With finals season just around the corner, you may have found yourself already itching for those slow, sun-soaked summer days waiting for you in the aftermath. However, to those high school students seeking a more active holiday, The Enrichery recommends 5 tips to guide your summer planning and bolster your resume.
1. Acquire Paid Work or Internship Experience
Unfortunately, many competitive work/internship positions have already closed their summer 2024 application windows, but you should not let that discourage you. Paid work experience, however un-glamorous, remains a credible indicator of time-management skills, collaborative aptitude, and long-term reliability to college admissions officials. Moreover, launching your job search may inspire you to create an Indeed, LinkedIn, or other professional networking profile—a resource that will accompany you throughout (and well beyond) your college career.
Although the ideal paid position will provide you with relevant exposure to your field of interest, “unskilled” or “semi-skilled” labor can be just as valuable an addition to your resume, especially if you can communicate the lessons learned from your experience in a college application essay. For high schoolers, popular work opportunities include lifeguarding, retail sales work and customer service, food preparation and dishwashing, and in-home childcare (e.g., babysitting).
Pro Tip: If you struggle to find openings on Indeed or other job-search websites, consider exploring the “careers” pages of specific workplaces. Examples include Target, Macy’s, and the YMCA. Alternatively, try directly approaching employees at family-owned and small businesses you love, like local cafés and boutiques!
2. Volunteer for a Cause
Of course, the obvious benefit of paid work experience is exactly that: payment. However, dropping salary expectations from your summer plans (if you have the financial means to do so) unlocks a wealth of opportunities to engage in equally fulfilling work. Generally, VolunteerMatch and Idealist can help you discover unpaid and non-profit positions that align with your interests, but for those students located in the Houston area, VolunteerHouston is a particularly helpful resource. Popular volunteer opportunities for adolescents can be found at animal shelters, nursing homes, food banks, national parks, and more.
Pro Tip: For a fulfilling volunteer experience that will shine on a resume, consider working consistently with the same organization throughout the summer. Engaging with your community as a “regular” shows evidence of those teamwork and organization skills we discussed earlier that, once again, look highly appealing to college admissions officials.
3. Commit to an Extracurricular Activity
Let’s say you’ve already landed paid/unpaid work or are looking to prioritize your personal interests this summer: consider pursuing a new hobby or exploring in greater depth one you already have! Activities include the obvious, like sports and the arts, as well as the not-so-obvious, like joining a local/virtual book club and learning how to cook. Believe it or not, that summer you spend gardening with your parents or running a cinema club alongside your friends can inspire an impressive college application essay that showcases your unique personality as well as a host of broadly applicable skills, like leadership, attention to detail, and more.
Stephanie, one of our most experienced coaches here at The Enrichery who also runs our College Admissions Workshop in the summer, emphasizes the value of creative outlets: “Some of the best personal statements I’ve helped my students write were inspired by unique hobbies, like clay sculpting or ballroom dancing,” she says. “So many activities can make for great college admissions essays if they feel meaningful to you or help you learn a life lesson!”
Pro Tip: If you’re already committed to an extracurricular activity throughout the academic year, consider exploring new avenues within that hobby this summer. For instance, student-athletes may enjoy volunteering as an assistant coach on a youth team. If you’re an artist, take a class in an art form you are unfamiliar with (see below for further inspiration) or launch a passion project that will exhibit your skills to the wider world—publish a short film on YouTube or start a social media page to display your paintings.
4. Take a Summer Class
I know what you’re thinking (“Classes? In the summer??”), but hear me out: they don’t have to be academic! Of course, they can be. For those students looking to reduce the chaos of junior or senior year, completing required courses in the summer demonstrates strong initiative. Beyond that, summer classes are a fantastic way to strengthen your command of a second language, explore the arts, develop a career-specific skill (like coding), or…learn how to scuba dive (why not?). Moreover, extracurricular courses occasionally offer certificates upon completion—as do certain jobs, like lifeguarding—which are always welcomed additions to a resume.
An equally enlightening experience would be to shadow a professional in your field of interest. Such opportunities often require considerable networking in advance but can be just as rewarding if said professional eventually declares themselves willing to write you a letter of recommendation with which to supplement your college applications.
Pro Tip: Feel free to explore summer class options beyond your school district or even at the university level. For instance, Houston Community College offers a Special Admissions for Minor Students program designed to provide high schoolers below the age of 18 access to HCC’s extensive course listing.
5. Attend The Enrichery’s College Admissions Workshop
Every summer, The Enrichery offers a highly productive College Admissions Workshop (CAW) program for junior-year students seeking assistance drafting, writing, and editing college application essays; applying for scholarships; and constructing resumes. With 7 scheduling options available between June and August, workshops take place over a single immersive week, ensuring the rest of your summer remains open and your senior year workload is reduced considerably.
Consider enrolling your rising senior in the CAW so our coaches here at The Enrichery can help transform their amazing summer experiences into compelling college application essays. For more information, submit a request to contact us at https://theenrichery.com/contact-us-submission/!
