If you are looking to take one or more gap years before pursuing further education or another career, read ahead for some tips to aid in your search!
1. Get inspiration/Consult Others
If you’re unsure of what to search for, you can get some ideas through several sources.
- Stop by the Career Exploration Center in MVR 1203 to talk through your skills, values, and interests and what positions would interest you the most.
- Check out our Gap Year Opportunities Guide
- Check out the Postgraduate Survey Dashboard to see what companies or fields that others in your major have gone into.
- Consult alumni on CUeLinks to see what they personally did for their gap year(s) and what they may recommend for you
2. Narrow Your Job Search for the Best Matches
Select a few criteria that you value the most to narrow your search options. These may include factors such as…
- Location (Does it matter if you live in a suburban, urban, rural area? Do you have a specific city/area in mind?)
- E.g. “a major city, like New York”
- E.g. “a small town, like Ithaca”
- Job Field (Do you have a specific field of interest that you want to work in? A certain population?)
- E.g. “healthcare-related job working with young people”
- E.g. “law-related job working with education law”
- Skills (Do you have a certain skill set that you hold and would like to do?)
- E.g. “Research or Hands-on Clinical experience”
- E.g. “Grant-Writing”
- Using these criteria, search for a job title that matches these descriptions.
- Then, you can put it all together in job search engines such as…
- Handshake
- Glassdoor
- Google Job Search
3. Reach out to existing connections
Have you worked with a company or organization before and would like to work with them again? You can reach out to a supervisor or advisor and ask if they have any opportunities open for full-time work, or if they know anyone in the same field who is looking to hire someone full-time.
4. Keep in touch with your contacts/writers for your letter of recommendations
If you are planning to apply to a graduate school or another job after your gap year(s), and need letters of recommendations, ask your contacts ahead of time and let them know your timeline.
- If you are pre-health and are planning to use the HCEC services, the letters will be sent to the HCEC. Check out the HCEC timeline for more information.
- If you are going into any other field, you can use Interfolio to store your letter of recommendations until you need them. (NOTE: this option costs money. Speak to your advisor about storing letters of recommendation as needed)
5. Stay informed throughout all parts of your search
No matter what part of the job search process you are on, Cornell Career Services has a Career Toolkit that guides you through each step, from the job search, interviewing, accepting offers, and more!