This past winter break provided students with a wonderful opportunity to recharge, relax, and enjoy time away from the Heights with family and friends. It was also a time of year when many students started thinking in earnest about their plans for the coming summer. As a parent or family member, you can play a valuable role in helping your student think about what his or her successful summer could look like.
Internships are important, but so are other experiences
Internships are a popular choice at Boston College, where 86 percent of students pursue at least one internship, and 33 percent intern three or more times during their undergraduate years. Internships allow students to explore different career options while honing important skills that will help prepare them for the workplace. Employers, in turn, get to work with promising young adults over an extended period of time—often 10 weeks. In some industries, a successful summer internship can lead to a full-time offer.
On January 29, more than 100 top employers visited campus for our Spring Career and Internship Fair. The event was the first in a series of high-caliber on-campus information and recruitment sessions that take place each year. These include career fairs, networking sessions, job shadowing, and other opportunities for students to meet employer representatives face-to-face, solicit their advice, develop a range of contacts—and perhaps even discover new interests.
Remember, though, that while internships are invaluable for many students, other summer experiences can be rich as well. The real measure of a successful summer is the extent to which your student does something that will put him or her in position to enjoy post–graduate success. In a survey conducted in summer 2019, the Career Center found BC students engaged in a range of activities that promise to advance their career preparations: conducting research with a faculty member, for instance; volunteering in a lab or government agency; continuing to work in a part-time position; learning new skills; and taking summer courses.
Urge your son or daughter to take the time to explore their interests. Encourage them to be flexible; to think outside of the box. Successful career exploration involves reflecting on aspirations and choosing meaningful experiences. The sooner your student begins to engage in this process, the greater the number of options from he or she can choose.
Gain visibility, Make connections
Networking is one of the most essential steps in a student’s career journey. A Career Center 2019 summer survey showed that 45 percent of our graduates said they received their job offers through networking, a process that should be part of any student’s plans for the summer. If your student is interested in a career in marketing, speaking with a variety of marketing professionals will help him or her determine what types of experiences are essentiall in any and all industries.
To be sure, networking is an intimidating experience for many students, and building their confidence can take a great deal of effort. Try to help your students in their first networking experiences. Connect them to someone in your network for a low-stakes meeting. Do not do the work for them; simply provide the contact information and encourage them to reach out.
Hiring timelines vary by industry
Many industries—including finance, accounting, and consulting—have singular, specific recruiting cycles and general hiring timelines that you and your student should be aware of. A majority of industries hire in the spring, so there is still plenty of time for students looking for positions in summer 2020 to find roles. Our survey found that 77 percent of students received their offers between January and May. By reviewing hiring timeline data and becoming familiar with trends, you can help guide your student on where and when to begin searching for positions. You can also avoid the urge to pressure him or her to secure summer plans when their industry of choice has yet to start hiring.
Parallel planning
It’s wonderful when students have their minds set on specific summer goals. But we all know that plan A doesn’t always work out. We should all encourage students to engage in parallel planning so that if their plans for the warm-weather months fall through, they are not left without alternatives.
Encourage your students to keep their options open. For example, a student interested in an internship at an advertising agency might also consider applying for a marketing internship at a financial institution where they have connections. It’s not exactly what they were envisioning, but it will still offer the opportunity to gain experience and marketable skills that apply across industries. Discuss their plan B with them and remind them that no experience is bad experience. No matter what they end up doing for the summer, they have the opportunity to explore their interests, develop valuable skills, and build their professional network.
—by Joseph Du Pont, Associate Vice President, Career Services