As a college student, finding an internship or entry-level job in your desired career field is a challenge, especially when you have to balance it with your academics and other commitments. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to boost your resume with relevant and helpful career experience, even if you don’t want to take the internship leap just yet.
Project-Based Classes
This option can easily be integrated into any college schedule! When choosing your classes for the upcoming semester, consider selecting a few that are project-based to help you gain some hands-on experience in the field that you’re interested in. For STEM majors such as myself, this can often be done by choosing classes that have labs, where you will be able to work in real life with the concepts you covered in lecture. For non-STEM majors, you can read the course descriptions and choose classes that have an emphasis on research, projects, discussions, and other non-traditional work.
Volunteering
Spending time as a volunteer is a great way to not only exercise your career skills, but make a positive impact while doing so. There are volunteer opportunities available across all fields, ranging from small local events to nationwide organizations. For example, if you’re an education or English major, try volunteering with a children’s literacy organization such as Seacoast Reads. If you study the natural resources, look into beach cleanups or find other opportunities on the Nature Groupie website. For those interested in social work, offer to help at a food bank or resource shelter such as the Crossroads House.
Research
One of the standout qualities of UNH is its classification as an R1 research university. This means that no matter what career or topic you are interested in, there is probably a professor out there who shares the same passion! By exploring the faculty page of your college or department, you can find information on professors’ current projects and reach out to those who you might like to work with.
Personal Projects
If none of the above sounds appealing to you (or if you just want an extra boost of experience), there will always be the option to create your own passion project. Personal projects can take a variety of different forms: websites, portfolios, student clubs, apps, or podcasts, to name just a few. Creating your own project means that the possibilities are truly endless – you can take a deep dive into whatever you love the most about your future career field. Plus, starting a project yourself shows future employers that you have great initiative and leadership.
