Welcome back to Moving from College to Career! We share practical guidance you can actually use as you explore careers and prepare for recruiting.
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Today's Tactics: How to Use the Holidays to Get Ahead (Without Making It a Job)
The holidays are for resting. Take the downtime, reset your mind, and enjoy a slower pace for a few weeks.
But the break also gives you something you rarely get during the semester: breathing room. With a little intention, that breathing room can set you up for future recruiting success, whenever that season arrives for you.
Here are some low-effort strategies to squeeze a little bit of professional value out of the holidays.
Connect with the people around you
During our Resume, Cover Letter, and LinkedIn Workshop this fall, Angie Bergner, COO at Veris Insights, shared a simple habit worth adopting.
When you meet someone interesting, connect with them on LinkedIn right away and include a short personal note.
This applies anywhere:
- A family friend who works in a field you are curious about
- Someone at a holiday gathering who mentions an interesting role
- A person you talk to while traveling
Small conversations become meaningful connections when you follow up. The holidays are full of moments that make this easy.
Ask intentional questions
Winter break may be one of the few times you are surrounded by people with very different careers and experiences.
Ask someone you trust: âCan I ask you about your job for ten minutes? What do you actually do day to day? What surprised you when you started?â
You will get insight you will not find online and you may uncover paths you did not know existed.
Create space to think
The quieter weeks of break are ideal for reflection.
Take an hour to read something you do not normally have time for. This could be an industry deep dive, a profile of someone whose career interests you, or a newsletter you have saved.
Then jot down a few things:
- What topics pull you in
- What roles or fields keep resurfacing
- What sparks real curiosity
These notes become raw material for clearer decisions later in the year.
All of this is not about turning break into a productivity sprint. It is about using the natural pause to take a few low-effort, high-impact steps.
Rest. Reset. Enjoy the time off. And in the quieter moments, plant a few seeds through small conversations, thoughtful connections, and simple reflections that help you move forward with more confidence when it is time to take your next career step.
Speaker Spotlight: Boiling It Down to Three Things
When Banks Baker presented to Introships participants, he shared three simple habits that he believes can change the entire trajectory of a career. None require special talent or years of experience, which is exactly why they matter.
- Do things accurately.
- Do things on time.
- Do a little more than expected.
Banks reminded students that if you consistently practice these habits, you will outpace most people over the course of your career.
Alumni Spotlight: Moving from Career Confusion to Career Clarity
At the end of freshman year, Charlie Plate (UNC Chapel Hill â28) knew he wanted to study business but had no idea what that actually meant for his career. Strategy? Finance? Operations? Something else entirely?
Through Introships' 2025 Career Discovery Program, he turned that uncertainty into clarity. He explored the full landscape of business roles, ruled out paths that didnât fit, and realized he was most energized by strategy consulting.
Since then, Charlie has already secured multiple interviews by applying what he learned about networking, communication, and telling his story with confidence. He walks into every conversation prepared, polished, and clear on why consulting is the right next step for him.
We hope this was useful. Feel free to reply with any questions or feedback. And stay tuned for more from the Introships team here and on LinkedIn / Instagram!
Joe Fiveash & Sean Wetmore
