If you are still shaping your summer plans we have suggestions for how to make the most of your time between semesters. Now is not the time to give up, it’s time to get to work with these 5 ideas.
Consider remote work or virtual projects
Lehigh students can take part in short-term, professional, paid work experiences through remote internships or virtual projects. Remote work has significant advantages; work from anywhere, short term commitments, and flexibility. These opportunities range in work hours and pay. We encourage you to consider several remote work options outlined on the Experiential Learning and Project based work tile on Handshake. Explore options including projects sponsored by Lehigh alumni on Lehigh Connects or short term project on Paragon One. and UpSKLS.
Many job boards have positions that are still open, its not too late to complete applications and send off resumes. The handshake job board continues to share internship and full time jobs available. Additional job boards like indeed.com, idealist.org, and many others offer job opportunities in many industries including remote work options. Know what is available to you and tap into it all. Your job search should still include a multi-pronged approach that utilizes networking and online tools.
Focus your attention to industries that are hiring. Start by doing your research to understand who is hiring and what positions are in demand. Handshake has identified over 500 companies that are hiring students right now and LinkedIn shared an impressive list of companies that were hiring. Read the job descriptions to understand what skills are required and consider how you can market your background to demonstrate how your experiences will transfer to these roles. Be sure to cater your resume (action verbs, experience order, section headers, etc.) when possible to align your academic projects, experiences and skills to similar language or details that match position descriptions.
Learn from the Pros
Explore the short videos on the Hire Lehigh YouTube channel. Watch our videos, webinars and other helpful clips on career resources hosted by the Career Center staff, recruiters and alumni. Follow us to help our channel grow and check back in every week to review new content. Two recent webinars specifically tackle job and internship searching during COVID-19.
Webinar: Getting Hired in a Virtual World
Make skill development your focus
Does your resume have limited experience or professional work?
Are you missing skills in demand for your industry?
Do you want to focus on growing a skillset that makes you competitive?
Check out online resources (free or inexpensive) courses that allow you to set your own pace. Below are few specific options but many additional classes are available via Udemy, Coursera, and edX.
Adobe: Creative Cloud tutorials, Photoshop on Coursera, Adobe classes (beginners, certifications and master classes)
Graphic Design: Coursera
Photography: Udemy
Social media & Branding: Coursera
WordPress: Udemy
PowerPoint: Udemy
Excel: LinkedIn Learning
Google analytics: LinkedIn Learning
Foreign Language free online learning: Duolingo, Open Culture, edX
Web Design: Udemy
Attend Virtual Career Fairs or Meet Ups
While many states are still under stay at home orders, many opportunities have evolved to become online-friendly. Look for ways to virtually engage in a community related to your industry. Online forums, meet ups, conferences, webinars and other professional organizations are open to student or recent grad participation. Below are few examples but a simple google search may reveal many others specifically related to your career interests.
Tech meetups: Lehigh Valley , Philadelphia, New York
Women in business & Technology - Virtual Fairs
Career Center of the Southeast - Virtual fairs in NJ, MD, DC, NY and many other states
Career Eco - Upcoming Fairs
Use the Lehigh Network
Networking is a great way to learn about career options and gather advice and information about opportunities you can pursue. Connect with Lehigh alumni Lehigh Connects to conduct informational interviews, schedule job shadowing, or arrange a phone call. Alumni have navigated this path already and can share information about their experience and advice for career steps. Need help with networking? Review the Handshake networking tile or read the Hire Lehigh blog posts including this post explaining Lehigh Connects or this post sharing Networking Questions You Can Ask.
