SnowManaging Your Time Over Winter Break

At this point in the semester, there are so many emotions ruling your days. There is anticipation for the end of all the exams, papers, and presentations; nervousness about how all the grades are going to turn out; sadness (or joy) about not seeing your professors, classmates, and friends on a regular basis; and eagerness for all the treats that are likely coming your way with the holidays just around the corner. No matter the combination of emotions that you feel, managing your time now, as well as throughout the break, can be what sets you apart from your peers come January.

To better understand how to utilize time off to help with professional and personal development, we asked the Career Center’s Student Advisory Board to weigh in with their suggestions.  The Student Advisory Board is a group of students from all class levels who meet monthly to provide feedback on Career Center Services. Their input is valuable to The Career Center and, hopefully, will be to you too!

“Shadow someone in your industry to gain experience and insight into what the field is like.”

- Alli, Sophomore, Public Relations

Reach out to family, friends, neighbors, LinkedIn contacts, etc. to see if they are willing to allow you to spend the day with them and learn about the day-to-day of their job. By doing so, you will learn if that particular field would be a good fit for you! Who knows? You could also make some great connections for your future job search.

“Use your down time to perfect your LinkedIn and resume. Also, practice writing sample cover letters.”

- Sabrina, Graduate Student, Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies

In between eating cookies and watching movies, break out the old resume and take a look at what you can do to make it better. Keep in mind that in the Career Hub portal, there is a Career Guide that takes you through the step-by-step process of making your resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn better. Each component speaks to who you are as a person and an employee, so dust off the Microsoft Word file and get to improving!

“Contact the Career Center to do a phone appointment or document review.”

- Ryan, Junior, Journalism

The Career Center is OPEN in January and this is a perfect time to stop in and get your materials reviewed, practice interview skills, or explore career options. If you are not around, give us a call to set up a virtual or phone experience; Counselors are available and eager to help you in any way possible. You can also email the Career Center (careercenter@hofstra.edu) to have them review your documents!

“Take advantage of your part-time job to build upon pre-existing connections.”

- Imani, Senior, Accounting

If you are working a part-time job over the break, chances are this is a bit of a down time in the year. If that is the case for you, this is the perfect time to talk to people in your office about your career aspirations. By developing these connections, these co-workers will be more likely to write you positive letters of recommendation and potentially help you find opportunities in your field.

“Cold connect to potential resources on LinkedIn.”

- Kristi, Graduate Student, Mental Health Counseling

Reach out to recruiters or other individuals in fields you are interested in on LinkedIn and ask for an informational interview. The worst thing that could happen is they ignore you and that’s on them! By putting yourself out there, you are opening the door to investigate career opportunities, widen your network, and potentially create a valuable connection.

"Start looking for internships, leadership programs, and shadowing opportunities for the Spring and Summer semesters.”

- Simone, Junior, Community Health

It is never too early to start exploring how you will spend the warmer months of the year. Utilize resources such as Handshake and UCAN available on your Hofstra Career Hub to begin the internship and job search. Also, be on the lookout for other programs available such as PRIDE Shadowing and STRIVE for PRIDE which take place in the spring and are great opportunities to enhance your skills and explore various career avenues.

 “Follow the Career Center on social media!”

- Maggie, Graduate Student, Forensic Linguistics

Stay up to date with all the latest happenings with the Career Center. We can be found on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook so if you do anything over the break, take two seconds and check out our social media pages. These are a fantastic resource to know what opportunities the Career Center has going on throughout the semester.

So take some time to snowmanage your time over the break so your spring semester is more chill than a January night. On behalf of The Career Center and Student Advisory Board, we hope you have a wonderful and safe winter break. Stay warm!