Use Your Summer Wisely!

Believe me–I’d rather spend my summer in the sun, relaxing and hanging out with friends. And if you’ve just finished a year of books, tests, and stress, that’s probably your priority too. Let me ask you to test your priorities–and save you the stress of job searching later. Instead of laying low all summer, why not aim high?
Summer is a slow time for companies. People are taking family vacations and longer lunches, and both commutes and recruiting slow considerably. For college students–it’s a smart time to think about speeding up. You already know the drill about internships–how they add to your experience,
But what if you need cash and the internship of your dreams doesn’t pay? Or, you don’t want to miss out on twirling the whistle and catching some
It’s called a project. There are no rules, no time limits, no requirements–just what you set up. The process is easy:
1) Make a list of your dream companies
2) Ask anyone and everyone you know if they know anyone who works at any of those companies
3) Reach out to those contacts and offer your free labor
The results are incredible:
1) You can take on one or more small projects to show off your skills
2) You’re helping the company when they may have many people on vacation
3) You can indicate how many hours you have to work for free
4) You’ve got tangible results at the end to demonstrate your efforts in an upcoming job search
5) You can work for more than one company
6) You now have an inside scoop at your dream company(ies)
Of course, you’ve got to do the work on your own, and you have to convince a company that your free labor is high quality and worth their effort. Ask for a small project at first and it may lead to a larger one later. When you start school again, you may be able to get academic credit for your work, and a full internship the following summer.
Bonus: instead of one internship on your resume, you’ve now got four different projects with four different companies.
So get off the lounge chair and get on the phone. Take on at least one small project and you can still enjoy your summer while getting experience at the same time.