build your skills. Take it one step at a time.