How to recover after a week-long break

After working hard all through the semester, you’ve finally earned your 2nd week-long vacation from all things work-related. Whether your staying home spending a week with family or you’re taking a nice getaway, a break can be a great way to relax your brain and step back from work – even if only for a short while.

Now some of you may be wondering, “Why do I need recovery after a break?”

Well… after you’ve returned from a tropical vacation or spending 4-5 days in bed, you may struggle to stay focused. Thankfully, the Career Planning Center is here to share some helpful tips to get you back on track with being productive for the remainder of the year.

Here are some helpful things you may want to do so your brief but fun hiatus from responsibility is well deserved.

1. Take some time to reflect

Sure, you may have had tons of time to rest during the vacation but when’s the last time you’ve taken the time to reflect? Come back from this break and reflect on your previous experiences, accomplishments and failures. Find where you were excelling greatly and what made you happy. If you haven’t explored a career or position in something you actually enjoy doing, now’s the time to look into it. Remember, if you need help you can always stop by Hogan 203 to meet with the career counselors!

       2. Expand your Search

After reflecting, you may want to widen your range of possibilities for ideal careers/internships for you. Maybe you have already explored a few options and they haven’t panned out so well or your’e looking for a new direction. Visit this cool career site www.MyNextMove.org to help plan whats right for you. Choose from their three search categories : “I want to be a”, which lets you describe your dream career, or  “Ill know it when I see it”, which gives you over 900 career options for you to choose from and “I’m not really sure” which ask questions about the type of work you might enjoy and then suggest careers that match your interests and training. This may be a great way to find a new exciting career you’d love to enter. CLICK HERE to take O*NET Interest Profiler test now!

3. Network with your contacts!

Even before you’ve gone on vacation, you should have been networking with any career contacts you managed to grab during the semester. After returning from break you want to find any legitimate excuse to get in touch with those career networks and expand on potential internship or career opportunities. You never know what might come from sending an email!

       4.VISIT US!

Seriously! As the year ends and the weather gets nicer students tend to stay away from offices, but we want you to come on by! Hogan 203 always welcomes anyone who has a quick career question or who just wants to chat. Remember that Drop-Ins are everyday from 1:00-4:00pm and for assistance over the phone call us at 508-793-3880.

 

Calling all Sophomores!

If you are sure about what you want to do after graduation and have confirmation that you have the qualifications to pursue your goals, terrific!  However, most of you probably are not exactly sure about what you want to do after graduation or want to make sure that you are developing the prerequisites to pursue your desired career.

If that is the case, I would like to meet with you. I am Dr. John Winters and am the Associate Director/Career Counseling in the Career Planning Center. I have made it my personal mission to assist all members of the class of 2014 clarify their career interests and goals!

I can be found in the Career Planning Center/Summer Internship Suite, Hogan 203. Please call 508-793-3880 or stop by Hogan 203 to make an appointment. I hope to see you soon!