Between finals and spring semester, there are almost eight weeks to enjoy during winter break. We suggest you use that time wisely, and here are a few suggestions that will also improve your resume and make you a more competitive applicant for future jobs or internships. The Career Center wants you to roll into spring semester ready for recruitment season and these steps will help you be prepared for your next career goal.
Complete a microinternshp or virtual project
With multiple platforms to choose from, you can complete a short term project that connects to your interests or academic major. Gaining new skills with a microinternship or professional experience from a virtual project is also a great way to help you stand out as a qualified candidate in your future internship or job searches. Most projects are 40-60 hours and include paid and unpaid work. Browse all four links below to find an opportunity that aligns with your career interests and industry skills.
Projects on Lehigh Connects - short term virtual projects sponsored by Lehigh alumni
Upskls- Work to learn. Learn to work.
Paragone One - Externships
Network to prepare for a spring job or internship search
Lehigh has two great networks for you to tap into, both with thousands of alumni to connect with. Start by brushing up on your networking skills by reading this Networking Guide to feel more confident in writing messages and asking questions. Networking is far more than asking “Are you hiring?” but instead tap into a wide range of a contact’s advice and information by phrasing your question “What suggestions do you have that would help me get experience in this field?” or “What steps do you suggest I take in my job search?”
Join the Lehigh Connects Community
Lehigh Connects is an alumni community of volunteers who are ready to support students as they explore careers and prepare for life after graduation. Use your Lehigh single sign on to create an account and browse profiles using filters including academic major, industry, or keywords from job titles or company names. Use the “Send Message” button to communicate or set up phone calls. There are two major advantages to this platform, starting with the fact that these are all alumni who want to help and are expecting students to reach out. In addition, the sign up process is fast and easy, without the need to build a profile and instead simply ask a few career interests questions that will customize a user experience for you. Start exploring Lehigh Connects today and check out this recent Hire Lehigh blog post about Lehigh Connects to help you draft your messages!
Network on LinkedIn
The Lehigh alumni page on LinkedIn boasts 65,000+ alumni profiles and has easy sort features to help you identify someone in a position or industry of interest. Request to connect and always include a short note to help encourage the alumni to accept. Within the 300 character limit focus on establishing how you are connected (Lehigh/industry interests) and ask a question everyone could answer like “Could you share more about your current role or how you got established in your career?” or “Would you be willing to let me pick your brain about how Lehigh prepared you for your position?”. The power of this network is its size, since this page captures every Lehigh profile on Linkedin but you should also expect poor response rates. To combat this, make sure your profile is well developed before you connect with others and reach out to multiple alumni.
Read 3 Hire Lehigh blog posts
With dozens of posts to choose from and thousands of views, the Hire Lehigh blog has become a treasure trove of knowledge. Posts are written by Career Center staff, Lehigh students, employers who recruit from Lehigh and alumni. We suggest you start by reading these three posts which are both some of the most popular and important topics for students.
While there is no golden number that will guarantee success, we do have some suggestions on the number of applications you should submit and an additional step in your job or internship you may not have considered
Easy steps for reaching out after an application, interview or networking. Learn best practices on how best to follow up after connecting with an employer or professional contact including what steps to take when you haven’t heard back.
Interview formats are changing, first round interviews are happening less often on campus or in person. Instead, it has become more common for interviews to be hosted online or via digital software tools. Be ready to use tech during your next interview process and consider how online interviews differ from in-person interactions.
Watch short videos on the Hire Lehigh Youtube channel
If your learning style prefers video format, we have you covered on the Hire Lehigh Youtube channel. Check in to watch Industry Insights videos to get advice from our employer partners. We also provide short videos on resume basics, handshake tutorials, virtual tools, tips for first year students and many other topics.
Review the virtual events on Handshake
The events tab on Handshake has numerous opportunities to participate in virtual workshops, employer info sessions, speaker panels and hiring events.
Prepare for spring recruitment with the Handshake Resource Page
Using the extensive library of resources on the Handshake Resource page, you have 24/7 access to information and tools on resume building, cover letter guidelines, pipelines to networking with Lehigh alumni, job searching tools, interview practice and much more.
Grow your skills with LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning is a leading online learning platform that helps anyone learn business, software, technology, and creative skills to achieve personal and professional goals. Explore over 12,000 courses and 5,000 video tutorials from industry experts and leaders all in one place. LinkedIn Learning is available to all Lehigh students and you can activate your account here. Completing the self guided courses earns you credentials that can be directly connected to your LinkedIn profile as well as be added to your resume.
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