I’ve written before about my plans to study away from Conn. Next semester I will be studying at the IES Abroad Vienna Music Program in Austria, but right now, as I enter into the final days of the fall semester, I’m focused on completing my obligations at Conn and making plans for the future. One major part of my pre-study away planning process has been the Office of Career and Professional Development’s Junior Year Action Plan. The plan helps me prepare for the College’s funded internship program next summer.

Juniors at Conn are eligible to participate in the funded internship program. Since my first year here I’ve maintained my eligibility by attending workshops with career advisers and fellows every semester. These workshops helped me develop the confidence and skills to build and develop my career at and beyond Conn. I also attended meetings with my career adviser whose advice and assistance I was always grateful for. Finally, every semester I was required to create documents, including an updated resume, showing that I was working toward furthering my career and developing my personal brand. This meant I had the means to describe myself to potential employers. Fulfilling these requirements has made me feel that I am ready to successfully find an internship for the summer after junior year.

Most important this semester was the Junior Year Action Plan. The process of creating the plan helped me understand where I am on the path towards securing a college-funded summer internship. The plan template asked me about various things potential employers might be interested in such as: “Can I articulate why I chose my major?” It also asked me to name organizations I am interested in that might consider hiring me, set dates by which I’ll improve in areas where I am less prepared and plan learning objectives that I can later discuss when planning for my internship. Finally, it asked me to submit up-to-date versions of my resume, cover letter, elevator pitch and LinkedIn profile that reflect the kinds of documents I intend to submit to future employers.

Having completed the Junior Year Action Plan, I have a better idea of what opportunities I want to inquire about and apply for before and during winter break. Although I’m still a long way from having an internship for next summer I do feel that I’ve laid a lot of groundwork, and started to get an idea about how I can take advantage of guaranteed college funding to find the right internship.