I’ve been thinking a lot about graduating seniors. Maybe it’s my love of economics or even my desire to mentor others, but I’ve been working with a lot of college students to find internships/jobs at my company. I’ve reviewed a bunch of résumés, and I’ve recommended plenty of candidates through my company’s referral portal.

I don’t remember where I read it, but years ago, I heard that there was an influx of master’s degrees as the 2008 financial crisis prompted people to stay at or return to school in lieu of finding jobs that weren’t available. This COVID-19 situation could be eerily similar.

One suggestion I had for those I’ve been talking to is for a summer project. If you’re going home for the summer to stay with your parents rent-free, then you’ve already got a leg up. The idea is to work backward from the job you want. I wanted to work for a company like SpaceX or Blue Origin on the cutting edge of rocketry. I went to a small state school that didn’t have an aerospace program, so working backward from my dream job, I decided to design a high-powered rocket for senior design to put me on the map. If my degree or internships wouldn’t catch their eye, my design project would have to be grand enough to do so.

So, those college students that can’t find an internship, I would suggest the following:

1. Identify your dream job
2. Backwards-plan how to get there, identifying the skills that would be necessary to get hired
3. Identify a project that interests you, builds the required skills for the job that you want, and that you can (and will) knock out over the summer

For example, if I wanted to build rockets in the aerospace industry, I might pinpoint the following skills and translate them into actions for a project:

• Design for assembly/ design for manufacturing ➔ Build a CAD model and 3D-print it using your university’s lab. Share your CAD files on Thingiverse or GrabCAD
• Attention to detail; technical writing ➔ Document everything. It will not only help you develop the ability to communicate more precisely (email chains are an unfortunate workplace reality), but you will also be able to extrapolate lessons learned from the data you track. Should you do this project within the framework of a senior design course or a university club, you now also have some documentation to pass onto those who come after you. My team’s legwork paved the way for a successful team the next year. As an added bonus, you now have a deliverable to share with potential employers at career fairs or during the interview process.
• Coding in C# ➔ Code an Arduino to track the altitude, speed, and acceleration of your rocket and then post-process that information to provide location and trajectory data.
• Material/structural testing ➔ 3D-print several designs and construct a test for your component/assembly and/or use SolidWorks simulations to prove your designs.
• Planning ➔ Use Microsoft Project or Excel to develop a Gantt chart, updating regularly with projected vs. actual work. This not only demonstrates some of the business skills a company is looking for, but it also helps you determine how you work on tasks and better project the time it will take you to complete them.
• Interpersonal relationships and accountability to your work ➔ Establish a mentor-mentee relationship with a professor, family friend, etc. and report weekly on your accomplishments. If the individual has a technical background, he/she may be able to provide you some feedback to steer your design. If your mentor lacks a technical background, this will further refine your ability to communicate technical information to a layperson.

Take your career into your own hands. These are uncertain times for sure, but there are still plenty of things you can be doing to ensure your success.

Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.

~James Clear