Make the Most of Winter Break

Make the Most of Winter Break

It’s that time of year, where everyone is either enjoying or recovering from the holidays! While we do want you to enjoy time with family and friends, we’d like you to squeeze in a little work that’ll help you find a co-op or full-time job.

» Take time to complete your profile in Handshake. (Handshake is our main source of job postings for RIT students). It also suggests potential jobs based on your profile.

You can find these suggestions by looking under the tab “For You”. Select “Jobs” from the navigation, and you can see various ways to filter jobs as well as popular searches done by their major. [More Handshake information]

» The more variety of job sources, the better. Check other quality job search sites including Indeed.com, Glassdoor, Chegg (formerly Internships.com), and Vault.com. Our website has a list of sites our career services coordinators have recommended, by major.

» Winter break is a good time to update a resume -- include additional skills, experience, or project work, from fall semester.

» Update or create a LinkedIn profile. Connecting with alumni via LinkedIn is a great strategy. Search for “Rochester Institute of Technology” then click on the “See Alumni” button.

Results can be refined in a number of ways: where they live, where they work, what they do, what they studied. Be sure to craft a personal note when sending a request to connect. LinkedIn is also a great way to research companies, or uncover job openings.

» Holiday gatherings are a great time to talk with family and friends about a current co-op or full-time job search. You should ask them if they have any connections that can lead to informational interviews, networking opportunities, or job leads. You never know who might be able to help.

» Practice telling your story: Now is a great time to prepare for tough interview questions like “Tell me about yourself,” “What are your weaknesses,” and “Tell me about a time when…” Review possible interview questions and strategies for successful interviewing.

Try getting feedback on your answers from friends and family. Many students find that building a career portfolio – a collection of work samples, class projects, transcripts, letters of recommendations, and more - will provide useful visual cues during an interview.

» Looking for a spring co-op? You should apply to as many jobs posted on Handshake as they can. There are still open co-op positions. Employers continue to contact us with opportunities into January! Spring-summer double block? Students still have time to find a co-op. Most students can start as late as February, work through August and still have the position count as a double block. Take the time to follow up on your resume submissions.

Each student at RIT has a career services coordinator assigned to them – even though the campus is quiet during the break, we are here holding down the fort! Our office closes December 21^st and re-opens January 2^nd. You should reach out of us if you have any questions or concerns about your job search; we are happy to help.

Enjoy your time with friends and family – Happy New Year from your friends at the Office of Career Services and Co-op!