If a college student is unable to get an internship for the summer, what else?

[Anonymous]

Student is currently a sophmore. He should be hearing back from some of the internships he applied for soon, but if he is unable to get one--what is the next best thing to do?

Summer classes?
Summer job (even in an unrelated field--like at an ice cream shop/water park/etc.?)
Volunteer?

[Anonymous]

Summer job but have him keep trying by reaching out to alums on Linkedin and direct contacts. Ask profs for help. Don't give up.

[Anonymous]

research lab on campus? even unpaid one is better than doing nothing.

[Anonymous]

Summer job is fine. My DC got more true experience from a couple of regular summer jobs than internships. The better internships seem to be after junior year and those were useful for my DCs. P

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:research lab on campus? even unpaid one is better than doing nothing.

+1. Get in major experience that he or she can talk about at an interview. Work a part time job at night (waiter / waitress) to cover expenses.

[Anonymous]

Summer job, absolutely. Work at a summer camp if he likes kids. Work with a temp agency if he wants to be in an office. Etc. In general, the actual work experience in these types of jobs will be way more valuable than a summer internship.

[Anonymous]

A few choices:

Summer job where he can gain transferrable skills

Study abroad

Volunteer with an organization where he can gain skills through his responsibilities

[Anonymous]

Summer jobs, even in retail, camp, etc. have the potential for the following transferrable skills:

Multi-tasking
Customer relations, which translates to client skills
Responsibility
Reliability
Accountability

[Anonymous]

Getting really, really good at Tour of Duty.

[Anonymous]

Summer job definitely.

Depending on his major and interests, try to steer towards something in that direction.

Or a combination of 2 or 3 of your options. He could take a night class, work a day job and do some volunteer work over a few weekends.

Just don't have him sit around and do nothing.

[Anonymous]

I never had an internship. I worked every summer from after 9th grade on. Tell him to get ajob.

[Anonymous]

I worked at Walmart one summer. Work is work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never had an internship. I worked every summer from after 9th grade on. Tell him to get ajob.

How old are you? What field? Most employers now looks for in field experience.

[Anonymous]

Construction job. Good honest work.

[Anonymous]

Summer job.
It will probably help.him get an internship if he has at least some work experience anywhere.