If you’re completing your first year at Hofstra,
congratulations! I hope it’s been a year
filled with fun and challenge and growth for you. I’m sure the time has gone by quickly. As the semester winds down, you might be
considering your summer plans. With this
post I wanted to give you some suggestions for ways you can fit career-related
activities in with your summer fun.
- Intern: It’s not too early to have an
internship. Don’t rule this option out. While you may think it’s too soon in your
college career or it’s too late in the application cycle, finding an internship
is still possible and should be explored.
As of this writing, there are more than 600 internships in Pride-CMS and
thousands in internships.com (accessible through Pride-CMS).
- Volunteer: If you don’t want to spend this summer in a
formal internship, volunteering for a local non-profit is a great way to apply
your skills while helping a worthy cause.
Find an organization that you care about and ask them about getting
involved. These organizations need help
in a variety of ways, so ask about the opportunity to get the type of
experience you want to have!
- Informational
Interview: Challenge yourself to
find people doing the types of jobs you might want to do after graduation and
interview them about their work.
Professionals are typically very open to helping you learn more about
their work. You could do so in person or
by phone, and you will be surprised at how much you can learn. Hofstra’s A.S.K. system is a great place to
find Hofstra alums who are willing to speak to you (accessible through
my.hofstra.edu)
- Research: You may not have a good sense of how many
different careers, industries and functional areas there are in the world of
work. Here’s a little test – see if you
can name a dozen job titles right now.
Not so easy? Then check into O*Net, Vault and Candid Careers (the later
two are accessible through Pride-CMS).
- Reflect: One of the best tips you can receive is to know yourself better – What do you value? What interests you? What brings you joy? What’s your personality? What are your dependable strengths and skills? Having completed your first year at Hofstra, really take the time to reflect on what had the most meaning and in what areas you grew the most. The more you can articulate about yourself, the better decisions you’ll make in times to come.
Remember that The Career Center is open all summer. So, we’re happy to help with these tasks and
anything else related to your success!
 |
| Gary Alan Miller, Executive Director |
