Although June may seem a long way off, it will come around quicker than you think, and the holidays are a great time to gain some experience. Whilst you’re in the midst of uni work and hand-in this is probably the last thing you want to hear, but having a plan for the summer months means you can make the most of the time, whilst having a well earned break. The key to getting your summer sorted is to plan ahead and organise things early, as many opportunities that take place over the summer will be advertised early in the year.
So, what sort of things can you do over the summer to help you in the future?
Get some work experience
Whether its a summer internship, working part-time in retail, casual vacation work in a bar, or some unpaid work experience, any type of job over the summer can be valuable. You’ll not only be able to gain softer skills such as communication, problem-solving and organisation but you can also use this as an opportunity to test out career options.
The Careers Service advertise lots of part-time jobs or summer jobs on CareersLink. To find them, log on to your account and then select ‘Casual vacancies’ in the ‘Type of vacancy’ section.
If you are looking at unpaid work experience, which is still the norm for certain industry such as media, journalism, publishing the Career Service also has work experience bursaries that you can apply for.
Volunteer
Whether its for a month a week, or a couple of days here and there, volunteering over the summer holidays is great experience. Its a great thing for anyone to put on their CV, but in some cases it’s also pretty essential for certain careers. For example, if you’re thinking of going into politics, education, or youth work, then volunteering experience is a must have. Not only that, but similarly to work experience volunteering helps you build and develop those softer skills.
For volunteering opportunities you can look on volunteer hub.
Travel
Obviously summer is a great time for you to travel and explore the world. Currently with coronavirus its a little bit more difficult thinking about travelling as we don’t know what the advice will be on this in a couple of months. However if you do have the opportunity to travel this summer, don’t underestimate the skills you can gain from this. Especially if you are travelling without family for the first time. Not only will you be exploring new places and different cultures. But travelling involves a lot of preparation and organisation.
Follow your passion
This is as much as trying to keep you from boredom with nothing to do as much as it is about developing future skills. But also something you can get enjoyment from, as it is your summer holiday. You’ll have a whole three months to pursue your passions or discover new hobbies. Something you have always wanted to do but never seemed to have the time. Use this summer to discover what you love.