Your Last College Winter Break
Jayna Patel
CSU Monterey Bay
The post comes from our partners at USA Today College. Read more great posts in their blog.
For many college students’ winter break means baking gingerbread men and getting drunk with old friends. However before partaking in these festivities, the future 2011 college graduate needs to spend this last winter break planning their next move. Whether it’s graduate school, internships, or looking for jobs, this is the ideal time to think of a strategy that will continue one’s path after college. Because graduating and moving back home with little to no plan does no good for anyone (I would know, I did this). Here are some tasks the 2011 graduate should consider on their “to do list” this season:
Find an internship: Intern as much as you can now! I’ve been on the job market for six months now and I can tell you that experience is the key element employers are looking for these days. Internships are hard to find once you’ve become a graduate. Many places usually require school credit to be signed on as an intern (after months of searching I was lucky enough to find one of the few places that takes on post grad interns), so soak up that experience before the opportunity slips away.
Graduate school applications: So you’re not sure what you want to do after you graduate yet? Well that’s fine–many of us don’t; however, applying to graduate school as a back up might be a good safety net versus moving back home and bumming it on the couch. ?But do beware–don’t go to graduate school just to go to graduate school; make sure you have a set career goal in mind. Because after all, graduate school costs money, which means more debt, and that’s just no fun for anyone if you can’t find a job, is it?
It’s test time: Whether it’s the TOEFL because you want to work abroad for a year, or the CBEST because you want to be a teacher, don’t wait until after graduation to take these tests. Register and take your tests now before you graduate so you are ready to go as soon as you throw that grad cap in the air.
Network: Make sure your professional contacts know you will be graduating and entering the job market soon. Tell them to stay on the look out for any new positions they know of within your capabilities.
Plan your future finances: For those of you with student loans, payments are exactly a year away.
My advice: Calculate your cost of a year in loan payments and start setting money aside now. I did this and it has allowed me to intern (work for free) for an amazing company–I would not be able to do this if I didn’t save a year ahead in loan payments.?Also, make sure you have a folder with all your documents stating how much you owe and who you owe it to. I recently discovered one of my lenders is over charging me $600 more than what I actually took out–I wouldn’t have caught this huge mistake if I didn’t have set records of my finances.
Register at a temp agency--When I graduated this past May I thought Craigslist and Monster were the only outlets to look for a job. I was wrong; a lot of jobs I was applying to were given to people from staffing agencies. Registering at a staffing agency is simple: you fill out an application and take a basic office task/typing test. Once you are in their system they will be actively searching for a job for you. So as soon as you graduate all you have to do is give the agency a ring and they will be ready to find you a job!
Disclaimer: Some of these jobs can be boring office jobs, but they usually have great pay (which beats working at Starbucks after graduation) and keep in mind that it’s temporary while you search for something you really want to do in the meantime.
Bottom line: Start to prepare. Now is the time to fine tune yourself. From updating your resume to sprucing up your wardrobe, do whatever that will help boost your confidence! Because in less then five months its time to bring your A Game and take the world by storm!