Making the most of your summer as a student

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.