DON’T JUST CHILLWays to maximize your career over winter break

Utilize Your Winter Break• Begin studying for graduate school• Volunteer Work• Develop Technical Skills• Academic Course Planning• Networking/Informational Interviewing

PREPARE FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL ENTRANCE EXAMS

• Graduate Record Examination• Graduate Management Admission Test• Law School Admission Test• Medical College Admission Test• Dental Admission Test

Study Resources

VOLUNTEER IN YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY

You don’t have to get paid to gain experience or make a difference. Consider volunteering as a way to add skills and experience to your resume.

Get started at: http://www.handsonrva.org/

LEARN TECHNICAL SKILLSSPSS ● HTML ● Microsoft Office ● Adobe Creative Suite ● Google Analytics

Technical skills add value to you as a potential employee. There are numerous free and low-cost online resources available to help you build technical skills in just a few hours or days.

Check out these resources:

Atomic LearningKahn AcademyLynda.com

CONNECT WITH PROFESSIONALSA quick guide to Informational Interviews

An informational interview is a meeting arranged for the purpose of learning more about a particular field or industry. Informational interviews are helpful meetings for students exploring career paths and for those interested in building networking relationships.

• Known association or existing relationship

• Friend of a friend, or contact of another person with whom you are acquainted

• “Cold call” or first-point-of-contact• Follow-up from an event (e.g., career

fair, former job, meetings, classes, community service).

Who to ask How to ask• Ask vial email, LinkedIn, phone or in person• Keep it brief• Be explicit about your availability• Include your contact information• Follow up!

• Arrive on time• Dress professionally• Offer to pay (if meeting over coffee

or lunch)• Ask open-ended questions• Take notes • Follow up with a hand-written thank

you note

At the interview

Questions to Consider• How did you get into this field? • What does your typical day

look like? • What are some barriers or

obstacles that you have faced in your career?

• What does the organizational layout of the departments look like?

• Would you be open to having me shadow for a day at some point?

• Do you attend any conferences or are you a member of any professional associations?

• How do you keep up on the trends in your field?

• What tips do you have for me as I continue to explore careers?

• Do you belong to any listserv email threads that have job postings?

• Are there others that you would suggest that I reach out to?