Summer Series: Looking to Explore this Summer

Are you not feeling ready to step into a professional internship this summer? If experiencing something new and learning about yourself is your goal, here are some tips that you may want to consider:

Take a summer course. 

Summer is a great time to knock out course requirements or take an interesting course you wouldn’t have time to take during the year. In addition to BC’s summer courses which are being offered in a variety of formats, you can take free, online classes to learn new skills like languages and coding. Additionally, if you are interested in a particular field and know that you need to brush up on a certain skill in order to get hired, it would be beneficial to practice that skill in one of these courses. Or, participate in Praxis, a self-paced, online program that the Career Center offers to help you recognize and develop skills sought by employers.

Create your own internship.

While it’s not talked about as much as formal internships, reaching out to your connections to offer your help over the summer is a great way to create opportunities for yourself. To start, make a list of people that you or your friends and family know that have interesting jobs. Send them a message like the example one below. Students have found that these opportunities have sometimes had more of an impact than did official summer internships because they were able to build off of pre-existing relationships and do more hands-on work.

Dear __, I hope you are doing well! [Add something personal here]. I am interested in pursuing a career in ____ and I am hoping to get experience in the field this summer. I am aware that you work at ___ as a ___, and I am reaching out to offer my help in any way I can this summer. If you are in need of an extra set of hands for projects or other work, I would be happy to help. Please feel free to call me at ___ to discuss this further. Thank you!

Also take advantage of Forage, which offers hypothetical projects from top employers that you can complete to learn more about working in a specific field. Current offerings are from companies such as Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, and GE.

Do a job shadow or two.

Similar to the last tip, you can ask your contacts to see if you can shadow them either virtually or in-person to learn more about their day-to-day job. EagleExchange is also a great resource to find alumni in industries you’re interested in and send a message asking about a potential job shadow. Additionally, many hospitals and healthcare settings provide observation hours for those interested in pursuing careers in medicine.

Don’t hesitate to meet with a career coach to discuss your options. No matter how many times you’ve wanted to give up in your search, you are so deserving of having a fulfilling summer and you can do this! You got this!