Question:

I couldn't find a summer job in my field and had to take a boring job because I need the money. I'm worried it's going to look awful on my résumé. How can I make the most of it so my summer isn't wasted?

Answer:

While it is good news that you were at least able to find something that will help pay the bills, it sounds like you are worried that now you'll be saddled with a summer job that will not add any interest or value to your résumé.

Thinking ahead to how this job will look on your résumé may be causing you some worry now, but it could prove to be just the thing to motivate you to try on some strategies for making lemonade out of your summer job lemon.

If the job you are in is the best you can find, here are some things you can still try in order to make your time there more worthwhile.

Take on more responsibility

When you start your job, it may not be very exciting or offer a lot in terms of skill-building. But after you have proven that you can do your job competently, there may be opportunities for you to influence what else you get a chance to do.

Are there ways in which you could take on more responsibility? Might you speak with your supervisor about how you could contribute more? For example, could you help train new or more junior staff? Could you become accountable for any extra processes, perhaps related to record keeping, money or other responsibilities?

Sometimes just saying, "I would love to make a greater contribution here, is there anything else I could take on?" will allow your supervisor to find more tasks for you. Once your supervisor has seen that you can handle your job, he or she might be open to (and grateful for) you taking on added responsibility.

Suggest improvements

In almost every workplace there are things that can be done better. Have you noticed something that you think you can improve? If you have ideas, think about how to present them in a way that is not critical, but helpful, so  your employer can see that you are not complaining but are interested in making a meaningful contribution.

If you are able to make improvements, this will provide great material for your résumé, as future employers will be impressed to see that, even in a routine job, you were able to make informed suggestions that helped the organization improve.

Propose new projects

If you find you can get your job duties done with time to spare, what about proposing a new project for you to take on?  If there are specific skills you would like to develop, skills that will be of value in your chosen field, is there a way you could propose a project that will allow you to use them?

I once supervised a student who worked in a receptionist role. She wanted to get into communications and proposed to me that she take on some writing projects. She had already proven that she could get her core reception responsibilities done with time to spare, so I was happy to say yes. She did a great job of the extra projects and included them on her future résumés.

Even with a not-so-stellar sounding job, there are ways to get more out of the experience, both for making your summer more stimulating, and for adding more value to your future résumés.

Best wishes as you work to make the most of your summer job.

Sometimes it's just not the best idea to finish your undergraduate degree in four years. You might need more time.

Whether it's because you want to take an extra credential or major, do a co-op or work placement, travel or study abroad, or you just need to slow down the pace, extending the length of your degree is a serious but viable option.

It can even make your degree stronger if you plan it effectively and use the opportunity to your advantage.

Here are four reasons you might want to extend your degree, and how you can use them to position yourself better after that degree is done.

Extra major

Completing a double major or adding a credential to your degree can make you more appealing on the job market. If you like languages, you may be able to combine it with business studies for a degree tailored to international business. If you like music, history or sociology, combining these with an education degree opens doors to be a music or social studies teacher.

Double majors and extra credentials show employers and grad schools that you are driven and motivated. And pragmatic combinations position you well for competitive fields.

Co-ops, internships and volunteering

Many of us finish our degrees with the classic problem: lots of education but no experience. But how do you get experience in the first place? You get it during your education as a part of your degree!

Co-ops, internships and volunteering are becoming an increasingly valuable addition to many undergraduate degrees. Some offer you the opportunity to earn while you learn, but each helps build contacts and network in your chosen career. Or you can just use them to give a career option you may be interested in a trial run.

If you choose this path, by the time you finish, you'll already have practical skills, a stronger résumé and important references.

Travel

Taking time to travel is one of the most valuable experiences in life. Extensive experiences abroad show employers you are adaptable, proactive and confident. But travel is often expensive and time consuming.

Study abroad programs and international internships offer another chance to live in another country, experience another culture, and gain a sensitivity to international issues and global concerns. They may last the summer, a semester or an entire year abroad. Some even allow you to count courses toward your degree.

But if you continue to take courses while living abroad, they may not all transfer back to your home institution. Always plan foreign study with an academic advisor.

Personal reasons

The transition to university can be a difficult one, especially for students studying in a new city or province. And the pace of courses in your program might be more than you expected. It's OK to slow down. Many of us also have to earn an income while going to school. Undertaking a full course load at the same time might seem like a necessity in order to finish, but it could do real harm if your grades suffer, or if you fail classes. Repeating them only takes more time and money.

Be sure to look into summer courses, which you may be able to use as prerequisites for other classes, or as required elements for your degree.

It is important to plan ahead, since extending your degree can be costly and confusing. Some programs require that students follow a set plan, and many courses have prerequisites that aren't offered every semester. Make sure to weigh the benefits and consequences of remaining longer at university.

Will you be able to pay for that extra year or semester? Do you want added student loans? Sometimes the answer is yes, but before making any decision, discuss your goals and options with a counsellor or your department adviser.

It wasn't long ago that job searching meant circling interesting opportunities in the Sunday newspaper or dropping off a résumé by hand to a receptionist.

Now, with social networking evolving so rapidly, even traditional online job boards are struggling to keep up with the fast-changing way employees are hired. Candidates are no longer the only ones actively searching for jobs - employers are now hunting on the Internet to find top talent as well.

When I first started job hunting in 2008, my digital footprint didn't extend much past my private Facebook account. I was being rejected by even low-profile companies.

Personal branding myself online helped change the direction of my job hunt

Since December, I haven't applied for a single job. In fact, I've neither read any job advertisements nor shown much interest in searching for a job. But I have attended a few interviews with high-profile companies, I've picked up a few contracts, I've been offered a few consulting positions and I recently accepted a full-time role with an international advertising agency.

So how exactly did I manage this? And how can you do the same? Well, the answer is relatively simple and doesn't really involve much "luck" either - just a bit of personal branding and online foot printing.

Think of yourself as a brand and define your niche

Rather than focusing on what you want to do, focus on what you already do or have done that is relevant to your "dream job."

For example, companies contacted me not because I wanted to work in the digital space, but rather because I had social media skills. Defining what you do will help employers determine whether or not you have the skills they are looking for. Also remember to be clear and concise with your personal brand messaging-it should be apparent at first glance what it is that you do.

Treat yourself like a marketing campaign

I'm not suggesting that you put banner ads all over the Web to promote yourself, but I do recommend using social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to showcase your professional skills. Think about where your target industry hangs out and make sure you are present there as well.

I have to admit, I haven't personally been approached via Facebook, but I know it has worked for others. I can personally vouch for LinkedIn and Twitter being goldmines when it comes to attracting attention from companies. In fact, the job I recently accepted started on Twitter when I was contacted by one of my followers.

Complete your profiles and keep consistency between them

Without overloading your profiles with details of everything you have ever done, profiles should give more information than just the bare minimum.

Complete profiles will not only give employers more insight into your skill set than just a name or title, but they will also help you show up more frequently in search results. Consistencies between profiles will also help employers find you.

One company that contacted me told me they called because every time they did a search a different profile of mine showed up in the results.

Be searchable by trade

I'm going to take an educated and non-conceited guess that when the companies who contacted me did their searches, they weren't searching me by name but rather specific keywords.

Do your homework in your industry and know what all the keywords that surround your dream job are. Once you have determined which industry-specific keywords are used, scatter them around all of your profiles. Don't change your title to something like Digital and Social Media Marketing Web 2.0 Internet Networker and Consultant if you're aiming for a job in the digital space, but I recommend using the words interchangeably (within common-use boundaries) for the sake of upping your chances of showing up in search results more frequently.

Don't run off and start creating or strengthening your online profiles yet, however.

There are two things to you should know:

1. It's important to remember that, although fancy images, a bit of clever branding and search engine optimization (SEO) work will almost certainly help employers navigate their way directly to your profiles, you should always be honest about your skills and experience. With so much information available on the Web, any lies or fabricated truths will be exposed almost immediately.
2. As I mentioned before, I wasn't necessarily looking for a job when companies started contacting me - but this doesn't mean I would recommend setting up your profiles and leaving them to work for you. If you are actively searching for employment, then your digital footprint should compliment your job hunt rather than replace it.

With the way we use the Web changing daily, there is no better time to get online and start building your personal brand. With millions of users performing searches and interacting every second, you never know what opportunities could be waiting to find you.

For the past eight months, I have been volunteering at the Wilfrid Laurier University career centre as a student career leader.

A career centre is a great place to visit throughout your university or college career, and it was an especially great place for me to spend time in during my final year of university.

Here are some important things that I learned.

It's never too early or too late to start building your experiences

Listing your reign as high-school prom queen as an extra-curricular experience on your résumé isn't going to catch a recruiter's attention.

While volunteering as a student career leader, I had the opportunity to critique résumés of students. I saw some amazing experiences listed on résumés and some not-so-amazing experiences (yes, high school prom queen was one of them).

The best résumés were filled with work and volunteer experiences gained through opportunities available at university.  The worst lacked any meaningful experiences, whether they were volunteer or work related.

University or college is the best place to cultivate your interests and to find new ones.

Get involved anywhere you can in any way you can, and do it now!

Career consciousness

When I tell someone that I'm majoring in English, the typical response is, "So you are going to be a teacher?"  I'm not going to be a teacher and I cringe when I think about the limited career options some students think they have.

Being career conscious doesn't mean you need to have your every career move planned out. It just means you are aware of the career options available to you.

Turn your interest into a career

Amongst the résumé critiques I did as a student career leader, one student in particular stood out.  This person was passionate about politics and this passion translated to the résumé. The student had sought out amazing experiences in order to foster interests, in turn making an awesome résumé.  I could tell that this person loved and was dedicated to this passion, which is something you can't fake in an interview.