Because of COVID-19 we know many of you have lost your summer opportunity whether that was a job, internship, research, or volunteer experience. We know this loss is difficult and complicated because it may have put you in financial hardship, interrupted progress towards your academic goals, disrupted your career advancement, and just left you with nothing to do this summer. That is a lot.
The Strommen Center is here to support you no matter the reason you lost a summer opportunity and we encourage you to make an appointment with us on Handshake and check out our new resources on our Community Moodle site.
Here are 3 tips to get you started in a new direction:
- Be active and flexible in their job and internship search. Even though you might be seeing posts about how few new positions are being posted, opportunities are available but they might not be your first choice. Consider broadening your idea of what you want to gain from a summer experience and how it could help you advance your goals and make you more competitive for your next job offer. This could be focusing on positions that offer you the opportunity to develop your interpersonal skills or learn a new technical skill. Check out Augsburg.CareerShift.com to search for jobs and internships
- Continue to learn and develop skills even if you are not able to get a job or internship over the summer. Learn how to code, write short stories, or join a professional network. Whatever you decide to do this summer it will be important that you are able to articulate what you did, learned, and developed to future employers. When they look at your resume they may ask you “what did you do during the 2020 COVID-19 summer?”, be sure to have an answer ready for them.
- Focus on self-care. Loss of a job or internship is stressful because of the loss of income and also because of the loss of sense of purpose and progress towards career and academic goals. Visit the Center for Wellness and Counseling’s site for resources.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Strommen team if you have questions or need help. You can always make an appointment with our coaches on Handshake and you can also email Careers@Augsburg.edu.