Hand in hand between project manager and an intern about to take an engineering internship

Finally finishing university after all the years worth of hard work is a very exciting time, you are hopefully going to make it to the next stage in your life. Also, for many people, this will be the first time (since you were a baby), that you aren’t a student! This change is a big one, and it brings many challenges with it, but it is also going to be fun, if you have planned it properly.

There are a few things that you should organise before you finish university, so you can fully prepare yourself for the new stage in your life. You will have a bit more work to do if you are living on campus in university accommodation, as you will probably want to move out into another place.

With so much going on, it can be difficult to remember all the things you need to do. So, have a read on below at all the important things you need to do before you finish university:

Sell Your Textbooks

You may have accumulated textbooks over the course of your entire university degree, or you could have sold them each year as you made your way through. Either way, you are going to have textbooks at least from your final year or semester lying around, so it is good to sell them and get some extra cash.

You probably know just how expensive textbooks are, and so many people buy their textbooks secondhand these days, so it shouldn’t be that hard to sell them. The only issue you may have is that if your edition of the textbook is an older one, or you have made a lot of markings in the textbooks.

Apply For Internships

This is usually done in your final year of university, and no matter what industry you are in, it is important to apply for as many as you can. There are a lot of internships available in every industry, from marketing internships or engineering internships; you’ll find something that suits you.

Internships are a good way to get your foot in the door and set yourself apart from the rest of the recent graduates in your degree that will probably all be applying for the same jobs. Internships also bring the opportunity for future employment after the internship has ended, if you impress people enough.

Get Careers Advice

Each university will offer careers advice, and it is free, so it is important that you take advantage of this while you still can. This free careers advice is especially important for people who aren’t exactly sure what they want to do. A careers councilor can provide valuable advice and provide you with a number of different options that you could explore.

They can also provide other services, like reviewing your resume and providing assistance on what to do when you land an interview. All these things are very valuable as if you are going to try to find a job straight out of university, there will be a lot of people fighting for the same job, so you want to ensure everything is looking as professional as possible.

Plan Your Graduation

This is a celebration of your achievements, and should be celebrated properly! You will need to think, first of all, if you are going to attend your own graduation, or if you are too busy doing other amazing things.

If you are going to attend your graduation, then you need to think of who else you want come to the ceremony with you, family and friends. After that, it is always a good idea to have a party or go out for dinner to celebrate your achievements with family and friends.

Business marketing team collaborate in an office

Team building events are nothing new in the corporate world, and yet, having a robust squad of workers who cover each other and work in tandem can be an increasingly demanding task. Not enough can be said for the utility of having everyone in the office on the same side and working towards the same goal, but alas, this does not happen overnight or without their own sets of challenges. This is where the utility of team building events comes into play, there is a wide variety of wholesome and surprisingly effective means of cultivating the squad you’ve always wanted to see in your workplace.

One of the inherent dangers of team building events is the lack of excitement and entertainment value that are often associated with meeker versions of the concept. These 5 ideas will boost your team in ways you never thought possible and to great efficacy, without further ado, here are the 5 reliably entertaining and effective team building events you can consider.

1.   Office Trivia

The advent of game shows and questionnaires in recent memory, it stands to reason that having a group-based trivia competition in the office environment would adequately bring a group together. These team building events have the capacity to inform and educate, as well as entertain your employees while providing a healthy dose of competition to boot. Incentivised prizes are also recommended to up the stakes and increase player participation so that even the grouchiest employees will have inspiration to participate.

2.   Escape Rooms

One of the more modern examples of team building events, the escape room has become a very well-utilised tactic by employers to give their workers a sense of working together to escape a locked room. With creative problem solving being a staple in modern corporate culture, this fun and innovative activity will invariably increase productivity as well as the ability to work together in tandem for a common goal.

3.   Board Games Ahoy!

Group of employees playing board games during team building events

There is no shortage of board games to illicit a more group dynamic, especially for the quieter parts of the office who may not consider an escape room to be a fun activity. Incorporating board games into team building events can serve the more introverted and include everyone in the office. Card games are especially useful in bringing out the personalities of different employees and allow them to befriend and develop a working relationship that will certainly pay off in the long term.

4.   Potluck

A double-edged sword with these team building events, the potluck can have its disadvantages with many new dietary requirements skewering through society. However, it is a great opportunity for workers to bring in a taste of their home to share with the office. This works for a more diversified environment as well as a chance to learn of employees from different cultural backgrounds and the various foods that are considered a typical meal.

5.   Amazing Races/Scavenger Hunts

These have become meteorically popular as team building events in recent years. Thanks to television shows showing the various iterations of challenges that befall contestants, there are various companies who host team building events that have an amazing race as a particular activity on offer. These upgraded scavenger hunts bring a group together like nothing else and have the added caveat of being customisable for more mundane or extreme activities based on the employees participating.

Try any of the above team building events and you’ll begin to see the wheels turning in a more uniform manner, you’ll have the squad that works together and laughs together.