Month: March 2010

Sophomore Career Exploration

My name is Pat Cawiezell and I am the Graduate Assistant in Career Services working on the Wharton team.  I am making my first blog entry today so thought it would be appropriate to introduce myself to the regular readers of the blog as a new voice.

One aspect of my responsibilities in Career Services has been to accompany a group of Wharton Sophomores on business exploration trips along with a fellow graduate assistant from the office in Huntsman G95, Chase Palmer.  In the first semester Chase and I took a group to New York and visited the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and a separate group to Washington to visit the State Department.  One of the primary objectives of the trip is to expose students to careers outside the traditional Banking and Consulting paths that so many Wharton students choose and to showcase that there are in fact other options available.

At the end of January Chase and I took a small group of sophomores to the headquarters of Ashoka (http://www.ashoka.org) in Arlington, VA.  For nearly 30 years, Ashoka has been funding social entreprenuers all over the world that are making a real difference.  The hiring process for Ashoka is extensive, applicants will have six interviews before being hired, including one interview with one of the top three people in the organization.  In fact, walking through their offices Bill Drayton, the CEO and founder of Ashoka, was sitting in his office talking on the phone.  Being part of a small non-profit such as Ashoka can provide access to the organizational leadership that isn’t possible at the multi-national corporation level.

The following week (right before a big snowfall, we have had so much snow I don’t remember which big snowfall, I just remember that as the bus pulled up to 38th and Walnut flurries were just starting to fill the air), Chase and I led a larger group to New York for two company visits.  In the morning we went to PricewaterhouseCoopers to learn more about their consulting division.  It was a pretty traditional presentation, we met four Wharton alums that work for PwC, all in different stages in their career.  In the afternoon the group went to Bad Boy (unfortunately Puff Daddy was in Miami for the Super Bowl) and met with many different people from the Bad Boy empire.  The CFO is a Wharton alum, Derek Ferguson, http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/4188.html, and gave some solid advice about entering into the entertainment industry.

The striking difference between a corporate job at PwC and the environment at Bad Boy was evident to me, and I hope evident to the sophomores that attended the event.  At Bad Boy, every person we met, from Derek Ferguson on down to the interns that were there for the spring semester, had some level of relationship with Sean Combs.  You could usually tell what that level was from those that called him Puffy and those that called him Mr. Combs, but there is no question that Mr. Combs is involved in every level of Bad Boy and that if you go to work for him, you will have access to him.

I am sure that my vantage point as a 28 year old graduate student is different than the 19 and 20 year old sophomores that were the target audience of the presentations but I hope that as you consider your career path, you think about the things that are important to you and both the benefits and drawbacks of each possible job.  At Penn, there are lots of companies competing for students to hire but I hope you take some time to think about the organizations that don’t have the resources to wine and dine but could be a perfect fit for your unique interests and talents.

Tips for the Long Distance Job Search

By Barbara Hewitt

With spring break upon us, I’ve been thinking (a bit jealously I admit) about all the wonderful places Penn students will be travelling to during the coming week. (This week I’ve had students tell me they are headed off to Mexico, Florida, Trinidad/Tobago, and Japan among other places….Ahhhh, the life of a student!)

It is a big world out there, with plenty of places to ultimately settle down for a job. Whether you are looking to return to a place you hold dear to your heart, or seeking to put down roots in a new location, a long distance job search can definitely add a layer of difficulty to the process, which is why I thought I would focus this entry on providing some tips for just such a search.

Before you even begin sending out resumes and cover letters to far-away employers, recognize the challenges that you might face. If the location is entirely new to you, your network will likely not be well established there. Some employers will be hesitant to hire applicants unfamiliar with the area, worried that you may not stay long. If it is an organization that pays for interview travel costs, they will undoubtedly find it cheaper to bring in local candidates. If you are looking internationally, even the communications process can be difficult, as what is the middle of the day for prospective employers may be the middle of the night for you.

However, even with all the hurdles, it IS possible to land a job across the country or the world. During the initial stages of your search, it is wise to focus your search enough to make it manageable. Looking for a job “West of the Rockies” may be a bit too broad to start with, unless you are seeking opportunities in a relatively small industry. Start focused, and then you can expand your search later if necessary. Learn as much as you can about the growth industries in the area, the economy, and the demographics. For example, if you know that the area has a large Spanish speaking population, it would be helpful to highlight your Spanish language skills on your resume. If possible, plan at least one (preferably two) trips to the area. The first trip could be ideal for networking, exploring housing options, and conducting informational interviews, while the second could focus on actually scheduling interviews with employers. (Hopefully you can line up a number of them to help make the trip most effective.)

There are a variety of ways to research potential employers including checking out websites for the local Chamber of Commerce, which often provides a list of member organizations and may coordinate networking events. You might also research regional trade associations in your industry of interest, as they may sponsor conferences (great for networking!) and list available jobs on their websites. An added plus is that often student memberships are extremely affordable! You might also check to see if there are any career fairs that will be held in the area, and plan a trip to the area to coincide with it.

Read the local paper, as it can be very helpful in uncovering employers which might be hiring. That article about the advertising agency getting a brand new account or a real estate firm developing a new shopping center could inspire you to send them your resume! Newspapers will also help you when you go on your interview. It’s important to know how the local sports teams are doing and what the big issues are in the community. You never know what will come up over lunch when interviewing with prospective employers….and a familiarity with the community could be a big advantage.

Online sites such as Indeed.com or SimplyHired.com can let you search opportunities by geographic location and keyword, which can be extremely helpful. PennLink also has an option to search by zip code. The RileyGuide can help you find specific job boards for regions of the country. Specific city web sites can also be useful.

In a long distance job search, networking is critical! Check out PACNet (Penn Alumni Career Network) and regional alumni clubs to see if you might be able to schedule informational interviews with alumni in the area. Talk to other contacts you might have (friends’ parents, parents’ friends, faculty, etc.) about your interest in a particular region. You never know who might have the perfect lead for you!

In your cover letters, discuss any ties you may have to the area and the reasons you want to move there. Indicate if you plan to be in the area in the near future and suggest arranging an interview to coincide with it. It can often move the process along more quickly if the employer knows they won’t have to pay your travel costs. If you don’t plan to visit soon, suggest the possibility of an initial phone interview to discuss the position. Note that the Career Services office also has videoconferencing services available which current students can use to conduct interviews with distant employers. Skype might also be a good option to suggest for smaller employers which might not have more elaborate videoconferencing facilities easily available to them.

A long distance job can take longer and be more challenging than a local search, but it is successfully done by job seekers every day. (Want proof? California is the second most common destination state for Wharton graduates in most years.) You can land a position in a far-away place…you just need to be willing to put some extra effort into the search.

CareerCast: Finding an Internship in the Public Sector

by Jaclyn Chen (W ‘12) & Angie Luo (C ‘11)

Career Services is pleased to present the third episode of our “Finding an Internship” videos from CareerCast: The Penn Career Services podcast.

Current Penn students Jaclyn Chen and Angie Luo interviewed their peers in a wide range of industries to find out how they approached getting an internship. In this episode, they talk to students who ventured into the public sector. Enjoy.


Want to watch on your mobile device?  Click here!

CareerCast: Finding a Communications Internship

by Jaclyn Chen (W ‘12) & Angie Luo (C ‘11)

The next industry in our “finding an internship” video series is communications.

Not only have these students had a wide array of internships, they all have something unique to offer about how they found their internships. For the communications industry especially, internships can pop up anywhere – start your search early – and at any time, so be persistent.  We sure learned a lot – who knew you could make real contacts freshman year, or get rejected and then receive an offer?  Take a listen, and perhaps their experiences will spark your search.  Good luck!


Want to watch on your mobile device? Click here!

An International Student’s Job Search

Once you understand your work permission, have carefully developed a resume and practiced your cover letter writing and interviewing skills, you are ready to engage in the job search – right? But, how do you find jobs not restricted to U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents? Career Services is here to help!

by  Jamie Grant

Are you an F-1 (international) student, working diligently towards your degree, and find yourself, like many other students, thinking about internships, or your life after Penn?  Perhaps you have already starting “job searching” (aka clicking through PennLink) and are dismayed by the number of job postings that clearly state applications are “limited to U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents.”  You are confident that you have strong skills, motivation, and could be an excellent worker, if only given the opportunity.  What can you do to be considered, interviewed and hired?

Let’s consider what it really means to be “F-1.”  An F-1 is a student, non-immigrant visa – just one of many visa types offered by the U.S. Government.  Your F-1 visa was offered to you so that you may complete a degree in the U.S.   Your status as an F-1 student requires that you understand the exact rules and restrictions as to what you can and cannot do while in the U.S.  You most likely remember signing an official-looking legal document that required you to state that you will return to your home country after graduation.  So, how can you possibly stay in the U.S. to work?

While it’s certainly not a secret, many F-1 students that I’ve met in my years of career counseling don’t realize that the F-1 visa has significant training benefits attached to it, otherwise known as “work permissions.”  If you don’t know what terms like pre- or post-completion OPT, the STEM extension, or April 1st might mean to you and your career – keep reading!

To fully understand your potential ability to be hired by a U.S. organization, you have several great learning resources.  Your first stop should be to visit with your advisor for International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) in the International Programs office here on Penn’s campus, or to spend some considerable time studying the ISSS website at http://global.upenn.edu/isss.  Their webpage on F-1 Student Information – http://global.upenn.edu/isss/f1 – has details on just about everything you need to know about your visa and work/training options.  You should become very familiar with your work permissions if you’re serious about applying what you’ve learned and working legally in the U.S.  It is more than likely that you will need be able to clearly explain your permission, either in writing or during an interview, to your potential employer.

Once you understand your work permission, have carefully developed a resume and practiced your cover letter writing and interviewing skills, you are ready to engage in the job search – right?  But, how do you find jobs not restricted to U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents?  Career Services is here to help!

There are several key resources and events targeted to F-1 job seekers brought to you by the Career Services office.  While you might find your search a bit more challenging than searching and submitting applications through PennLink, as a Penn student you have access to a database of U.S. companies with a history of hiring international candidates – like you – called GoinGlobal.  By researching in GoinGlobal, and cross-referencing your findings with PennLink, company career websites and other job posting resources, you are more than likely to find opportunities in which you have great interest, and for which you may very well be a top candidate.

In addition, each year Career Services hosts a presentation by representatives from the legal firm McCandlish Holton, designed to help you understand all the rules, regulations, requirements, and best strategies to successfully manage your search and career.  http://www.lawmh.com/practice_areas/immigration.htm.  Handouts from their program held throughout the years are available in Career Services for your review.

Other resources maintained by Career Services and accessible through the Career Services Online Library include The H-1B Online Job Databases for Foreign Students/Postdocs (fairly self-explanatory), and Uniworld. 
Uniworld offers two online directories – one of American organizations with International subsidiaries and one of International organizations with American subsidiaries.  This could be especially helpful, much like using GoinGlobal, in guiding you to identify organizations more amenable to hiring international candidates.  In addition, should you not be able to secure a job in the U.S. after graduation, using Uniworld will help you to identify American companies operating in your country of origin – companies that may highly value the educational and cultural experience you have gained by studying in the U.S. and may perhaps consider you for a U.S. post in future years.

You can easily access the resources and directories mentioned here through the Career Services Library On Line Subscription Database:  http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/library/  – look for “Online Subscriptions…”

Also, consider types of employing organizations that have greater capacity to hire foreign graduates, such as universities, non-profit organizations affiliated with universities (such as research facilities or hospitals), non-profit research organizations engaged primarily in basic or applied research, and governmental research organizations.  These types of organizations are not subject to the same restrictions on the numbers of foreign graduates for whom they can obtain authorization to hire with H1-B visas, and as such are some of the more common employers of F-1 students.