Month: January 2010

Avoiding OCR Pitfalls

By Claire Klieger

One of the best ways to successfully survive OCR is simply by avoiding some of these common and often detrimental pitfalls:

Form/Generic Cover Letters. Yes, we understand the appeal of these as, naturally, it takes a lot less time to simply replace the name of the employer for each letter and included lots of phrases like “your company” or “this position” and “I’m really interested in working for _______ because it is a leader in the industry.” But guess what? Employers aren’t stupid and can spot these a mile away. Why would an employer want to hire someone who can’t even be bothered to take the time to write a letter specific to them or, worse, doesn’t understand why they want to work for them? If you choose to go that route, don’t be surprised if you don’t get many interviews.

Typos. This sounds obvious but I can’t tell you how often we see very blatant (and often embarrassing) typos on resumes and cover letters.  I even once witnessed a recruiter cancel a scheduled interview with a student on the day of the interview when he noticed that the student had misspelled his major. What the employer gave as his explanation is the reason why this is such a detrimental mistake, “What this says to me is that this is someone who doesn’t have good attention to detail and is careless and I don’t want someone like that working for me.” So please, please, proofread (don’t just rely on spell check).

Applying to all the available positions at an organization. While it’s fine to apply to more than one position simultaneously at a single organization, applying to every open position simply sends the message that you don’t know what you want. Limit your applications to positions that are similar enough (in skill types) that it is reasonable for you to be interested in them.

How to Survive the OCR Tsunami

By Claire Klieger

It’s ok. You can admit it if the thought of the impending OCR process makes your palms sweat. How will you stand out among the sea of impressive applicants from Penn? With loads of info sessions daily and those waves of deadlines and the added drama of all deadlines being at midnight, where do you even begin?

1) Accentuate the Positive. Rather than getting stuck on the ways you think you aren’t competitive, focus on what strengths (and you all have them) you bring to the position. The easiest way to do this is to first understand what skills an employer is looking for so…

2) Know the industry. Following what’s going in the industry is critical to setting yourself apart. Not only will it help you better understand the differences between major players, but also establish yourself as someone who is genuinely interested in this line of work.

3) Research the Employer. Employers want to hire someone who is excited about working for them. You can’t create this impression well if you don’t know much about the organization. So, hop to it! Scour their website, Google them, and ideally, talk to people who work there (don’t forget about PACNet).

4) It’s not quantity, it’s quality that’s important. Sure, you can’t apply to as many positions if you target each cover letter for the individual industry/job type (with a few sentences specific to the employer), but it is definitely time worth spending.

And, of course, use Career Services as your life preserver! There is a great online orientation to OCR as well as some useful FAQs on our website.

The Final Frontier?

Penn students take internships at a wide variety of amazing and interesting places. Throughout the year, we’ll be doing video profiles of some of your peers discussing their internship experience and offering advice about the internship hunt.

In this first of the series, Varun Balan (CAS\SEAS ’10) talks about working with NASA.


Want to watch on your mobile device?  Click here!

Unhappy Workers

By Barbara Hewitt

The Conference Board recently released the results of their latest survey on job satisfaction for US employees. The report was rather disheartening, in that employees showed the lowest level of satisfaction in their jobs since the survey was launched back in 1987. In the most recent survey, only 45% of respondents said they were satisfied with their jobs, down from 61% in 1987. In many ways this lackluster response is not surprising given the travails many employees have faced during the last year – 1 in 10 out of work, and those lucky enough to still have jobs frantically trying to manage the work from their laid-off colleagues, not receiving raises, and worried about losing their own jobs.

College students beware…even the youngest employees were not immune from this trend. While the increase in dissatisfaction spanned all age groups, those under 25 expressed the highest level of dissatisfaction in the survey’s history for the age range. You can find out more about the survey here:
http://www.conference-board.org/utilities/pressDetail.cfm?press_ID=3820

Over half of all workers report being dissatisfied with their jobs.

The survey results prompted me to think about steps employees can take to increase their work life satisfaction. Of course, the first step for many would be to assess what is lacking in their work, and perhaps launch a job search for a new opportunity that will better meet their needs. However, in the current environment with high unemployment, finding a new job is not likely to be quick or easy for most, so individuals may need to make the best of their current positions until something better comes along. As such, following are some steps people can take to feel more satisfied with their current jobs:

Set Realistic Expectations
I am a firm believer that that how you think about a situation plays a huge role in how you feel about it. Therefore, it is important to set realistic expectations about your job. No position is going to be 100% perfect, and expecting it to be so will only result in disappointment. Focus your energy on those areas of your work life that you find rewarding and you enjoy, and realize that there will be parts of your job that are less appealing. Dwelling on the negative will only make you that much less satisfied at work.

Refrain from Office Politics and Negativity

In most offices there are underlying politics and pockets of negativity that can really bring down the morale of employees. You know the routine – a group of workers who spend 90% of their time around the coffee pot complaining about their unreasonable boss, the low pay, or the fact that their vacation requests were not approved. Backstabbing and gossiping can be prime activities for these employees. Don’t give in to the temptation to join them…in the end it will increase the toxic office environment and make work an even less attractive place for you to be.

Seek Out New Assignments

Are you feeling bored and unchallenged at work? Do your daily tasks seem so routine that you could easily do them in your sleep? Maybe it’s time you sought out some new responsibilities. Volunteer for an assignment. Think about and suggest improvements that could be made to your current work. Join an office committee. Approach your supervisor with some ideas of new projects you would like to take on. Not only will you be reinvigorated by the work, but most managers will appreciate your proactive and positive nature.

Build Your Network

Plan for the future and develop your network both within your current organization and outside of it. Join a relevant professional association. Attending the meetings and conferences will help you to keep current on the industry, and also allow you to meet professionals at other organizations….which could lead to your next (hopefully more satisfying!) job. Working on cross-departmental teams within your existing organization can help you learn more about how the organization functions as a whole, and perhaps by meeting the right people pave the way for a lateral move or a promotion with your current employer.

Seek Satisfying Activities Outside of Work

Just because you may be unhappy and frustrated at work doesn’t mean that you can’t take steps to improve your life in other areas which could increase your general level of happiness. In fact, dissatisfaction in one area of your life is a prime reason to improve other areas. Have you always wanted to be a gourmet cook? Take a class on French cooking. Love to read? Join a book club. Need to relieve some work tension? Sign up for that spinning class at the gym. Want to make a difference? Become a volunteer and make a child’s life better. In the end it might be you who benefits.

Hopefully when the Conference Board conducts its next study on work satisfaction, the results will be more heartening. In the meantime, take control of your life and the necessary steps to make work a place where you want to be…. And for the 55% of you out there who are not happy with your current job, let me leave you with a happy final thought. It’s Friday- have a great weekend!

5 Similarities between your PennCard and Job Hunting

by Dr. Joseph Barber

1) PennCards can take a while to find in your bag, but they are in there somewhere. Job searching can take a while too, but persistency does pay off.

2) Over the course of a day your PennCard exchanges information with lots of different entities. Expanding your own contacts through effective networking will also maximize your chances of finding a job.

3) Dirty, old, crinkled PennCards usually don’t swipe successfully. Poorly formatted and unorganized resumes and CVs don’t impress much either.

4) Eating and drinking on the run whilst trying to use your PennCard often results in sticky cards. The information that you get from Career Services’ workshops and seminars, and from individual appointments with Career Services’ advisors, will stick with you too. Bring your card along and come and see us!

5) Your PennCard opens doors for you. Your Penn academic credentials and the stellar resume/CV that we can help you put together will also open doors – doors to career opportunities.