Winter break is always a great thing at first (No more finals! Lots of food! Mom doing your laundry!), but as you start to go a little stir crazy, there’s one thing you can do to help yourself in the future: Apply to summer internships.
Believe it or not, many employers have been hiring summer interns since September (that’s nuts, right?!), so if you were going to wait until March to start applications, you’re already behind. Setting yourself up for career success doesn’t have to become a laborious process; in fact, just a couple of hours a week can really alleviate your stress in the spring and help you land the best opportunity ever come summer.
Want to get your internship search and application process going? Here are 15 easy and incredibly practical things you can do when you’re hanging out at home.
1. Job Shadow
What’s job shadowing? As the name suggests, it’s the opportunity to “follow” someone around for a period of time (a day, a week, or longer) to see what his or her days in a particular role look like. For instance, if your cousin works at a startup, you can go with her to see what her day-to-day responsibilities look like, what kinds of challenges she tackles and more. It’s a great time to ask questions and get a more realistic sense of what a profession is like.
An added bonus: Often people who job shadow do get handed some responsibilities, so it’s a great way to sneak your way into an internship later if you really like the work you’re doing!
2. Talk to Family Members
Even if you’re not going into the same field, your winter break is an awesome time to talk to family members (parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, everyone!) about their career paths, what they learned and what they wish they knew.
3. Conduct Mock Interviews With Your Family and Friends
Get ahead of the interview curve by practicing your answers with family and friends. Many internship programs start conducting interviews as early as the first week of the spring semester, so by taking the time to get prepared now, you’ll be less stressed later.
What types of questions should you know the answers to? We’ve created a list of the 10 most common interview questions employers ask on the WayUp Guide, so give those a look!
4. Complete a Winternship
“Winternships” are just as hip as the name suggests; they’re internships for a shorter period of time (typically three to five weeks) during what’s normally a busy season for most companies.
Plus, if there’s a field you want to check out but don’t want to dedicate an entire 12-week summer internship to finding out if you like it, winternships are the chance to test the waters without too much commitment. And like talking to relatives, you’d be surprised how often winternships can turn into more in-depth summer internships.
How can you find a winternship ASAP? You guessed it: We’ve got thousands of employers on WayUp hiring students to work during their breaks, so check ‘em out now.
5. Connect With Professors From Your Previous Semester
Now that your semester is over and your professors are done grading massive numbers of exams and papers, it’s time to check in and strengthen those connections, especially if you aren’t taking classes with those professors during the coming semester.
You’d be surprised how often professors can help you find great internships, and by reaching out during a break, you’re likely to catch a professor when he or she isn’t busy helping other students.
6. Update Your Resume and Online Profiles
It’s time to make your resume beautiful and your WayUp profile shine. We’ve got plenty of tips for how to make a resume great, so check out those resources here:
- 3 Tips for Using Your WayUp Profile as a Resume
- 4 Ways to Make Your Resume Stand Out
- 37 Quick Resume Changes You Can Make in the Next 5 Minutes
- 7 Ways to Write the Best Resume Over Winter Break
7. Update Your Email Signature
Students often either have no information in their email signature, or they have way too much. Aim for having around three or four lines in your signature, including your full name, your contact information, your title (“Student at _____ University” will do) and a link to an online portfolio (like your WayUp profile) is more than enough.
8. Learn a New Skill
If you’re looking to make yourself a more competitive applicant or you need to learn a particular skill for your field, there’s no better time to do it than winter break. Not sure what to work on? We compiled a list of 25 free online classes you can take to become the applicant every company wants to hire.
9. Splurge on High-Quality Wardrobe Essentials
Get those interview and job outfits ready to go now before you get too busy during the semester.
Obviously, every industry differs in terms of what’s appropriate, so if you just want to get some basics that could work for a variety of industries, there are still some items you can buy. Women can invest in a more formal dress, blazer, pencil skirt, button-down shirt and nice heels. Meanwhile, men can definitely have a fitted suit, dress shirt and dress shoes in their arsenal. It’s great to feel like you have a go-to outfit to turn to as soon as you get a job interview request.
10. Become Part of a Professional Network
Whether it’s joining an online group, participating in a Twitter chat or signing up for a great industry newsletter, make an effort to find new connections and learn more about the field(s) you want to go into.
11. Check in With Potential References
If you’re applying for internships, chances are at least one of your applications will ask for references.
Our advice? Check in with the people you want to be references before you apply to internships. It shows respect (you’re not just assuming they want to recommend you), and it also gives you the chance to catch up and fill them in on where you’re going career-wise.
12. Talk to Friends About Their Previous Experiences
Now that you’re home and have time, take the opportunity to reach out to friends or other peers. What have their internship experiences been like? Have they learned anything that you haven’t? Those check-ins are important.
13. Connect With Previous Employers
Similar to checking in with friends, don’t be afraid to email previous employers to say hi, see how they’re doing, and let them know if you need anything internship-wise.
14. Create a List of Your Favorite Internships
Winter breaks are practically made for all of this research grunt work. Make a spreadsheet that includes all of the following information for each potential internship:
- Name of internship
- Short description of what the internship entails
- Name of company
- Short description of what the company does
- Internship application requirements
- Application deadlines
- Company or internship program contact information
- Any other notes about the company, the position or any connections you have to that organization
Now, when all of your friends are scrambling to put together their applications in March, yours will be ready and you won’t be tripped up on deadlines.
15. Put Together Application Materials
While you might not necessarily be able to finish applications over winter break, get a head start by personalizing your resume for each internship application and write any cover letters or essays if the program requires it. Need a letter or recommendation? Email your professor or former employer now so that you’re all ready to go come spring semester.
While all of your friends are hyperventilating come March or April, you’ll be all ready to go to get that dream internship for the summer. Who knew winter break could be so productive?
