maximising summer

Finally, it’s time to relax. Have a couple of weeks off from the hard work you’ve been doing this year in unexpected circumstances. You've all done brilliantly everything considered! 

But you don’t want to sit and let your summer pass you by without being productive.. 

So what can you really do now to maximise your summer? Be that if you're thinking about university, an apprenticeship or a job.

Well the first thing we'd say to do is to worry about the stuff you can control and not about the stuff you can't. Make sure you’re looking after yourself. This has been a weird year so far and we don’t really know how things are going to play out next academic year. So don’t worry about that. Worry about things that are certain. Check on the things you are interested in pursuing, be that a university course, a job with a particular company or an apprenticeship programme. These are getting updated every few weeks and if there’s any changes to their admissions or application processes, you want to make sure you’re on top of it.

Make sure you’re learning as much as you can each day. This doesn’t have to be school work, it might be learning about yourself. What you’re passionate about, where your skills lie. Whatever it is, find that out and work on it. One good thing the pandemic has brought is the way companies have adapted and brought their services online (us included!).

Now’s a great chance to hop online and do some courses to build your skillset. Hop onto websites such as Future Learn and do a short course or do something fun for yourself. Find some recipes and get baking, find some youtube videos and learn how to Hula Hoop! Whatever hobby you’ve wanted to do but keep putting off, spend the summer doing it. Anything you do will build your employability bubble in some way, so whatever it is, it’ll be useful! 

Now is the time to work on your ‘life cocktail’. What is a cocktail? Sure it’s a drink but if you break that down even more, it’s a mixture of things. We’re all made up of a mixture of skills and experiences that make us unique and this is what makes up our own personal cocktail. Think about how your experiences over summer can be used to build up your skills and attitude. Your behaviour, attitude and personality is a big aspect of what employers/universities look for so think about how this comes across.

Watch how your personality is portrayed on your social media too as there’s always a chance employers will see this (I even have a friend fired from his job for posting negatively about the company on Twitter!).

You can also spend the summer building what is known as your ‘social capital’. This is more commonly known as ‘the who you know’. Sure this isn’t always ideal but if you know what interests you or what industry you want to work with, technology now makes it easier than ever to connect with people who are in that industry just by tapping a few buttons. So use social media liked LinkedIn, send out emails, ask questions to people already working in the job you want to do or at places you want to work. Trust me, they’ll remember your name if you’ve spoken with them before you get there.

So use the summer effectively. Sure, relax for a while but then when you can get right back to it. When summer ends and we all head back to school and work, you’ll feel better having spent it productively.

Take a look at our presenter Ibz here, talking about how to become a rounded person for some tips on how to spend your summer.

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Author

ARON TENNANT is the Talks and Editorial manager and designated GDPR Data Controller for Push. He is originally from South Yorkshire and has a BA in English Language and Literature from the University of Sheffield. He also has a MA degree in Creative Play and Screenwriting from City, University of London and came runner up in Nickelodeon's international screenwriting competition in 2018 and his short film ''Donkey Tooth'  was screened at the London Raindance Film Festival in 2018. He is IMDB credited and alongside Push he does screenplay work for independent production companies and is working on his own independent film and theatre projects and writes articles for JumpcutOnline.com.