With the coming blizzard it might seem nutty to think about summer, but in today’s world, college students looking for meaningful summer employment really don’t have a choice.

Here are a couple of tips:

1. Think hard about what you enjoy.  This could range from classes you’ve found stimulating to clubs you like to particular aspects of other jobs you’ve held.  Write these things down.
2. Create a list of all the adults you know who have even the slightest connection to the field you’ve identified in point one.  All of them: your parents’ friends, your friends parents, your relatives, your professors, your former bosses, etc.
3. Email these people. Explain what you’re doing and what you’re asking them for.  Put out a specific time when you are available to talk, as people respond better to this than a general, “do you have time?”
4. Converse. Ask how these people got where they are. Ask what they’d advise someone your age to do.  Ask if they know people who can help you, or even who can hire you.  Be interesting, and interested.
5. Wash, rinse, repeat.