As summer approaches, internship season is coming to a close. While you may not have gotten that dream position you were hoping for, it doesn’t mean that you have to waste the next three months! Get off the couch, put the Ben and Jerry’s back in the freezer for your next breakup and get motivated. There are so many other ways that you can build your resume over the next 12 weeks that don’t involve an internship. So listen up as we at the Clog tell you how to keep yourself pristine for employers.

Volunteer

This may seem like the obvious choice, but how many people actually do it? Volunteering for an entire summer is a fabulous boost to your resume. The key is to be consistent with it. Don’t just volunteer for just a day or two a month. You won’t get much out of that. Instead, commit yourself to going a few times a week. By doing this, employers will see that you’re dedicated and a good-hearted community member. Plus, there are a plethora of projects you can help out with. This way, you can gear your volunteering toward your field. Plus, by the end of the summer, you’ll be left feeling more fulfilled than if you had just finished an internship.

Build your portfolio

This takes quite a bit of dedication, but will pay off in the long run. Most students who take on summer internships hope to build up their repertoire to show off. This is something that you can do yourself over the summer as well! You can do this by starting your own blog, documenting your thoughts on subjects of interest (science, history or politics — really anything works here). Alternatively, you can build your own website, or advertise your skills to local businesses in your hometown. Just think about what you wanted to accomplish at an internship and try to develop a plan of how you can cultivate that independently.

Stock up on your knowledge

While you just finished classes, there may be some subtopics within your classes that peaked your interest. This is the perfect time to nurture your curiosity and delve deeper into some specific areas of study. This doesn’t even require signing up for summer classes. With today’s technology, we have access to a diverse array of sources to develop our education. All it takes is a simple search on Google. With this, you can continue your studies on a topic, pick up a new skill or learn a language!

Take a break

This isn’t really a resume builder, but does our youth have to be about building resumes and working? Having a summer break is only a concept when you’re in school, so why waste it on working (Something you’ll be doing for the remainder of your adult life. Til death do you part.)? Take a break for Pete’s sake! You deserve it, seeing how you clawed your way through another year at UC Berkeley and emerged alive. There will be plenty of time for resume building in the future.

Good luck this summer and, remember, internships and resumes aren’t everything! Now grab your surfboard and hit the beach with Oski.