So you’ve finished your exams. What a relief! All those months of work and the recent weeks of last-minute study to make sure your brain was as crammed full of information as possible. Not to mention the sweat-inducing stress of sitting scribbling in exam rooms day after day.

It’s now over and, if you’re an overseas student, you can journey home to see friends and family. Perhaps you’ll go to a festival or two and generally relax and forget about study. But the summer holiday is about six weeks long; could there be something productive you could do with your time?

Unless you are certain your exam marks are going to be top-notch and you already have the next stage of your life planned out, there are loads of practical things you can do over the summer to set you on your way to the career and lifestyle of your dreams.

This may feel like the last thing you want to think about just as you finish your exams, but the work needn’t be too arduous. Even if you don’t need the money, this is a chance to get some valuable experience that you can draw upon in future academic and job interviews. Consider interning at a company that you admire or that is in your field of study.

Investigate the opportunities within the voluntary sector. If you’re the entrepreneurial kind, look for an organisation like the Young Enterprise Scheme. They have a range of programmes to cover all age groups for young people (under the age of 25) and are designed to improve key skills that future employers are seeking such as communication, problem-solving, teamwork and financial capability.
If you’re returning home after study in the UK, does your home country has something similar? Of course, you don’t have to sign up to a scheme to start your own business! Work with a friend or seek out a mentor and see if you can make your business idea profitable within the six week window.

Being able to explain to interviewers that you have hobbies you are passionate about is helpful. It shows personality and a roundness of character. However, if you can show that you took up a new sport, learned the basics of new language or have begun to master a new instrument over the summer holidays, this speaks volumes about your ability to take the initiative and set yourself goals.

If you already have hobbies, think about what new targets you could set yourself. If you play a musical instrument, could you pass the next grade by the end of the summer? If you’re an artist, perhaps you could try to sell some of your art in local cafés, enter a competition or start your own Instagram account showcasing your work. The aim here is not to bog yourself down with more exams and study, but instead to use the time you have to focus on activities you enjoy and demonstrate a level of achievement that you will be able to benefit from in the future.