College Seniors -- Your Last "Free" Summer

It's late May and you've just turned in your final paper for the semester and aced the final exam of the year. You are now officially a senior in college and looking forward to kicking back and enjoying your last summer vacation. You might have secured a great internship with a company that you're interested in or you may be planning to return home and pick back up at an old summer job. I myself chose to return to my summer gig as assistant manager of a local fireworks store (still one of my most interesting jobs to date!). Regardless of the intensity of your plans, don't let the summer pass by without giving some thought to your future career. The summer going into your Senior year is arguably the best time to get to work determining your future career.

By this point in your career you have taken many of your core classes and most of your electives. You have participated in various clubs and events, volunteered for organizations on campus, worked a hodge podge of entry-level or summer jobs and maybe even had an internship. You should be getting to a point where you have a fairly good idea of your interests, strengths and life goals. If not, don't panic, but this is certainly the time to start looking. It will be easier than you think - it just takes a little self-reflection and discovery, polishing of your professional brand, and understanding of your options.

Self-Reflection and Discovery

There are a few key components to beginning your job, or better yet, career search. The key thing for you to discover, decide, and commit to this summer is a desired five year professional plan. Now I will be the first one to tell you that this plan will likely change many times, but it gives you a great starting place and can help you to narrow down possible entry-level jobs based on what your future goals are. Take some time this summer, maybe block out 30 minutes in the morning or evening, and start jotting down the things that you enjoy and your strengths. Start self-reflecting and considering the activities that bring you energy and creativity. What makes you want to get out of bed in the morning. And then get to searching. Type in those traits/characteristics into Google and see what comes up. Spend some time on job boards and LinkedIn. Ask your family and friends where they see you down the road. Seek out a mentor. These activities are key to your future success. If you want to find the right job and career you have to know yourself inside and out. You might also find it helpful to take career and personality tests that can help you combine your strengths and passions into a good career. Take these findings with a grain of salt, however. My first career placement test recommended that I become a bus driver. The test has clearly never seen me drive before ;) They can certainly help push you in the right direction, but only you can truly know your ideal career.

LinkedIn

Once you have determined a (or a few) specific career path(s), now is the time to update your LinkedIn. Spend some time on the site. Like all social media, LinkedIn has its own unique style, flair and purpose. There are a few key things to consider on LinkedIn:

• Use a professional head shot. Make sure that the image is clear and your face is the main focus. Recruiters are much more likely to reach out to you if they can see a clear image of you.
• Update the about me section with a quick blurb about your experience to date and what career you are looking for. If you are open to a few (if you are interested in more than a few you need to go back to the drawing board) list the 2-3 roles you are interested in and what they all have in common, hence explaining why you are open to all of them.
• Update your experience. If you don't have a long list of jobs, volunteer experience or club involvement that is okay, we understand that you are just beginning your career. Make sure, however, that you take time to describe in detail the experiences that you have had and why they prepared you for a career in said field.
• Fill out ALL fields on LinkedIn. The platform allows recruiters to search for you all in a variety of ways, based on the different fields you fill out when creating your profile. Fill out EVERYTHING. Make sure that you list your profile as "open to new opportunities" and then get to connecting.
• Start building your personal brand and connections. Start first by adding classmates, old co-workers and even your parents' friends. The more people you are connected with the easier that it is for a recruiter to come across you and reach out.

Research Prospective Companies

Your final year at school offers you the best opportunity to meet and network with prospective companies. It is the only time that in your entire career where multiple companies will all gather in the same place at the same time to meet you. Career fairs are hands down the easiest way to meet a large number of companies and build relationships. That being said, if you don't show up prepared, you can spend the entire event wandering around and having surface level conversations with brands and companies that don't fit what you're looking for. So do some research, look into companies who are in the industry that you want and offer positions that are interesting to you. See which university career fairs they are going to attend, research and reach out to their recruiters and spend some time ensuring that the company values align with yours. After a few months of research during the summer, you will show up to the Fall career fair with a very sound plan of engagement and will know exactly who you want to talk to and what specifically you want to talk about.

I'm not proposing that you spend all summer cooped up inside in front of a computer, but make sure that you block out a little time to do some soul searching, update your LinkedIn and start researching companies. I promise that come this time next year you will be happy that you did!