Written by Cailie Shanks, Account Executive, Federal Taphouse
Winter break. We all love it, we all look forward to it, we all sleep a lot. It is easy to spend winter break completely carefree, only opening your laptop for Netflix or online shopping. However, this time we have over winter break can be used to help advance us beyond our peers in a simple way. Simply spending an hour or two a week over break can help prepare you for your next semester, landing an internship, or building a skill set for your future job.
Here are 5 things you “don’t have enough time” to do during your semester that you can do during your winter break:
1. Clean up your LinkedIn.
Taking time to update your LinkedIn can be a tedious task, but it’s beyond important. Even if you feel that your LinkedIn is great, it can always be better. Here’s what you can do:
· Update job descriptions with what you’ve been doing recently: oftentimes we write our job descriptions when we first put a job on LinkedIn. Now that you have done more with that job or organization, update its description for a more accurate reflection of what you’ve done
· Add courses, certificates, and new skills: maybe you took a new course or earned a new certificate that your page doesn’t currently reflect, take some time to add this over break
· Add your resume: adding your resume makes your LinkedIn much more meaningful to recruiters, especially since they look for this
· Write a new bio: refresh your current bio or restart completely to stay up to date with what you’re looking for on LinkedIn
· Create a unique background photo: creating a unique background photo helps show more of your personality and be more personable
2. Take a LinkedIn Learning Course
As Penn State students, we are lucky to have access to LinkedIn Learning. There are tons of different courses to choose from to help advance skills you haven’t learned yet or want to sharpen. Sharing on LinkedIn that you took a course helps promote your page and show recruiters what you’ve been up to, all while learning a new skill.
3. Get certified in Google Analytics.
Google Analytics is a top skill that businesses are looking for in candidates. Google Analytics is a helpful course to learn how to analyze a website and the metrics behind it. Google Analytics is a great certificate to have and talk to employers about. Google also offers different certifications that may interest you such as:
· Google Ads: online advertising platform teaching how paid ads work
· Google Project Management: prepare for an entry-level job as a project manager
· Google Tag Manager: a coding extension to GA · Many more here!
4. Start a Simple Website
Starting a website is a great way to stand out to employers and have a place to showcase who you are. Creating an online portfolio that highlights all the work you’ve done in college and more about you helps to create a more personal relationship than professional networking sites like LinkedIn can do. If you’re creative and want to stand out, create a simple website this winter break!
5. Get Organized
Although this may seem simple, using the winter break to get organized will help you go into the next semester more relaxed and on top of things. What do I mean by getting organized?
· Start a Google Calendar: you can color code it too if you’re feeling fancy!
· Organize your files on Google Drive, Microsoft 365, and your computer: create folders and put files where they need to be to save time next semester
· Create a contact spreadsheet: have you gone to networking events this past semester? Did you go to the career fair? Create a list of people and companies you’ve talked to. You may forget who you’ve talked to before and want to connect on LinkedIn or reach out later in your college career when you’re looking for a job
Hopefully, you are feeling more inspired as to how you can effectively utilize your newfound free time over break. Try and implement one of the above ideas to get ahead this winter break, you’ll thank yourself for it later!
Happy Valley Comm 