COVID-19 has clearly impacted our world in a variety of ways, including the cancellation of many students’ internships. If your internship was discontinued due to the coronavirus, although you might feel lost during this time, there are strategic ways to benefit from this space of uncertainty.

Here are five ways to gain experience that will help your future career if your plans for a “traditional” internship fell through.

1. Learn a New Skill

Take a look at the job listing for your dream internship, read the description and highlight skills you would develop during the program. Likely, these are skills you can learn outside of the office walls you would have occupied during the internship. Although your resumé might be missing a “true” internship, your future employer will see that you chose to use this time wisely and improve yourself as a professional. All it takes is some ingenuity and motivation.

Did you know all Biola students have free access to ? There, you can find thousands of skill-building courses to help prepare you for your future career. Other platforms, such as YouTube, also have free content that can help you learn skills you would have learned in an internship. Websites like have two months of free trial periods with courses ranging from sketching to basic website creation and much more. Make sure to add these skills and projects to your resumé or portfolio when you are done.

2. Use Being Home as a Resource

Are you back in your home town due to COVID-19? Leverage your connections at home to get some internship-like experience while maintaining social distancing to help people in need. Maybe the restaurant you worked for in high school needs help telling their customers about their updated hours on social media, or your neighbor needs help coordinating their meetings. We are all impacted by the situation due to the coronavirus, so spending the extra time you have to help others in these ways will be mutually-beneficial for you and your community. Doing small projects like these – whether paid or unpaid – can help build skills and knowledge for your career journey while also helping someone who needs it.

Don’t be shy about networking while you are at home. Asking for virtual informational interviews with professionals in your town could lead to some really great opportunities.

One way I learned so much about the industry I am interested in was sitting