Day: October 20, 2011

A Day in the Life: Public Relations

If you value communication, creativity, and working with the media and public to get the word out, then public relations may be for you.  On Wednesday, October 26th, 2011 we welcome alum Meagan Sloan to @PennCareerDay on Twitter.  Public relations is a field where social media has grown in popularity thanks to the variety of tools it offers to this industry. We’re excited to have Meagan post to give you an inside look at what her day is like in the current communications climate. To learn more about Meagan, read her bio below and follow her on the 26th!

As an Account Executive for Brownstein Group’s PR team, Meagan is responsible for day-to-day account activity for clients such as TireVan, Harcum College, and Craiger Drake Designs. In addition to executing public relations tactics for these clients, she also provides support across other PR account, gaining experience in a variety of industries, including real estate, education, non-profit, and consumer products. During her time at Brownstein Group, Meagan has assisted in social media and media relations campaigns, securing placements in a number of local outlets, such as The Inquirer, Philadelphia Business Journal, Philadelphia magazine, Metro and local broadcast affiliates.

A Philadelphia native, Meagan graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Communication and a minor in Consumer Psychology. While in college, she interned at Brownstein Group in the fall of 2009, supporting the Harcum College, Bancroft, and Asian World of Martial Arts accounts. In addition, Meagan held public relations and advertising internships at other Philadelphia agencies, including Red Tettemer, The Star Group, and The Karma Agency.

If you would like to learn more about a career in public relations, visit our resource page for this field here.

 

In a nutshell: deciding to go to graduate school

by Peter Stokes

The vast majority of Penn alumni go on to graduate/professional school at some point (roughly 20% go immediately after graduation, and 70%+ go within 10 years of graduating). These are high numbers, and this seems to me an excellent thing, but it’s important that people go to the right kind of graduate school, and at the right time—and think carefully about what will happen after graduate school. Graduate school is demanding and can be expensive, and it’s important that you make an informed choice to make sure that the investment of time, effort and money is worthwhile. That may well mean waiting until after you have gained some experience other than being a student (a job, service work) before applying.

Here, in as small a nutshell as I can manage, are some good, and some much less good, approaches to deciding on graduate school:

  • Good reasons to go to graduate school:
    • You have figured out the career path you want to follow, at least in the medium term. You have done plenty of research, including talking with people who have advanced in your chosen field, and know that you need a graduate degree, and which one.
    • You love scholarly work with a passion (crucial for a Ph.D.), and are confident you will continue to for 2-5+ years of study of a narrow topic.
  • Bad reasons to go to graduate school:
    • You don’t know what else to do, or you assume there are no decent jobs for people with Bachelor’s degrees anyway. (Have you come in to talk to a counselor in Career Services?)
    • You’re really good at school, so you think you should keep on doing it. And maybe as a result, family or friends, not necessarily experts in the career(s) you’re interested in, have said you should go to grad school.

See also: http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/gradprof/grad/consider.html  and of course feel free to connect with a pre-graduate school advisor!

Seeking Opportunities Abroad

According to a recent USA Today article, job placement firms are reporting a surge in American worker interest in working abroad.

Quite a few students who study abroad find it to be a great opportunity that they seek to return for employment for a few years after graduation.

Whether you’re from another country and looking for a job back home or are simply an American with foreign language skills seeking opportunities in another country, we have an upcoming fair that would be great for you.

Next Tuesday, October 25th, is the International Opportunities Fair here at Penn. The International Opportunities Fair is open to Penn students interested in learning about job, internship, volunteer, graduate study, and scholarship opportunities abroad.

Quite a few companies with a global presence such as Morgan Stanley, A.T.Kearney, IBM, and The TJX Companies, Inc. are coming to the fair.

You can find the full list of companies coming here:

http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/undergrad/IntlFair2011info.html

Additionally, our website has a lot of information for students interested in international opportunities. Be sure to check it out here:

http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/international.html

We’ll see at the fair Next Tuesday!