Summer necessities: a cold slushy, a fresh pair of Air Force ones, and a plan for how to take the next step on your path to accounting. The school year can definitely be overwhelming. Between taking classes, having a social life, and trying to maintain your binge-watching schedule, it’s… a lot. Our advice: use this time off as a way to accomplish some goals that you can knock off your fall semester to-do list. Let us walk you through some things you could be doing this summer to get ahead of the curve.
Looking to get a leg up on internships? You have the best chances of getting recruited for internships when you apply in the fall. Use the summer to do your prep work, so when fall applications open up (we got the scoop on that too), you’re not rushing to manage this on top of assignments. Take one hour a day or one day a week to focus solely on getting your resume and cover letter in tip top shape. You’ll thank yourself when you start your classes in the fall and still have time to enjoy the new The Bear season.
Summer is also a great time to explore mentorship programs. A quick Google search will direct you to both in-person opportunities located in your city and nationwide programs that operate virtually. While you might not find a ton of mentoring programs specifically for accounting students, participating in a general one will still help you greatly on your journey towards becoming an accountant. Plus, in your application, you can highlight your career interests and the program might work to match you with a mentor who’s in accounting or working in an adjacent field like entrepreneurship or business. Regardless of their industry, mentors can provide career planning advice and support that you can apply to your future in accounting.
Take this free time to upskill yourself and become more marketable. See if there are any free or low cost online accounting courses. You can even check out courses that are not accounting specific, but will help you strengthen your problem solving, communication, or analysis skills – aka your accounting essentials.
Feeling instead like you just want to enjoy the A/C on blast, be a couch potato, and catch up on The Shade Room tea? Here’s how to still be productive even when scrolling on social media. Since you’ve already created a LinkedIn profile (cough cough), take the time to start engaging in discussions — look into professional accounting groups, drop article links with your insights, and read up on new trends in the accounting world. While you’re on LinkedIn, you might as well look for any companies you’re interested in interning with and see what connections you have, so you can start setting up those always helpful, informational interviews.
Not quite thinking about internships yet? There’s still a lot you can do to take advantage of your free time. If you’re getting ready to start your college search, research the major “feeder” schools for accounting firms. Feeder schools are essentially institutions that — through faculty and administrative relationships — easily transition students to be professionals at major companies and firms. Keep in mind that choosing not to go to a feeder school doesn’t negatively impact your success whatsoever. This is just a good opportunity to see if some of the colleges you’re interested in are feeder schools, which might add a “+1” to the pro column of your pro/con lists.
While we want you to continue getting your summer on, make a little room to get your grind on too. For your own good, don’t leave this summer without taking a couple more steps towards being a real-life accountant. You’re on Accounting+, so you’ve already taken one giant step. What’s another one or two? Keep going!
