So, it\u2019s May, and you don\u2019t have a summer internship yet. It can feel as if it\u2019s the end of the world, especially when you scroll through LinkedIn and see everyone you know recruited for the next couple of months. Everyone, apparently, but you.<\/p>\n
One of UC Berkeley\u2019s integral characteristics is its hustle culture. Everyone strives for ambitious success, whether it’s work-related or personal. It\u2019s both an encouraging and exciting environment to be a part of, but it\u2019s easy to feel left behind, as if you\u2019re not doing \u201cenough.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, while an internship is definitely a fulfilling way to spend your summer, it\u2019s not the be-all and end-all.<\/p>\n
Coping with the disappointment<\/p>\n
Receiving rejection after rejection in your inbox stings. You might wonder what you\u2019re doing wrong and what you did in your life to be deserving of such disappointment. It can feel quite personal, but oftentimes, a company\u2019s decisions are based on factors outside of your control. Maybe they received too many applications for very few spots, or they were looking for a specific set of skills and coursework. Maybe they\u2019re looking for nepo babies. Them not choosing you is not a measure of your worth or capabilities, nor does it threaten your future.<\/p>\n
While it doesn\u2019t hurt to keep trying, what will hurt you is putting all of your emotional energy on an acceptance. Sure, in an ideal world, you\u2019d be interning for a top company such as Google or Microsoft. But it is important to note that those who do snag these positions are typically the outliers. You often don\u2019t see what they went through to get these roles in the first place. Even then, the most qualified applicants get rejected all the time. There are always others just like you who apply for hundreds of roles just to get nothing \u2014 you are never alone in this.<\/p>\n
In the end, the whole point of an internship is to gain experience. Not only are there many different avenues to develop these skills outside of going corporate, but also you shouldn\u2019t feel obligated to constantly stay on the grind even during a break. You won\u2019t be unemployed for your whole life just because you took a couple of months off in between your sophomore and junior years. Breaks are also the time to revitalize your mind and pursue activities you haven\u2019t had time for during the school year, which are just as important for your well-being. Here are some things you can do this summer beyond an internship!<\/p>\n
Take courses and obtain certifications<\/p>\n
Maybe not all of us are down to continue taking classes during summer break, but courses are a great way to fulfill school requirements and keep your brain churning \u2014 while feeling productive! These courses don\u2019t have to be college-affiliated either. From programming to emergency care, or even AI fluency, you can take courses on subjects you want to learn and gain experience in, sometimes even receiving a certification upon completion. While they won\u2019t give you the direct \u201cprofessional experience\u201d that internships give you, classes are still a great way to build up the foundational knowledge and skills you need to get these positions in the first place.<\/p>\n
Be present<\/p>\n
College has a way of gradually pulling you away from your childhood relationships. You come home for holidays and breaks, catch up on everything you missed, and then you\u2019re gone again, slowly becoming a visitor in the place that was once your home. A flexible summer is one of the last long stretches you\u2019ll have to be present with your family. Because after you graduate, life sweeps you up with schedules that never seem to line up. Simply existing around the people you love may be the decision you look back on in 10 or 20 years, grateful that you slowed down long enough to take it.<\/p>\n
Learn the basics<\/p>\n
The same goes for skills you haven\u2019t picked up yet \u2014 the hallmarks of actually being an adult. Cooking is the most obvious one, and one of the most practical things you can invest time in. Maybe it\u2019s learning your parents\u2019 recipes, the ones you grew up eating but never thought to ask about. Maybe it\u2019s learning how to change a tire or fix a headlight, things that never felt urgent until suddenly they do. These don\u2019t have to translate to resume bullet points, and that\u2019s kind of the point. Your overall life experience is something that shouldn\u2019t be reduced to what\u2019s professionally applicable, as some of the most important things you\u2019ll ever learn won\u2019t show up on a LinkedIn profile.<\/p>\n
While it may sound cheesy, rejection really is redirection. Your summer is what you make of it, and that doesn\u2019t have to revolve around an internship. Before you spiral into a LinkedIn rabbit hole comparing yourself to everyone\u2019s summer job updates, consider some of the most valuable things you can do these next few months without a job title.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"So, it\u2019s May, and you don\u2019t have a summer internship yet. It can feel as if it\u2019s the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":313846,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[87313,1815,131392,14624,15342,5055,143,145,144,131393,30749,3183,5931],"class_list":["post-313845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-internship","tag-college","tag-courses","tag-google","tag-linkedin","tag-microsoft","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-rejection","tag-skills","tag-students","tag-summer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=313845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/313846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=313845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=313845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=313845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}