Floral Shorts, Pinterest and Internships
By: Jess Gill
We’ve been inside these stone cold walls for far too long. It’s time to bust out those floral shorts and plain white tees, spring has sprung.
The semester is nearing its end and once finals are over you’re free. Free to frolic in fields of dandelions. Free to soak in the sun and catch up on sleep. Or so you think.
There’s no time like free time, so how do you get the most out of it?
Instead of spending those long summer days waking up at noon, watching T.V. for hours and browsing Pinterest for the latest fashion trend, why not do something worthwhile.
Have you considered getting an internship this summer? Even if it’s an unpaid internship the experience is worth far more than any money they could offer. Internships give you a taste of the “real world” like how to interact with peers, supervisors and how to conduct yourself in a professional setting.
According to Katharine Hansen, Ph.D. “a staggering 95 percent of employers said candidate experience is a factor in hiring decisions, nearly half of surveyed employers wanted new-grad experience to come from internships or co-op programs.”
When visiting the career center on campus you find out they offer many services to help make the most of your college years. Some services are job and internship programs, workshops, job fairs, on campus recruitment and student awards.
When asking what the career center’s vision is they said “We aspire to focus on creating an environment of student centeredness exhibiting professionalism, responsiveness, reflection, social responsibility, and collaboration in order for students to realize and achieve their professional potential.”
If you’re in a pinch and don’t know how to prepare yourself for the professional world, stop in at the career center and take full advantage of any help they offer.
Not sure what you want to do post-graduation? Getting internship experience is a superb way to find out what you do and don’t like in regards to a future career.
Don’t have enough time for a summer internship? Well, have no fear you can still make wise career moves in other ways. Find some local businesses or places that interest you and see if they’d be willing to let you shadow someone in a related position. Spending a day or longer shadowing someone will give you a good feel for what that specific job has to offer. Prepare yourself for what’s ahead. Update your resume and trash those old high school “skills and achievements”. What clubs are you involved in, do you hold any positions? Also, work on a professional and electronic portfolio. Professionals like to see what work you’ve done up-to-date.
Don’t stress, the summer has come. Get to work you beautiful person.
The beach will always be there, spend some time this summer preparing for your future.