Paritosh Gaiwak
Paritosh Gaiwak
There is a concept known as active rest in athletics which prevents an athlete from giving up on their physical activity entirely while also providing an appropriate amount of rest. Active rest is better than passive rest as it maintains a level of physical activity and prevents cramps from developing in an athlete’s body when they restart their physical training.
While breaks do have their advantages, a long one may induce lethargy and bring down efficiency. I feel something similar to active rest should be done by students in breaks such as the spring break.
A break like this would be best utilized to develop one’s professional profile. Because academic pressure is nonexistent or at least much less than the regular schedule, there are several ways a student can build their profile and revive old contacts or create new ones in the industry during the break.
The formidable array of resources at one’s disposal courtesy of the information age can be utilized for professional development. Gone are the days when one had to visit a tutor for developing skills. Online courses are a great way to learn new concepts and skills and most of them offer a project towards the end which will enhance a student’s professional standing.
A good avenue for looking into such courses is a site called coursera, which has courses on almost every professional skill. A break can be utilized to give impetus to a new course or project or revise an old one. It may also be used to continue a course that may have been left mid-way due to some other engagements.
Consider the case of data science, which is one of the hottest fields in the tech world. There are a lot of educational websites that offer courses which help individuals to acquire basic skills related to data mining and analysis. Data is freely available, so one can also easily access data sets and practice on them to hone one’s skills.
Networking is a very powerful way to develop and maintain contacts in the industry which might help a person to get an internship, and breaks are the best time to do that. The best part about the long breaks given by the university is that during the time of the break, the industry continues to go about its business.
A good approach in the professional world is to try to dig out a person’s profile on the social networking sites such as LinkedIn and try to establish communication with them using that information. Students should preferably target the professionals in their field of choice.
This is the trial-and-error approach. Many individuals won’t be welcoming of someone’s advances through social media, but from my personal experience a small portion of people do take such efforts as a sign of enthusiasm. More time can be dedicated to these efforts during the break than during a normal school week.
The breaks can be used to take such endeavors one step further. While communication via social networking sites has its advantages, personal meeting or even an attempt in that direction can greatly improve an individual’s standing, since such an approach implies dedication and sincerity. Students can visit their contacts in the industry during the break and if they’re lucky can even set up interviews for internships or jobs.
I have a friend who has availed the benefits of this approach. She approached an alumnus of NC State after finding his profile through LinkedIn and established a professional connection with him. She met the alum over one such break for her professional development and eventually got an internship in that company and may also land up getting a job in the same company.
I have also personally reaped the benefits of this strategy. I surveyed a lot of profiles on social networking sites and was able to figure out some people who I could approach for internships. I tried to establish communication channels with them. Eventually two of them replied and I have been able to set up meetings with them over the period of the break. It sure did take time but this approach is much more beneficial than simply dropping an email.
I feel that such an approach will benefit students in the long run. Even if an internship or job does not materialize immediately, one can learn a lot by trying to develop their profile during the break. In the absence of academic pressure, this kind of professional development can go a long way in aiding one’s career.
Attempting to learn new skills, doing projects and developing contacts in the industry are all potent ways to develop one’s profile. Instead of simply sitting back during break, if a person could do some or all of these things, it would greatly enhance their productivity.