This pandemic slump hit hard, but a college student with the drive to thrive can hit HARDER. 

I know that I am not alone in saying that this past year has interrupted plans or goals. Internships that couldn't support remote work were closed, networking events were canceled, and gaining exposure without exposing yourself and others to the virus was difficult. Transitioning from the college environment to the professional world can be hard enough traditionally. Throw in the uncertainty of COVID and how jobs will adapt, and the equation changes drastically. 

I am a Senior Marketing student at Temple's Fox School of Business. I have heard, like many students have, how important an internship is to have completed by the time graduation comes around. Snatching up a summer internship experience was my primary goal throughout the semester, so I dutifully followed the advice of my mentors and advisors. Unfortunately, I still hit a wall and had nothing to show for my efforts.

Except that wasn't true at all. I may have felt that way when my virtual semester wrapped up in early May, and instead of turning my focus to the position I was hoping for, I was consumed with self-doubt. However, I stomped those feelings out quickly when I realized that they didn't serve me. It can feel difficult to continue in the face of failure, but I love the quote by Winston Churchill, in which he says, "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." Perhaps the summer internship experience I had hoped for never came to fruition, but that doesn't mean I won't find another opportunity. 

In these hard times, roadblocks and sudden twists in our path may throw us off our balance. That isn't the time to look down on yourself. It is time to reinvent yourself and keep moving forward passionately. Natasha wrote a well-put article on COVID & adaptability that was a great read, and I definitely recommend taking a look at it. Below I am sharing the steps I have taken to make the most of my free time and enhance my professional presence during the lockdown. These tips are a culmination of advice from advisors, mentors, and professionals in my network that I turned to when I was feeling low. I hope they inspire you.

Revitalize that Resume

I know, the thought of reorganizing your resume again is unnerving. Just when you think you've combed over every detail and described every experience as glowingly as you can, it's back to the drawing board. But honestly, it isn't so bad; we aren't talking a total rework, just a refresher.

An easy tip for making sure formatting and content are eye-catching is to have it peer-reviewed. Ask another student, a teacher, or a mentor to glance at your resume and ask for their critiques. Better yet, if your school has a department for student development that specializes in improving student resumes, send it there! Staff in that department have an eye for critiques because they see hundreds of student resumes, much like a recruiter. There are also resume review sites like Vmock that use artificial intelligence to scan your resume for faults that the eye could miss.

Find the Gaps in your Resume and Make a Plan to Fill Them

After accepting criticism and making the necessary changes, maybe you still feel like your resume is lacking. When I say 'gaps,' what I mean is, what skills and experiences do the hiring managers want to see from you that isn't readily available on your resume? If you don't recognize your shortcomings, you cannot address them. 

The simplest way to determine what you are missing is to look at the job listings you are targeting. For me, I was looking for marketing positions with companies tracking their metrics and organizing data. I was also open to creative positions developing content for brands on their social media pages. (Going back to adaptability, it's important to keep yourself flexible for any and every opportunity.) 

You may notice that there are certain phrases or programs that keep coming up. For example, content creator jobs in my radar were looking for experienced users of Illustrator and Photoshop—which I had covered already. However, Hootsuite, an online content manager, came up a few times, and I had never used the program before. 

If you are searching for a more technical position, perhaps a programming language keeps coming up. Maybe the job application requires a portfolio of your work. The important thing to remember is every skill or position you don't have is an opportunity for growth, so jot it down!

Learn a New Skill

Here's where we address the gaps in our skill set. The good news is that there is plenty of time between the pandemic and the months before the start of the next semester. The internet is an encyclopedia of skill learning sites. So even with just an hour a day, you can be well on your way to developing a new skill set.

If there are specific programs or skills you want to conquer, sites like Skillshare are a great place to start. Online learning sites like edX and Coursera let you learn through videos presented by professionals that work for IBM and Google or even take courses crafted by Stanford and Duke professors. You can also finish some sessions with a certification of completion—The perfect touch up to give your resume a little facelift. There is a magnitude of free and affordable resources to help you grow online. A Google search with the keywords '(skill you want to learn) + online courses' is all it takes.

If you were having trouble deciding which skill to try learning, Google has an excellent course covering the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing. It's free, and better yet, after completing it, you will have a certificate that shows you have a solid understanding of the foundations of marketing a business online. Even if you are not pursuing Digital Marketing: everything is business, and everything is online. Having that core knowledge is valuable to any employer. 

A more in-depth recommendation for digital marketers like myself: Google Analytics Academy. This Google course runs through implementing and understanding Google's Analytics tools. Every business online needs to know the steps their customers are taking on their site and where they are losing engagement. This course is so easy to follow and gives you another valuable skill to have in your kit.

Stay Active and Continue Reaching out

The key component of any plan is persistence. Make sure you are consistently dedicating time to learning that new skill so that you can make the most of it. Professional Development is a time commitment, so what actions can you take in the meantime while you are expanding your professional toolkit? The same networking advice as usual applies. Keep in touch with other professionals and keep those in your network up to date on the active projects you have! LinkedIn is an amazing place to post updates on your professional development, and even get in touch with others in similar circumstances. Be as visible as you can online to increase your presence. The more outreach you have, the more likely you are to find and connect with other professionals. Some of the most valuable experiences in life come from the people we meet, and genuine connections can land genuine jobs.

I would love to hear from you. What has this year thrown your way so far? And most importantly, what were the kinds of changes you made to adapt? Staying agile in adversity is a huge strength, and hearing testimonials from our peers is a resource for us to learn.