It's scary to think that this is my final big summer holiday, and I'm no longer going to get a 6-week school holiday a year, or a three-month break from University, instead I'm (hopefully) going to be working a full-time job and joining the 'real world'. As it is my last ever summer, I'm feeling under pressure to make the most of it - in both a professional sense and a lifestyle sense. I'm planning on doing loads of fun stuff with my family and friends, but also doing work experience and giving myself a fighting chance of securing a decent job upon graduation.
Here are my top tips for making the most of your summer as a student:
Network
Networking is so important, meeting people in your industry before graduating will give you a better chance of employment upon graduation as employers will know your name when reading through CV's. If you find the chartered body of your industry, so for me it's the CIPR and PRSA, they often hold networking events/conferences and these are usually open to students as well. Go along, introduce yourself, be confident, ask questions - you never know where it may lead.
Go on work experience
Another important part of giving yourself a fighting chance of securing a job post-graduation is gaining valuable work experience in the industry you are hoping to work in. They're websites such as 'Go Think Big' which offer opportunities to students, but I find emailing companies you want to work with directly is the best chance of getting some experience - make sure you find an email of the MD, or at least a name of someone you can send the email to. Do your research beforehand too - why this company? What do you like about them? What do you want to learn from them?
Have a well deserved break
Uni's hard, so enjoy your extra lie-ins over summer and treat yourself to some relaxation - put on a candle, run a bath, go to a spa.
Go on holiday/travel
Splash the left over student finance on a guilt-free holiday in the sun, when you're working you'll have to book valuable days off to enjoy a holiday - make the most of it while there's three months to play with.
Experiment, set yourself up as a freelancer, start a blog
With more time on your hands, and assignments out the way - why not hone in on your practical skills. Set yourself up a blog, where you can document your summer, give advice or review products. Or why not set yourself up as a freelancer? Start your own business? Experiment with things you've always wanted to do, the worst that can happen is it doesn't go well - and if it doesn't, you learn from your mistakes so when you're in the big wide working world, you'll know what not to do.
See people you miss
Summer is the perfect time to catch up with old friends, and see people you don't normally get chance to meet up with. Go for lunch, spend hours in beer gardens - do things you wouldn't normally have time to do and appreciate it while you can.
Wednesday 8 June 2016
Saturday 4 June 2016
Is your social media presence holding you back?
Social media is a huge deal, not only to 15 year old girls uploading selfies and competing for likes, but also for employers and potential employees. Your social media presence could be the reason you do, or don't get the interview and therefore hinder you from securing that dream job.
Employers are nosey, they're human after all, according to onwardsearch.com 91% of employers use social media to check out potential employees and according to time.com, over half of employers have reconsidered a candidate based on what they have found online.
Obviously, all social platforms are different, and all have different levels of privacy. For me, I keep my Facebook on high privacy, and only have friends and family and people I know personally as friends. If an employer searched my Facebook they'd see my prom picture from two years ago and me sharing funny videos - nothing really to see. Twitter, on the other hand, isn't as private - my Twitter is heavily focused around my University degree, my professionalism and my journey into the PR industry (with funny videos and selfies appearing less often). LinkedIn, of course is a professional networking site - and you'd be pretty silly to put anything other than professional updates on there - and if you're reading this and don't know what LinkedIn is - please, go and make an account, its basically an online CV, and you should have one (especially if you're approaching your final year/graduation). Instagram, Vine, Snapchat are all less-likely to be searched by your future boss - but still, having an awareness of what you're portraying on these sites is important - how you come across on these sites, is how people will assume you are - have you seen Catfish?
What shouldn't you be doing online? It speaks for itself that you shouldn't mention drugs, guns, sex, alcohol, etc. More so, you should be careful with spelling, grammar and even strong or contradictory views - shouting about your political opinions for example. Even complaining about work, complaining about your current boss, using social media whilst at work etc all can have an impact on whether you get the job or not. I know someone who was asked to leave his job after posting a rant on Facebook stating strong political views, which the employer deemed as racist. Although, i'm not suggesting you don't post any opinions on the internet, I'm suggesting don't over-do it, and shove your opinion down peoples thoughts, and certainly don't shout about your opinions if they could be considered offensive in any way..
What is the point in proof-reading your CV hundreds of times, ensuring there are no mistakes and that you come across well if your going to have all that ruined the moment an employer clicks on your Twitter?
Many companies, especially in the industry I want to work in, are very very clued up on all things social. They go on courses and study it to find new ways to utilise its use for their clients, and stay ahead of the game. Showing you know how to use social media can make a positive difference to your application for work, show you know how to interact with people, show you know the best way to get your message across - do you tweet in peak times? Do you know not to start a tweet with an @ sign? Do you know the benefit of using a hashtag when talking about a certain topic? Social media can be a hindrance in your career journey, but it can also be incredibly useful.
Employers are nosey, they're human after all, according to onwardsearch.com 91% of employers use social media to check out potential employees and according to time.com, over half of employers have reconsidered a candidate based on what they have found online.
Obviously, all social platforms are different, and all have different levels of privacy. For me, I keep my Facebook on high privacy, and only have friends and family and people I know personally as friends. If an employer searched my Facebook they'd see my prom picture from two years ago and me sharing funny videos - nothing really to see. Twitter, on the other hand, isn't as private - my Twitter is heavily focused around my University degree, my professionalism and my journey into the PR industry (with funny videos and selfies appearing less often). LinkedIn, of course is a professional networking site - and you'd be pretty silly to put anything other than professional updates on there - and if you're reading this and don't know what LinkedIn is - please, go and make an account, its basically an online CV, and you should have one (especially if you're approaching your final year/graduation). Instagram, Vine, Snapchat are all less-likely to be searched by your future boss - but still, having an awareness of what you're portraying on these sites is important - how you come across on these sites, is how people will assume you are - have you seen Catfish?
What shouldn't you be doing online? It speaks for itself that you shouldn't mention drugs, guns, sex, alcohol, etc. More so, you should be careful with spelling, grammar and even strong or contradictory views - shouting about your political opinions for example. Even complaining about work, complaining about your current boss, using social media whilst at work etc all can have an impact on whether you get the job or not. I know someone who was asked to leave his job after posting a rant on Facebook stating strong political views, which the employer deemed as racist. Although, i'm not suggesting you don't post any opinions on the internet, I'm suggesting don't over-do it, and shove your opinion down peoples thoughts, and certainly don't shout about your opinions if they could be considered offensive in any way..
What is the point in proof-reading your CV hundreds of times, ensuring there are no mistakes and that you come across well if your going to have all that ruined the moment an employer clicks on your Twitter?
Many companies, especially in the industry I want to work in, are very very clued up on all things social. They go on courses and study it to find new ways to utilise its use for their clients, and stay ahead of the game. Showing you know how to use social media can make a positive difference to your application for work, show you know how to interact with people, show you know the best way to get your message across - do you tweet in peak times? Do you know not to start a tweet with an @ sign? Do you know the benefit of using a hashtag when talking about a certain topic? Social media can be a hindrance in your career journey, but it can also be incredibly useful.
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