How can your student be making the most of their summer?
Surely this piece must refer to your student’s first 14 weeks at UMW, when they learned how to navigate the campus, how to get sleep to sleep with a roommate who pulled regular all-nighters and learned (thanks to dining hall food) that their parents’ home–cooked meals are actually pretty amazing?
Or maybe it’s about the final semester…you know…the one right before graduation…when your son or daughter will be looking for grad school acceptances, or submitting resumes for their first “real job!”
No and no. This piece is about SUMMER. But since when is summer a semester? Perhaps this title did take a little poetic license but bear with me, because what your child does during their summer breaks can be crucial to their future career success. Needless to say, what they don’t want to be doing (whether or not they agree) is playing endless games of Fortnite or snapping every move from the couch to fridge with their friends. Instead, they need to take a good look at their resume and target areas for improvement. Here are a few suggestions:
- Internships: While it may be a bit late in the game to land a summer internship, it is still worth a try. Recommend that your student network with everyone you and they know to seek a last-minute opening and direct them to the Career Center’s job and internship listing site Handshake. While they may not find a summer internship, they can use this sleuthing time to also look for a fall or spring internship, or even bookmark some opportunities to revisit for next summer.
- Summer job: Ditto with the internship scenario in that we all know many summer jobs are snapped up fast. But perhaps your Eagle can be entrepreneurial and put out the word that they are available for child care, lawn care, pet care and the like. I’ve met students recently who also started their own small businesses running summer camps in their own back yards and doing resale on EBay.
- Volunteer work: Future employers know that many valuable skills, including teamwork and customer service, can be obtained from volunteer experience. Does your local YMCA need help? Your church/temple? Maybe the SPCA is looking for someone to walk the dogs or cuddle the cats? Talk to your child about their interests and skills and see where they can put these talents to use in the community. Bonus: sometimes volunteers have the inside track to next summer’s paid positions!
There are many more things your student can do this summer to enhance their chance of future success, including starting/updating their resume and LinkedIn page, conducting information interviews, self-assessment, and much more, detailed on our website.
The National Association for Colleges and Employers (NACE) offers some more valuable advice for parents: https://www.iwu.edu/career-center/parents/CareerPlanningCourseParentsNACE.pdf
Finally, the Career Center is open all summer with coaches who can meet with your daughter or son. For those of you who are out of town, phone and email help is available via 540-654-5646 or ccpd@umw.edu.
Mary Becelia, Career Coach, Center for Career and Professional Development