With many summer internships cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a common question I have been asked by college students is "What can I do to boost my resume? If job applications require previous work experience, and I was banking on my summer internship, I am screwed!" I am here to tell you that is not the case.
1. Make the most of your Lab Courses
As an engineering student, you inherently will be signed up for labs. Even if you are not physically going back to school this fall, there is a good chance you have already completed at least one lab by the end of your sophomore year. Labs are an awesome opportunity to have hands-on experience working on a project, leading a group of individuals, and problem-solving product challenges. Showcase this on your resume, and be prepared to answer questions on how you handled problems that came up (be it with your teammates, or the project itself).
2. Showcase your Senior Design Project
In addition to lab courses, you most likely have an official Senior Design (aka Capstone) Project. This is an even better opportunity, because it also tells a resume reviewer a bit more about your interests. Why did you pick this project? What problem were you trying to solve? Did you actually develop a prototype? Be prepared to answer what portion of the work you actually did yourself.
I am curious how schools will be running this course from afar, but a great place to start if at home (especially if majoring or minoring in electrical engineering) is buying an Arduino. There are multiple easily programmable, cheap (starting at $10.90) boards available to apply to various projects!
3. Join an Extracurricular Group
Colleges and universities are filled to the brim with extracurricular groups, so take advantage of this. If not to boost your resume, then to join individuals that share common interests! Most campuses have a Society of Women Engineers chapter, Formula SAE, or at least some type of Engineering Club. At Washington University in St. Louis, my alma mater, a joint venture was created with the Undergraduate Engineering and Medical School programs. As someone who is passionate about medicine and engineering, I jumped right on this and ended up creating a prototype for stroke patients with a team! This was an incredible talking point during my interview process at Stryker.
If these clubs don't exist at your school, why not be the person to start it? Not able to work in groups at the moment? Get creative on Zoom - start a lecture series! This is a great way to demonstrate leadership and initiative.
4. Start a Side Project
If you are feeling extra ambitious - start a side project! This offers the same opportunities as your Senior Design Project, but perhaps more flexibility and creativity. Instead of holding yourself to a grade, you can truly explore without feeling judged. Are you studying electrical engineering and want to dabble in computer science? There are endless free courses online (check out Udemy, Coursera, or LinkedIn Learning to start). Pro tip: sync up with a friend in another major (ex. finance or economics) to make the most of your learning.
With these four steps, you should have a resume full of work experience! If you are interviewing mid-fall semester, it still helps to be able to speak to what you are currently working on. Good luck and let me know how this helped!
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