December 2009 – Page 3 – Penn & Beyond

What’s in a Number?

by Todd Rothman

While the annual law school rankings featured in U.S. News & World Report can certainly serve as a resource in the admissions process, as a pre-law advisor, I have found that their popularity, ubiquity, and influence among law school applicants continues to be undeniably significant, if not all-together overshadowing. In fact, you would be hard-pressed to find a law school applicant who couldn’t enumerate “the Top Ten law schools” in chronological order, or recite the rank number of their first-choice law school, with ease. It is important to recognize, though, that this particular ranking system has some inherent flaws and inconsistencies in its construction and, as a result, some genuine limitations in its scope and usefulness. To that end, I encourage applicants to maintain a healthy skepticism about how meaningful and objective these rankings actually are; and, more importantly, that they not be used as the primary or sole resource as they develop lists of schools and, ultimately, as they make their decisions about where to matriculate.

Law schools themselves, though, are far from immune from the aforementioned popularity, ubiquity, and influence of the annual U.S. News & World Report rankings. This recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, however, sheds some light on how the competition that these rankings provoke among law schools can have serious, and sometimes detrimental, implications, for law students and law schools alike – specifically, considerable tuition increases and noteworthy declines in minority enrollments.

http://chronicle.com/article/Competition-Not/48940/?sid=at

Resume Speed

by Dr. Joseph Barber

When commuting to and from work on SEPTA regional rail, there is plenty you can learn from staring out of the window (at least, before you fall asleep and start drooling). For example, I have seen one house next to the railway line that seems to have a horse in its garden. Being social creatures with long legs that need stretching, a garden-living horse doesn’t sound like the best idea. I have seen a taxi graveyard, where old, battered taxis rust mostly in peace, their innards strewn over the ground and picked over for anything useful. The newer, working taxis reside in the lot next door. Perhaps their proximity to the graveyard makes them stay more reliable on a day-to-day basis, as if to say to them, “stay working, taxi, or you know where you will end up”.

The other day, I saw a sign along the railway track that read “Resume Speed”. Now, working at Career Services, my brain is specifically attuned to terms such as CV and résumé, and so it is perhaps not surprising that I completely misread this sign.

“Résumé speed? What on earth is résumé speed, and why are train drivers interested in the speed of job application materials?” I would have said, if I wasn’t on a train full of people who would have thought me somewhat crazy to be talking to myself early on a Thursday morning.

Fortunately, the commonsense part of my brain stopped drooling, and woke up in time to set me straight. Of course, the sign was actually telling train drivers to return to some speed they were travelling at before they had slowed down for something. Yes, that makes much more sense. However, it did get me thinking. Is there such a thing as ‘résumé speed’ when it comes to job applications. It wouldn’t refer to the speed of creating a résumé, because that should be a slow, careful, and continuous process. It might refer, though, to the speed at which employers read your résumé. In certain cases, ‘résumé speed’ is extremely fast – much faster than the regional rail at any rate. You often hear that employers may spend only 30-45 seconds reading your résumé. No-one knows for sure if this is accurate, but it would probably be a good idea to write your résumé as if you only get 30-45 seconds to impress. You résumé should showcase those key skills that are most applicable to the job you are applying for – and thus your résumé will look different for every job to which you apply. If you want to know how successful you have been at getting the message across about your skills, hand your résumé to a friend, count to 30, and then snatch it away from them. Ask them what stood out the most from their brief reading of the document. If they say the fancy font you used for your name, the funny e-mail address you have (e.g., boblookingforjobs@yahoo.com), or the fact that the résumé was hard to read, then this means that you probably need to spend some more time on it.

If leadership and staff management are key requirements for the job you are applying to, then what you want, of course, is for your friend to say something like, “Oh my…, you certainly have a lot of leadership experience; that’s a jolly good show, old chap”. In this case, your friend is English, pretending to be English, or being possessed by the ghost of an Englishman. But if your foreign/strange/possessed friend can spot the skills you are highlighting, then so too will potential employers.

You are now clear to ‘resume speed’, and we’ll see you at Career Services where we have more advice and assistance if you need it.

Avoiding Job Scams

by Mylène Kerschner and Barbara Hewitt

Recession, job loss, unemployment, lay-offs: These are all words we’re familiar with in Career Services. Although Penn’s class of 2009 fared well despite the economy (see the career plans survey results here for the College, here for Wharton, here for Nursing, and Engineering will be coming soon), we know many of our current students and alumni are actively searching for employment in what feels like desperate times. While it may be tempting to spring at every opportunity, we urge you to be vigilant. Does the job posting seem too good to be true? It may be. Phishing scams are as popular as ever, and many now are specifically targeted at the job-seeker. Before you submit sensitive information as part of an application, consider the following:

It is always good practice to do some investigative legwork before submitting your application to an employer – whether you’ve found the job through PennLink or Craigslist or on another job board. A good rule of thumb is to go to the company’s website. Check that they actually have a web address, and that the one they’ve given actually matches the URL at the top of the page where you are directed. Also, look at the email where you are asked to send your documents. Does it look like a corporate email or does it appear to be a personal one (gmail, hotmail, etc.)? While sometimes smaller organizations do legitimately use personal emails to receive application materials, it does indicate that you should investigate the opportunity carefully. When you are initially applying, use common sense. If you are uncomfortable providing any of the required information, contact the Career Services office for advice before proceeding.

Here are some good tips that the job is probably a scam:

You must give your credit card or bank account numbers, or copies of personal documents before you have an interview or are offered the job. This type of personal information is not usually needed until an employer actually hires you.
You must send payment by wire service or courier.
You are offered a large payment or reward in exchange for allowing the use of your bank account – often for depositing checks or transferring money.
You receive an unexpectedly large check.

Watch out for scams trying to take advantage of your employment status, and avoid becoming a victim.

(For more information, CNN also ran a similar story in July 2009. Click here to read the piece by Rachel Zupek.)

Airport Test

by Helen Cheung

Would you be interesting company in an airport for four hours?

“What was the last book you read?”
“Tell me about the worst team you were on.”
“How did you choose your major?”

Underlying these innocent and common job interview questions is a bigger question that either makes or breaks the deal of a job offer: “What is it going to be like to be stuck with you for a 4 hour layover in an airport?” Your job might not require travel or social skills, but managers would prefer to hire interesting people who get along with others. Also, they want coworkers who fit the culture of the organization.

If you search for “Airport Test” online, you will find tons of great advice for job interviews you can use to help you pass the test. You can also do practice interviews with a Career Services counselor to get feedback on the impression you make on others. However, this isn’t a test you should cram for. You can’t simply memorize some answers and come across as likeable and interesting. You can work on storytelling skills but you have to have stories to tell in the first place.

How do you prepare for the Airport Test then? For starters, practice your team skills in your daily life. Whether coordinating a meal schedule with your roommates or going on a camping trip with friends, you have to deal with people and overcome challenges. Second, you can read widely and live fully. It is much easier to talk to someone who cares about something than someone who doesn’t so get comfortable discussing your interests. Third, learn to be interested in people and learn to make life easier for them. The Airport Test is not just about you; it is about the interviewer, your potential coworker. So, the more you practice caring for others in your daily life, the more you naturally put your interviewer at ease so that they won’t wish for an “eject” button.

Return the Call

by Barbara Hewitt

During the last month I’ve received calls from three different employers complaining that they have not been able to get Penn students to return their phone calls. One wanted to invite a student for a second round interview. One only learned that two students no longer planned to actually attend their previously scheduled second round interviews when the employer took the time to reach out to reconfirm the date and time. The last complaint came for an employer who had extended an offer to a student, but could not get the student to return follow-up phone calls from either recruiters or a relatively high level senior executive who had taken time out of his busy day to call the candidate.

Students often think they are simply “cogs in the machine” of the recruiting process – one of many individuals traipsing through the halls of organizations across America to interview in an attempt to land an offer. They may not think that returning a phone call or answering an email promptly matters much in the big scheme of things. Let me assure you it does. Employers spend a tremendous amount of energy, time and money on college recruiting. They work hard to find individuals who will be the right fit for their organizations. They want to know that the students to whom they extend offers will be passionate about working for them and committed to the organization once they come on board.

If a candidate doesn’t have the common courtesy to return a phone call, it sends the message that he or she either does not know how to be professional, or really doesn’t care about the kind of impression s/he is making on the firm. Employers in this situation may very well begin to think that they made the wrong decision in extending an offer. Real concerns about the candidate’s ability to work with colleagues and clients may arise. I have seen employers withdraw offers after such negative experiences with candidates.

I understand why students sometimes hesitate to return employers’ calls. Often they are very busy. Perhaps they are worried that they will receive undue pressure to accept an offer before they are ready to do so. They may feel they have had all their questions answered and won’t know what to say when the inevitable “What questions can I answer for you?” comes up. Never-the-less, in order to be perceived as professional and courteous, it is important to respond and respond quickly to employers when they reach out. You don’t want to come across as disinterested in a position when in fact you might be.

On the other hand, if you have decided an opportunity is not the right fit for you, or if you have accepted another offer, let any employers with whom you have outstanding applications or offers know as soon as possible. They will appreciate your honesty and it will help them move forward to find alternate candidates for the position. You never know – a few years down the road you might again be considering opportunities with the same employer, and you certainly want to leave a positive lingering impression.