If you fall into the category of an Arts or Humanities student, you will no doubt be accustomed to the tedious questions of ‘what will you do with that degree?’ and ‘are you going to be a teacher?’ Here are a few things that you could do over the holidays to bump up your CV.

Get a part-time job.

Wherever you find a part-time job, whether it be in a nearby café or garden centre or warehouse, the transferable skills future employers want can all be gained through part-time work. You’ll develop key skills such as time management, communication strategies, teamwork and initiative which certainly won’t be a bad thing when the time hits and suddenly you’re applying for grad-jobs.

Get in touch with your local newspaper.

There will no doubt be Christmas events happening where you live and if journalism is something you’re interested in, it might be a good idea to get in touch with the editors of the local news outlets. Even if it means joining an event and taking some pictures, gathering surveys or getting general feedback from the public, you don’t know until you ask and who knows where it could lead.

Start a blog.

Often Arts and Humanities students get so bogged down with essay writing during the semester that we can forget why many of us choose the degree we did. Starting a blog can be a great way to engage with your discipline in a creative way, rather than focussing solely on the academic side. Blogs are also a fantastic way to show future employees that you have been engaging with the world outside of the university curriculum and that you’re actively improving your writing style. You could write on anything, from a festive treat recipe to a think-piece on how Christmas changes as you get older, for example. They can be easily made (and for free) on websites such as wix.com, wordpress.com and weebly.com.

See if any charities near you need some Christmas help.

Charities will ALWAYS need an extra pair of hands and none more so in the Christmas period. Why not get in touch with a homeless charity near you and offer an extra pair of hands? We often forget that for many people, Christmas is just another day and has no special meaning. Sometimes a conversation is all it can take to make someone feel less alone and with four weeks off for Christmas, one or two days of working with a charity are nothing. You could even offer to help with the PR and marketing for events held to develop skills within that sector.

Work shadowing

You might be interested in work shadowing, so it might be a good idea to contact local PR, publishing or advertising and marketing companies, for example. Work shadowing can be immensely time-consuming for the employer so be mindful of this in your application and show them you’re full of enthusiasm and a keen interest to learn. This may be the most difficult experience to secure over the Christmas break, but it is worth bearing it in mind for the long summer holidays. Sending a few emails or actually going into the workplace isn’t going to harm your application and will come in handy for future work experience.

 

Sian Smith

Image courtesy of BBC.com