Month: October 2011

Social Media Update

by Shannon Kelly

As the manager of social media strategy here at Penn Career Services, I’d like to share some exciting updates about what’s in store for this year with all of you.

First and foremost,this year we have a theme for each week of the semester on our social media channels.  We’ll be announcing each theme the Friday prior to the themed week, so you know to tune in.  Upcoming themes are:

October 10th-14th: Policy & Government
October 17th-21st: International Careers
October 24th-28th: Social Media

Follow us on @PennCareerServ to get the details.  If you would like to request a theme, please email me at shakelly@upenn.edu or leave a comment below.

Secondly, we are continuing our Day in the Life on Twitter initiative.  @PennCareerDay is our account where alumni in different fields post throughout their day to give you an idea of what it’s really like to work in a particular industry.  Want to hear more about a particular path? Let me know, again, via email or a comment here.  Are you an alum and would like to post?  Fill out our survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/penncareerday and I’ll be in touch.

Third, we want to hear from students more! (If you couldn’t tell with all of my “let me know” ‘s  in this post.)  We are looking for students to write guest blogs, be interviewed on camera for videos on our Vimeo channels and share their insights on Twitter or Facebook.  We are also looking for feedback on our existing social media efforts and will launch a student advisory group on social media in the coming weeks.  If you would like to participate in any way…let me know!

Finally, I’ll be writing more updates about our social media efforts here on Penn & Beyond from time to time.  In addition, I will also add tips, tricks and trends  if you want to leverage social media in your job/internship search.  Speaking of which, I’ll be presenting a workshop with a recruiter at the end of this month – October 26th.  If you’re a social media fan or want to learn how recruiters are using social media to find candidates, you won’t want to miss it.

That’s all for now, stay savvy social media users!

 

 

 

 

A scoop of Vanilla for everyone, no?

…much like there is not a one-for-everyone flavor of ice cream, similarly there is most certainly not a one-size-fits-all approach to the job search.

by Jamie Grant, C ’98, GEd ’99

 Take a moment to humor this (fairly weak but I hope humorous and pointed) analogy I recently developed while choosing a dessert at the grocery store:  On-Campus Recruiting is to the job search….as Vanilla is to all the flavors of ice cream.

On-Campus Recruiting opportunities and postings can be a WONDERFUL job search resource, and the OCR program works very well for students interested in certain industries and types of positions.  I meet with students every day who are using On-Campus Recruiting to it’s fullest – and if you haven’t checked out the opportunities, you should.

But much like there is not a one-for-everyone flavor of ice cream (sorry, Vanilla – you’re good but I’ll take Peppermint – or strawberry – or chocolate chip any day!), similarly there is most certainly not a one-size-fits-all approach to the job search – in other words, OCR isn’t the ONLY thing out there for Penn students to use as part of a well-rounded and successful job search strategy.     

So, in this busy season of business suits, career fairs and students running off to interviews, if you find yourself wondering if OCR (or Vanilla ) is all there is, worry not.  Come to Career Services and meet with a counselor who specializes in your area of study and knows just about every “flavor” of job search tool or tactic out there.  Come to understand the excellent resources at your fingertips – and what an appropriate time line of action is for YOUR search.  Come to explore your strengths and skills – and learn how to find the types of positions best suited for you.

And because Penn has some of the best, most skilled and informed career counselors with whom I have ever had the privilege to work, I am confident that the knowledge and insight you’ll gain from your appointment with your counselor will undoubtedly be just as sweet as a scoop of your favorite ice cream.