That phrase alone sends chills down my spine. Common knowledge states that junior year is the toughest year in high school and college, and from personal experience, I have found this to be true.
During junior year of high school, "college" finally becomes a tangible place, and application deadlines approach fast. Choosing a college is Life Changing Decision #1. (For any UGA Marketing 4450 student reading this post, congrats! You have passed this phase and correctly chosen to attend the best university in the country. Go Dawgs.)
Life Changing Decision #2 brings higher stakes to the table. At this point in your life, you have selected a college. Fallen in love with the college. Finally know your way around the college's bus system. Comfort with college life is usually established by the time junior year rolls around, but it is quickly replaced with sheer panic and a new question:
What in the world are you going to do after school?
Professors ask. Academic counselors ask. Parents ask (daily). Even your hometown dentist asks. What in the world are you going to do?
As this question resonates and you realize that college will, unfortunately, end one day, there are several essential ways to prepare during junior year. That being said, there are also several junior year mistakes to avoid.
1. Resume Building
Worst Ways:
You realize your resume has not been updated in over a year. Or perhaps, (gasp), you don't have a resume. You immediately sign up for every club on campus - regardless of whether it applies to your major or whether you enjoy it. You are now a part of eight different organizations with ten meetings a week. Oh! And you just saw a flyer advertising the school's new Lip Syncing club. Performances at the nursing home every month, so if you attend just one meeting, that will really prove to employers that you are well rounded and devoted to the greater good of society!
…Do NOT do this. Unless you are genuinely passionate about Lip Synching, there is no need to wear yourself thin so you can write down "one more thing" on your resume. There is a difference between being well-rounded and being an apathetic member of eight random clubs.
Best Ways:
Get out of your comfort zone, but don't force anything that is not the right fit. Involvement is great when passion is present. If you might be interested in a club on campus, get off the couch and go to the first meeting! Give it a genuine try, and if the club turns out to be up your alley, get into a leadership position. Stick with quality experience over a large quantity of half-hearted bullshit.
2. Internships
Best Ways:
Internships have become the norm for college students and are especially emphasized for business majors. They can be a scary and foreign new realm, but they often segway into exciting professional opportunities and skills. Make a list of three companies you would absolutely love to intern for, start there, then research and apply for a secondary list of five or six positions. Dip your feet into potential internships with career fairs and keep your eye out for new postings.
Worst Ways:
Confession: I have never had an official internship. As a NCAA cross country and track athlete, I travel to compete year round with one month at most off of traveling. One month is clearly not enough time to complete an official internship. During my junior year, I panicked that I had no internship experience and a gap on my resume. As a result, I responded to over ten fall positions posted by a variety of companies, most of them headquartered in Atlanta. I received follow-up emails and interviews for several of the positions and came to the realization, "what the heck was I thinking?" I had absolutely zero time for a fall internship in Atlanta with cross country practices twice a day and twelve hours of class. Lesson learned: find a position that you are ACTUALLY AVAILABLE for. It is a commitment, so make sure that the position is valuable way to spend your time and that you, in turn, will bring value to the position.
3. Networking
Worst Ways:
At the first career fair I ever attended, I walked up to a recruiter for a company I had never heard of. As you can imagine, the interaction did not go well and I walked away feeling extremely unprepared. Do not blindly jump into networking. On the flip side, do not inappropriately hound down someone because of their status. I had a friend show up to a bible study and admitted "I am only here because I heard the Marketing Executive of XYZ company will be here. This is a perfect networking opportunity." No, that is extremely inappropriate timing. My friend proceeded to interrogate the executive about internship positions and pitch her qualifications. The executive was noticeably aggravated. If you are dressing business formal to a bible study that calls for jeans and a Tee, you are doing it wrong.
Best Ways:
Be yourself. Be genuine. Be gracious. Do your research and show excitement in the company! If you can't express genuine excitement, then go network with a company where you can.
4. Exploring all Options
Worst Ways:
"I want a job with company XYZ. I will only accept position ABC. Anything else will be stiff-armed."
Best Ways:
Don't shut down any opportunity too fast! Striving for a clear goal is great, but realize that nothing will ever go as perfectly planned. My roommate graduated with a degree in genetics, but the month before graduating, she landed a job as the head marketer for a startup company. One successful year later, she is still loving the position, though originally, getting into business never crossed her mind. Don't miss out on an amazing job or experience because you were too engrossed with one narrow path.
Bottom line, take a deep breath. Keep working hard, but relax! Position yourself for greatness and great things will fall into place, one way or another. Until then, enjoy junior year.
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