Whether you grow up in the UK, South Korea or China these days, the generation leaving university is having a difficult time. Having dutifully jumped through the hoops that were set by adults at middle school and high school, and having been hunched over a desk or at cram school until late every night in the hope of entering a respected university, students who leave formal education with a degree certificate are not guaranteed the job of their dreams. Indeed, they are not even guaranteed a job. Far from making the most of people’s talents, the societies in which we live ask people to compete fiercely for many jobs, few of which are ideal.

Recognising this structural weakness in every society I know, I wanted to offer the students I teach – and other undergraduate readers of the Chonnam Tribune – a special summer’s tip.

If you are an undergraduate in your second or third year (US English: sophomore or junior year), don’t wait until after graduation time to figure out what you like doing and find meaningful. Now is the best time to test out different activities, gain experience and maybe – if you’re lucky – find a passion that allows you to make a living.

The long university summer vacation may be a time for many students to do paid work that will help cover living expenses and rising tuition fees, but it is also a time to try work experience placements (US English: internships) and volunteering. Fancy chasing stories as a newspaper reporter? Then send a polite speculative application to a local paper asking whether they’ll let you help for a week or two. Find out what it’s really like. Do you dream of following in your favourite teachers’ footsteps, or making education inspiring? Then try teaching this summer: seek out opportunities to help with a summer camp.

Professors can support your application by composing warm recommendation letters. As a tutor in the English Education Department, I am always delighted to write a reference praising any student who has been reliable, courteous and made a good effort – the sorts of attributes that will help you to do well after graduation. No tutor will want to see her student’s talents wasted by a job market that fails to make use of them.

If your summer schedule is full, never fear: Gwangju offers various opportunities to gain experience and do some good during term-time as well as holidays. University students can volunteer to help on Saturdays at the Gwangju International Centre, which hosts weekly talks in English by guest speakers. If you have a wide-ranging curiosity and want to talk to people from all walks of life, you could contact the Chonnam Tribune or the Gwangju News with a view to contributing – as some talented students of mine have done, I’m proud to say. Other students represent the university very actively as student ambassadors. Still others – the most enterprising of all, perhaps – set up websites or try blogging.

After leaving university, it may be harder to gain such rich and varied experience, or to test out different fields through internships. There is often pressure to secure a stable, preferably respectable job. And so, to wrap up this column and finish my pep talk, please use this summer holiday fruitfully – and enjoy it! A summer internship could save you anguish when it comes time to apply for jobs later on.