Summer Term is about more than just checking off requirements; it’s a season of possibility and personal growth. As you settle into your summer routine, you may find yourself with a little time and mental space to plan for what comes after your degree. Whether you’re looking to polish your resume, develop transferable skills or investigate potential job paths, summer can be a good time to build professional momentum without the busy pace of the fall or spring semester.

The best part? You don’t have to navigate these questions on your own. UW–Madison career centers remain fully staffed throughout the summer, offering career counseling, workshops and digital tools both on campus and online, ensuring support is available wherever your summer takes you.

Here are five ways career advisors suggest you can spend some summer hours contemplating your career — and taking meaningful steps toward your goals.

1. Peruse online tools

Make your first online stop at UW–Madison’s Career Services site. Here you’ll find information on your school or college’s career office as well as career events and the valuable Career Exploration Center (CEC), where you can learn how to use a variety of career tools to explore your interests.

“Online career tools can be useful for students who are trying to learn about all the possible options that are out there,” says Michelle Jackson, director of the CEC. “Of course, no singular tool is going to tell you exactly what you should do after college, but they can offer new ideas and new ways to think about options.”

At the CEC site, you can also learn about ways to gain experience on and off campus to discover more about careers and yourself. This could include volunteering, finding job and internship opportunities, joining a student organization or participating in undergraduate research.

In addition, each school or college career services office will have different resources; for example, the School of Human Ecology offers career guides tailored to its undergraduate students.

Of course, LinkedIn is the mother of all online tools. With LinkedIn Learning – a free resource for all students – you can watch videos or take short courses about optimizing your profile. Follow your school or college’s LinkedIn page as well.

Don’t forget, Handshake is more than a job board where employers go to recruit. You can also find internships, career events and connect with alumni or get personalized job recommendations based on your major, interests and more.

Finally, the Department of Labor has some useful online tools. O*NET OnLine offers a large repository of occupational data including skills, competencies and job requirements. You can even take a skills or values inventory. Career One Stop allows you to explore different types of careers and find out what’s in demand.