Intern, Travel, Volunteer – What are the best ways for students to spend their summers?

• Internship:
Internships provide opportunities for students to gain experience in their chosen fields, determine if they have an interest in a particular career, create a network of contacts, or earn school credit. Although you may feel that graduation is still a long way off, if you can gain experience in your chosen area, you will help to reduce the challenge of interviewing post-graduation without any real work experience. Remember there are at least 3 summers as a college student. If you can make use of at least one of them it will put you in a good position when your time comes to graduate.

• Travelling:
Travel and experience the world! Broaden your mind and experience different cultures and traditions. From the beaches of Australia to the jungles of Brazil, the memories you gain while travelling are priceless and you just never know who you’re going to meet along the way. Go see the world while you can – you have the rest of your life to work!

• Volunteering:
Volunteer your time for free. This could include working for free for a company related to your field of interest or sacrificing your time to help others (there’s no better feeling than helping those less fortunate than ourselves). In the long-term, volunteering looks great on your resume, and it could open doors for future opportunity. Remember to network. This is by far the most important advice to give a student.

• Combine travelling and working:
Find a job or internship in a foreign country. Perhaps learn a new language. You never know the opportunities that can present themselves.

• Spend time with your family and friends

• Get some exercise, stay healthy and active!

Whatever you decide, just make sure you have fun and enjoy yourself.

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When Should I Look to Apply For an Internship?

Internships are extremely important and beneficial to college resumes, so if you have the opportunity to apply for one, I would 100% recommend it. Internships are huge resume boosters and will no doubt give you an advantage over the competition when it comes to real world job seeking after your college graduation. The key thing to note, however, is that with internships, planning ahead is always your best option.

Most do not work like jobs in terms of the actual hiring process. With jobs, ads are posted and can be filled within only a few days because the start date is almost immediate. With an internship, the process is quite different – the actual start date could be months away, which is why you need to think about it in advance.

If you’re thinking about applying for an internship with a major corporation (or with one that you anticipate will be accepting applications from thousands of students around the country), you will definitely need to apply for this months in advance. Many summer internships are filled by the spring, and, in turn, ones for the fall are filled during the summer.

While most internships are filled months in advance, this does not make it true for all internships. Colleges all over offer internships with various departments or with school-based organizations that you can usually apply for toward the beginning of the semester. While they may not seem like the most exciting ways to spend some of your free time, they will definitely add value to the resume you send out to that internship you really want.

The main thing is that if you’re just starting to think about internships and haven’t found one you’re interested in yet, it’s never too early to at least start drafting and preparing your resume. You won’t be able to apply for a job or internship without one, and you want to be prepared the minute you see one you like.

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Tips to find your next job

What can you do to be competitive when looking for a new job? Writing a quick resume late at night and applying for random jobs is NOT going to get you the job you are looking for. Is there an educational or university course being offered which could help you now or in the long term? What skills do you have to shine above and beyond other candidates. Make a portfolio of your accomplishments you have achieved in your academic or professional life. In the current economic climate employers want to know what YOU have to offer them. You need to sell yourself! and sell your success.

Below are some further ideas and suggestions to find yourself a new job

Learn new skills: It’s never too late to try to learn a foreign language, or a new piece of computer software. (Best example was a senior archaeologist of 10 years who came to me wanting to change life direction. After 6 months learning spanish then travelling through Spain for another 6 months, The senior archaeologist is now a junior English/spanish translator)

Research: Find out where the demand is. While many industries are having trouble in this recession and laying of employees other areas are increasing employment

Sell yourself: Take time writing your resume, and tailor your resume specifically to each job you are applying. Do not send out the same resume to every job advert you see. Remember if you’re sending out generic resumes then you will get the same generic responses

Use your social network. Don’t be embarrassed about looking for work. Tell your friends and family. You never know who may be looking at hiring staff with your set of skills

Use free networking sites to advertise yourself and your skills. Promote yourself via sites like LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/

Use a recruitment agency that specialises in your particular area. Get to know the recruitment consultant, and follow them up weekly. The more you appear visible, the more they will remember you

Share with friends: Brainstorm ideas and share experiences with friends that are also looking for jobs. Exchange advice, strategies, and plans

Act straight away: When you get a lead or hear about a job opening apply immediately. There is no need to wait. Prepare your resume and send it immediately. The longer you wait the more likely another candidate will apply ahead of you

Don’t let a lack of experience discourage you from applying for jobs: When tailoring your resume towards the job you are applying for, concentrate on the skills and abilities you have to match that certain job

Most importantly: Don’t give up – Never stop looking. While you’re searching for your new job is there something else in the meantime you could be doing. Do you have skills to freelance? Maybe you can sell goods online. Keeping yourself occupied helps you to stay positive and upbeat rather than moping around the house feeling sorry for yourself

© RedStarResume Publications – www.redstarresume.com

Best Tips on How to Get That Pay Raise You Deserve

Waiting on that raise that never seems to come…

A friend recently told me that he was expecting a raise soon simply because “I haven’t gotten one in the last 2 years.” There was no direct reason – no one had told him about this supposed upcoming raise, and he hadn’t done anything major in the last few months to expect one. He simply expected that one would come, particularly because he hadn’t received one in his entire 2 years there.

I always wonder about this kind of thinking because, from the way I see it, employers are never lining up to give people more money. If you’re waiting around for your boss to give you a raise for no specific reason, you’re going to be waiting for a long time. A raise doesn’t come simply because you’ve worked somewhere for a specific amount of time or because you haven’t received one – you have to earn a raise and, even when you do, you probably still have to ask for it.

It’s no secret that an employer is going to try to pay you as little as possible. I don’t mean this in a mean way – I’m just saying that they aren’t going to go out of their way to pay you more than they have to, simple as that. This especially applies to those of you waiting on that raise you haven’t received yet. Think about it – why would your boss give you more money to do the same exact job? What would be in it for them? Whether you’re deserving of a raise or not, it’s not going to come at the drop of a hat.

Employers are not looking to give away money that they don’t have to, so if you continue to wait for them to offer you one, you may be waiting a while. If you think you deserve a raise, let your boss know and give your specific reasons. This can include examples where you have increased productivity, saved them money or even how you trained new employees.

Providing specific reasons is the key to getting your pay increase. Remember everyone wants more pay and greater benefits. A pay rise is just like a negotiation. You have to provide something in return to receiving something. If you can prove to your employer that you are worthy of a pay increase your employee is more likely to give you one. One last thing. If you feel you deserve a pay rise and have evidence to support your argument, don’t be afraid to ask for it.


A lot of people sit quietly and say nothing to avoid “rocking the boat,” and they have the mindset that a pay rise will eventually happen on its own. Don’t let this happen to you. You deserve to get paid as much as you can.

© RedStarResume Publications – www.redstarresume.com

Laura is the Marketing Coordinator for RedStarResume, a business that provides resume and cover letter writing services for students, graduates and young professionals. http://www.redstarresume.com