Boost Your Career This Summer

For a student, summer is no doubt the best time of the year. You’ve been locked down in your student accommodation, hard at revision and taking exams, and now you’re finished its time to kick back and enjoy long summer days and care free nights.

However, the summer holidays are also the best time to lay the foundations of future career paths. If this time is used wisely, you can greatly improve your career prospects by being productive in the summer months and building your CV.

Here at Downing Students we’ve compiled a list of ideas to help you make the most of summer and be on your way to achieving your dream job.

Work Experience/Internship

If you have an idea already about the career path you want to take, then finding a summer job in your chosen profession is the ideal way to build your experience and enhance your prospects of a full time career.

Ideally it would be great to find a paying job, but the alternative would be to take an internship with a company in your chosen field.

You may not get paid for an internship, but the experience gained will be invaluable and it builds your CV for when you start the interview process after graduation.

Work in Retail

Not only is it nice to have cash in your pocket during those summer months, but working in a shop is an ideal way to build on your people skills.

No matter what profession you want to make a career in, customer service skills are essential, even if you don’t deal with customers directly when you graduate.
The people skills you gain from working in a shop are transferable to the workplace when dealing with colleagues, understanding your customers’ mind set, and developing a wider understanding of the business you work in.

Volunteer Work

One of the biggest setbacks for new graduates leaving university when looking for work is lack of experience.

Volunteering for an organisation associated with your intended career path is an ideal way to gain that much needed experience, and help you to stand out from the crowd when your CV lands on an employer’s desk.

Volunteering also offers great opportunities for travel, as many of the charities you can work with have programs abroard. This means you’ll not only gain valuable work experience, but the personal development you gain from interacting with new cultures and making new friends will stay with you for life.

Networking

Use the time you have wisely. In today’s world of social media, reaching out and networking is not only easy, but key to building relationships within your chosen sphere.

Whatever career path interests you there will be a Facebook or LinkedIn group that is related directly, through which you can get involved in and make your presence known.

Social media is a great entry tool but there’s no substitution for meeting people in person. Look at your local student associations for meet ups, as well as local industry networking events where you can build relationships and let your face be known to the industry influencers.

Start a Business

It’s famously documented that Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook from his student accommodation, and the summer is the ideal time to fire up that entrepreneurial spirit.

Whether it’s on your own or with a group of friends, you have the time to do the research and make a go of starting your own business.

Not only will this put some money into your pocket, but having it documented is a great addition to your CV should you look for employment once you graduate.

Good Luck

Whatever you choose to do this summer, try to make the most of the opportunities you have available to you to enhance your career opportunities. Once the summer has passed it will be back to the books, so use the time wisely as it could provide a great building block for your future.