Your CV and Summer

SUNS OUT BUNS OUT – A FUN YET PRODUCTIVE SUMMER 😊

With exams finally over. SUMMER COULDN’T HAVE ARRIVED SOON ENOUGH.

This is my first official blog post and I am super excited to start this new journey. I want to start off with a thank you for taking your time to read this piece 😊

The summer period for uni students can stretch FOUR MONTHS. I am all for living your best life and I do have activities planned but that doesn’t mean I will be slacking on my personal development. Having completed second year… it’s a bit surreal thinking about it . 2/3rds of my degree has been completed …

No matter the journey your'e on, I believe there is something you can gain from this as it's never too early to start. The summer is when you are sitting the most idle. It's where you can set goals and ambitions for the next academic year.

THINGS YOU SHOULD DO IN SUMMER

1. Navigate the world of internships : Applying for internships is one of the most tedious processes you can go through. Writing cover letters back to back during the academic year is something you can't avoid.

To get ahead of the crowd and make your application stand out, you have to put in some legwork. Take this time during summer and research places that offer internships. Have your list ready with company names and deadline dates. You are going to apply for a lot so it's better to have a list prepared. When the new term rolls around, you can relax and focus on getting good grades.

With the internships you are really keen on, do some background reading on the company and prepare for some of the typical questions you cannot avoid, such as :

1. Why you want the internship?

2. Why you want to work for company?

These companies ask these questions and the one answer that comes to my head is I NEED EXPERIENCE TO GET A JOB!!!!; but obviously we know that doesn’t cut it. Use this time to dig deep and come up with draft answers that you can just tweak once it comes to application time.

By doing serious research on the company and finding something that genuinely interests you about them, helps show that you are actually committed and puts you one step closer to the interview. Stalk the companies you want to work for – learn what they are about and actually find something that sticks out –THIS IS WHAT LACKED IN MY APPLICATIONS.

2. CV/ Cover letter building– spend summer fixing and tweaking your CV to a good standard. There are loads of templates available online ( The simpler the better and keep it to 2 pages). Make use of the facilities in your university. First thing when you get back ,go to your career development office (if you have one) and get your CV checked over by someone. You need a critical eye to look at it and make sure you haven’t waffled. Its often also easy to forget all the things you have done, and what better time to recollect than in a coffee shop over a frappe during summer acting all important.

3. Educational Achievement -Have a list of your grades per module saved somewhere, when applying. This is very handy and you can either include this in your CV or actual application depending on the recruitment process for the specific company. Another tip, is to have a list of the individual coursework done. This allows you to clearly highlight your strengths i.e essay writing, practical reports or exams.

In hind site there are so many things I wish I had done and prepared for. Regardless, I have secured an internship for the summer and can't wait to write about my experiences. The thought of doing “real” science both scares and excites me. If I have learnt one thing from my previous fears, it is that they only restrict you. No matter the outcome, there is a beautiful story for you to share and a new piece of yourself waiting to be discovered.

Lumley beach- Sierra Leone