12 Things To Do Over Winter Break

It’s winter break. You’ve slept, you’ve binge-watched, and you’ve eaten all the snacks your family keeps well stocked at home. You’re bored. You start looking at your calendar, wondering how you still have three more weeks of this.

When this moment hits, here’s a list of 12 things to do over winter break to continue your personal and career development. These recommendations, straight from the Career Fellows and Career Center Staff, include resources we love and want to pass along to you. Winter break affords you the freedom to slow down, re-set, reflect, change your mindset, and expand past your typical semester “to-do” list. So chose one, some, or all of these items to help you recharge this winter.

1. Get acquainted with emotional intelligence

The Oji Life Lab put together this Corona Care Toolkit to help you care for your exhaustion, anxiety, uncertainly and anything else you’ve felt this year. There’s a free ebook that I found helpful this past summer, and free access to webinars like Emotions of Racism, and Emotions and Relationships.

Feeling overwhelmed by the idea of what to do next when the entire world changes? If you’re like me, you call this an “existential crisis” but I’ve got your back with this video on Generative Reframing. Part of a larger series on Designing your Covid Life, the authors teach us how to approach a new normal when we’ve been feeling stuck.

2. Follow our Instagram account (@tuftscareercenter)

You can check out our posts, such as “Job and Internship Search How To” and “How to Start Building Your LinkedIn Profile.” We also have a saved highlight of tips we’ve given throughout the semester. You’ll see some tips organized by class year as well as ones that apply to all!

3. Make a new connection

Winter Break is a great time to find an alumni with whom you share professional interest and connect for conversation and advice. Learn how to use The Herd and LinkedIn to make the most of virtual networking.

4. Catch up on Industry Trends

Hear it straight from employers, alumni, and professional recruiters via this Career Center YouTube Series.

5. Browse new Career Communities

This fall the Career Center introduced Career Communities as a way to organize various expertise and resources for the world of work. Browse through the resources, jobs, and alumni mentors that align with your interests

6. Watch Career TikTok

Throw some career content into your scrolling mix by following Won’s Consulting on TikTok for some great tips on networking and getting hired.

7. Watch a TedTalk

We all love a good TedTalk, ones that leave us inspired and motivated for more. Here are a few of our favorites:

8. Crack open a book

Now’s the time to finally take a break from your academic reads and get into a book (or two!) for fun. Here’s a few that we’re reading over break:

Long Life Learning: Preparing for Jobs that Don’t Even Exist Yet by Michelle Weise
Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla Saad
You Majored in What? Designing your Path from College to Career by Katherine Brooks
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Amelia Nagoski and Emily Nagoski
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

9. Have a virtual work experience

Forage’s Virtual Work Experience Programs give you the opportunity to learn from top companies. In self-paced virtual programs, you’ll learn the skills companies look for in new hires BEFORE they hire you. You’ll complete tasks that mirror real life, watch video instructions from actual employees, and compare your work to model examples.

10. Listen to a podcast episode (or two!)

Here’s a few of our favorites on a variety of topics:

Unlocking Us : Some of our fave episodes include “Permission to Feel,” “Loneliness and Connection“, and “Burnout and How to Complete the Stress Cycle”
Dare to Lead: On this podcast, Brene Brown talks to the change-makers, culture-shifters, and troublemakers of the world today. A few notheworth episodes include Jon Meacham on the Soul of America, Aiko Bethea on Inclusivity at Work, and Eric Mosely on Making Work Human
Radio Headspace: 5 minute episodes released every weekday about a different topic and how it relates to mindfulness
What the Health?: Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for Kaiser Health News along with top health policy reporters discuss the latest news about health in Washington DC
How I Built This: Host Guy Raz speaks with innovators, entrepreneurs, and idealists behind some of the best known companies and movements
Going Through It: Listen as 14 talented women tell the story about pivotal moments in their lives when they had to decide whether to quit or keep going

11. Brush up on financial literacy

One of our favorite and most popular #Adulting topics. Your future self will thank you for the effort you put in now. Here’s a guide for getting started.

12. Start developing a practice of mindfulness

We’ve all picked up a few habits after nearly a year in quarantine. For me, it’s mindfulness. I’ve noticed the positive impact in my life that’s come from practicing mindfulness, largely, in bettering the relationship I have with my thoughts. Forbes even reported on how mindfulness can help you launch your career. Personally, I use an app called Headspace, and there’s even a student discount!