How to Make the Most of Being Home for the Holidays

Between the snowmen, reindeer and egg-nog, you may be thinking of the holidays as a time to relax for a moment (or at least appear to relax), right? After all, you’ve just finished your finals, wrapped up an entire college semester, slipped into your festive jammies and reclaimed your spot on the couch. You’ve earned this mental break.

You might be cozy by the fireplace – chowing down on sugar cookies and catching up on your favorite TV shows, but don’t let your internship hunt take a hiatus. Here’s how to make the most of being home for the holidays:

1. Update your resume to include leadership positions, volunteer activities and jobs you had during the past semester. The information is fresh in your mind. Just type it up and proofread it.
2. Put your resume out there on internship/job sites; consider your university’s career site and www.IndianaINTERN.net (shameless plug: 800+ active positions listed in Indiana). Let employers know you’re looking for a position. Some sites allow them to search and find you. Isn’t that nice? Check back on the sites often as new positions are posted daily.
3. Create a profile on LinkedIn if you haven’t already. Don’t make it a mirror of your resume, but use it to show a little more personality.
4. Use social media to your advantage. If you have a Twitter account, link it to a platform such as Hootsuite. You’ll appear busier than you are as your scheduled tweets feed into cyber space while you dig into your turkey.
5. Volunteer at a local shelter, a soup kitchen or a social event. You get in the holiday spirit. Others get into the holiday spirit. We all get into the holiday spirit. Oh, and you get to add volunteer work to your resume!
6. Get a haircut – and not by your college roommate. I know that you like that shaggy look, but you want to look polished…not just for your out-of-town aunt, but also to impress any employers that might call on you for an interview.
7. Prepare your elevator pitch. Relatives and friends at holiday gatherings will want to hear it too. You never know who might have a useful lead for you.
8. Send a holiday card to your networking contacts, your professors, your long lost cousins. This simple gesture allows you to remain top of mind and shows that you care. No, it doesn’t have to be lengthy or specific to your internship search. Yes, it has to be an actual card sent by snail mail, so don’t forget the postage stamp.
9. Read a book specific to your field of study. A reputable blog will do. You’ll seem knowledgeable when contributing to a conversation with an employer (or next semester’s professor).
10. Shovel snow off the driveway or do some other household chore to show your parents that you’re thankful for all they do. After all, they are your number one fans whether you have an internship or not. The exercise from the chores won’t be bad for you either.

So while you’re in the comfort of home sweet home, take a sip of your hot chocolate and click apply for that summer internship (employers are already making offers).

Winter break will fly by and you’ll be stuck in traffic on your route back to college before you know it. Why not make the most of your time home while you can?