Careers in Real Life

Lately, I’ve met with quite a few students who are just beginning to think about their summer plans. I have to break the news that most recruiting is over and intern positions are filled. Many students give up; the motivated ones can follow these tips to build skills in other ways:

1. Conduct informational interviews
Students who meet with me know I cannot say enough about the benefits of informational interviews. I’ve had 8 jobs and internships since graduating college 6 years ago and of those, five were a direct or indirect result of an informational interview.

An info interview is exactly like it sounds: you find someone who works in a field of interest and discuss with them their career path, current position and their advice for new professionals. From this, you get insider information about industries and companies, but more importantly, you start to build a relationship. It’s a much more effective way of networking. You’re actually spending time getting to know someone, instead of passing a business card at some schmoozy social event. Plus, people love to talk about themselves.

2. Start a blog
Blogging takes time and persistence. Without classes, you’ll have lots of time – which gets you halfway there. If you blog about a topic related to your field of study or career interests, you have a personal branding and marketing tool. Build your blog over the summer, then add it to your resume and talk about it in interviews. It shows employers you are actively engaged within your intended profession and not afraid to put your ideas out there. See some examples here.

3. Work on your online networking
Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date and you’re maximizing its potential. Are you participating in group discussions? Connecting with new people? Researching common career paths? If you’re not on LinkedIn, start here.

Check out Twitter, too. While Twitter is not as obvious a career resource as LinkedIn, it is still a great career tool. Unlike other social networks, it allows you to connect with total strangers, with a diverse range of interests and experiences. Use online resources to complement your face-to-face networking efforts. Some users post jobs and career advice.

4. Join a professional association
Professional associations often post jobs, organize networking events, put on conferences and allow you to meet new people in your field. Usually these organizations have less expensive student membership rates. The best part is that you’ll probably be one of the youngest people in the room at any organization event. The more experienced folks will be impressed by your motivation and initiative and many will be eager to help you out.

5. Leverage your seemingly unrelated summer job to gain related experience
So many students dismiss their part-time or summer work. “I was just a waitress.” Or, “I just did data entry.”  Maybe you’re not working your dream job, but there are probably opportunities for you to learn more – if you ask for it. Talk to your supervisor about shadowing people in departments you are more interested in.
Or, if you see a problem or an issue needing attention, don’t wait for permission. Take charge and do something to proactively address it.

6. Plan for fall
Maybe you missed prime recruiting season for summer internships, but let that be a lesson learned for the future. Use summer to identify employers of interest. Get your resume up to date, brush up on interviewing skills and make sure you are building and nurturing your network.

If you need to, take a summer course to free up time in your schedule during the academic year so you can do an internship then. There will be less competition for intern positions. And, utilize your campus career center during the summer. Advisors often have more time on their hands during the summer months.

7. Create your own internship experience
During the summer between my two years of grad school I wanted an internship but there were zero relevant intern or job postings in the small northern Wisconsin town I was living in at the time. I contacted the local two-year college and asked if they could use the help of an unpaid intern. A few e-mail exchanges later, I was on-campus and learning tons about how a community college operates, something about which I knew next to nothing prior to my internship. This approach is especially useful with smaller organizations that may not have structured internship programs or don’t recruit on-campus.

Not all industries or companies are open to creating an intern opportunity. If companies won’t take you on, a non-profit organization might be able to use your skills. Consider volunteering instead.

8. Start your own business
Avoid employers all together. Start your own business. Employers love to see you can manage your time, prioritize responsibilities, lead others, work independently, communicate or organize data. You can do all this while running your own business, even if it is as simple as a lawn care or baby-sitting service.