How to Make Your Summer Worthwhile
Alisha Kumar
You didn’t get that internship you wanted. Or maybe you had an internship in place, but COVID-19 had to come and screw it up. Or you could be a recent grad struggling to find a job in this difficult time. Whatever the case may be, I want you to know that you are not alone, and there are still ways to gain valuable skills. This summer will not go to waste.
Reach out to local businesses and nonprofits.
Local businesses and nonprofits around the area could use your expertise. Do research on the ones you’re interested in and strategize before you reach out to them. Who’s the CEO? What’s the company’s philosophy? Look at their advertising and/or social media accounts. What are the strengths? Weaknesses? How can you specifically improve what they’re doing?
Then, send them a message on Instagram, an email, or even call them. Give a little introduction: tell them your name, where you go to school, what you’re majoring in, why you’re interested in their business/nonprofit, and how you can help. Offer to work for free. The experience is more valuable than anything else at this point.
It can be scary to “cold-call” these businesses and nonprofits, but trust me, it’s worth a shot. That’s how I found my internship this summer. I kept applying and applying to every place I could, but I kept getting messages back that companies had canceled their internship programs due to the current circumstances. Although it was understandable why they would cancel and I’m sure it was a difficult decision on their ends, it filled me with fear that I may not have the internship that I had hoped for my junior year. I had never cold-called businesses before to get an internship, but I decided to reach out to a number of smaller advertising agencies near my house. Thankfully, an advertising agency called Wellspring Creative Communications responded back and offered me an internship. I feel so lucky to have an internship during these tough times. So don’t be afraid. You can’t get the reward without the risk.
Work on your portfolio.
Other than Peter Sheldon’s Creative Concepts I and II courses, there really aren’t many chances for us to build our portfolios. So use this time wisely while you have it. Pick five to six brands, do a bit of research on each, and spend a week or two developing a campaign for each one. Don’t know which brands to use? Jeremy Carson, a Creative Director at Saatchi & Saatchi, created a Brandomizer, which randomly gives you a brand to work on. I’ve found this to be incredibly helpful as I’m building my portfolio.
After you’ve made those campaigns, set up a portfolio website and showcase them with brief descriptions of the brand problem, strategy, insight, and rationale for choosing certain elements/media. You don’t even need to know any coding to begin! There are plenty of drag-and-drop sites, like Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace. I like to use Squarespace, since it allows the most customization, and even the templates provided are clean, simple, and just beautiful. Always make sure that your portfolio website opens on images of your work, not a picture of yourself because that can seem selfish, like you’re putting yourself before your work. If you want to include something about yourself, put that on another page, and make sure your contact information is visible. Your portfolio website should be personal and reflective of you.
Take advantage of LinkedIn Learning.
It’s a free resource for University of Illinois students, so why not use it? There are tons of videos about anything from how to use the Adobe Creative Suite to Google Analytics.
Come up with a schedule for yourself about which videos you would like to watch each day and stick to it. Sharpening your skills now will help you be better prepared for your next internship or job.
Build your connections.
I’m sure you’ve heard it a million times, but it’s true: advertising really is about who you know. The Advertising at Illinois LinkedIn group is an amazing tool, so be sure to join it, if you haven’t already. There are hundreds of alumni on there with all sorts of job titles, and they want to pay it forward to help you get into the industry. Every week, challenge yourself to reach out to at least one or two alumni in the area(s) you’re interested in. Send them a quick message introducing yourself with your school year, what you would like to talk to them about, and if they would be able to chat. Make sure to highlight you’re looking to build a real connection, not just to get an internship or job. That’s the first step before going further.
After talking to them, follow-up with a thank you note. They’re busy people, and they took the time to talk to you. Mention something specific from your conversation that really stuck out to you to make it more personal. Keep in touch even months later by sending them relevant articles in their area of advertising or interesting news related to their company. You never know who your next advocate, co-worker, or even boss will be, and the advertising world is smaller than you think.
Start a podcast, blog, or vlog.
It can be about anything: fashion, tips and tricks, movie reviews, your dog…the list goes on and on! It’s a wonderful creative outlet. But make sure it’s something you’re passionate about, otherwise it won’t be fun for you or your audience.
Being a content creator shows you’re a self-starter. You’re willing to venture out with a purpose in mind for a specific target audience. Through the process, you’ll learn technological skills, like editing photos for your blog or creating awareness with a dedicated social media account, along with other valuable skills, such as how to be organized and manage your time.
Do freelance.
Freelancing in advertising is pretty common, especially if you know how to write, design, or manage social media pages. Define your goals, your target audience, and set your prices. Here is a wonderful infographic to help you figure out how to charge the right hourly rate.
Then, make sure to set up a high-quality portfolio site, which highlights what you specialize in, examples of your work, contact information, relevant skills and education, and testimonials from people who have worked with you in the past.
Create business cards for yourself, using the Adobe Creative Suite or Canva, a free drag-and-drop graphic design tool, to highlight who you are and what you offer. Drop them in the mailboxes of your neighbors. Get the name out about yourself through social media, and have your friends or family spread the word about you. It might take some time to get started, but when you do, it can be quite rewarding.
As you can see, there are so many ways to make sure that you can get ahead in your career this summer, and I wish you all the best of luck in your summer endeavors. Stay calm, optimistic, and hopeful. You’ve got this!