Month: January 2013

How Many Internship Applications Should I Submit?

Over the past few weeks, I have had several discussions with students interested in pursuing summer internships. While everyone’s stories and interests are different, one question has surfaced over and over again – how many internship applications should I submit?

I wish I had a simple and easy answer to this question (if I could predict the actual number for every student, I could probably predict many other things as well, but I digress…). My response to these inquiries is that I encourage students to avoid extremes and focus more on the process and less on the number of applications.

What do I mean by extremes?  Generally speaking, I would not advise students to only apply to a small handful of positions and certainly I never advise students to apply for every single opening they find of interest.  The ultimate number of internship applications submitted would ideally be somewhere in between, but again I try not to focus on numbers here.

While employers ultimately make the decision to extend interview and internship offers, students do control how they approach the internship search process.  A bit of planning and strategy can go a long way to conducting an effective search.  Be purposeful and not erratic.  In other words try to work your way through a thought-out process to researching and applying for internships opposed to navigating the process ad-hoc and sporadically.  If you can set aside a consistent amount of time per week towards your actively pursuing your internship search, you may continue to discover new and interesting opportunities.  However, if you apply to internships and stop your search waiting to hear back from the places you applied before proceeding, you very well could miss out on securing an internship that’s a good fit for you.

Remember at the end of the day, the number of positions you apply for will guarantee a successful outcome.  In fact, over time you will forget the actual number of internships you applied for.  But if you proceed steadfastly with your search with confidence and prudence, you may feel more control over a seemingly uncontrollable process.

Finding an amazing summer internship – with a little help from your friends

By Kelly Cleary

 

Few academic semesters start off in such a busy, sometimes stressful, frenzy as the spring semester for juniors and sophomores who are trying to figure out what they’ll be doing next summer. The fun and relaxation of winter break are distant memories as students try to balance sorting out their course schedules and figuring out the best approach to finding a summer job (and homework, and work-study jobs, and extra-curriculars, and Rush, and returning from study abroad, and so much more.)

Yes, you have OCR, PennLink, iNet, hundreds of industry specific listings on Career Services’ Online Subscriptions page, upcoming career fairs, walk-ins with career counselors, and Penn alumni with whom you can connect with via PACNet and Linkedin— all great resources for finding internship openings and advice for getting your application noticed. But did you know that some of the best resources for figuring out which industries or employers might be a good fit for you, learning about what an intern actually does at a particular employer, and seeking advice for putting together the strongest application are fellow students who have already been through the process?

No, I’m not suggesting you hang out on Locust Walk passing out postcard size versions of your resume (although that would likely get you noticed.) I’m suggesting you talk with your friends and classmates, especially upper-classmen, who have been through the internship search process before, and ask them for advice.  

The recently updated Penn Internship Network, a searchable database with nearly 1,700 current Penn students who have volunteered to speak with other students about their internship, is a fantastic resource for connecting with other students who share your career interests. Search options include industry, major, locations, how students got their job, and a keyword search function. Keep in mind that while the volunteers are usually able to provide helpful information and advice, they are not expected to help you “get the job.” To use this resource, go to http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/undergrad/pin.html. (Pennkey is required to gain access.)

And why the Beatles to start this blog? Nearly every time I look at PIN with a student and we scroll down the list of former interns who match his or her targeted search I hear, “Oh my gosh! That’s my friend!” Some of the most helpful internship search resources are closer than you think.

Career Services extends a hearty “thank you” to all of the students who have signed up to be listed in the network.

By the Book: New Internship Guides

The spring semester is internship hunting season here in Career Services.  We’ve recently added a  trio of new internship guides that may spark some interest for those trying to decide what to pursue this summer.  Each of these guides feature comprehensive listings and contact information.

The Resort Internship and Seasonal Employment Guide – From a country club in Boca Raton to a State Game Lodge in North Dakota, there are lots of different internships in the hospitality industry.  Hotel management, business management, sales, event planning, customer relations and accounting are just a few of the areas that resorts and seasonal destinations offer internships in.  If that doesn’t suit you, maybe you’d like to be a water ski instructor or golf pro? It can happen!

The Museum Internship Book– Right here in Philadelphia, the Please Touch Museum and the Rosenbach Museum & Library are just two of the cultural institutions you’ll find listed in this guide.  Museum internships can be academic in nature or you can focus on operations like marketing, management and program development.  Museums and other cultural institutions can make for exciting and unique summer internships.

The Women’s Rights Internship Book – Women’s rights advocacy groups offer internships of all forms.  From writing and editing jobs to research assistance to individualized programs tailored to your interests, these internships can even have you meeting with congress and other influential policy makers!

I’m Here to Get You Linked-In.

We’re 10 days into 2013.  Yay! You may have some New Year resolutions related to your career, and if you do, I hope one of them involves LinkedIn.

linkedinlogo

As the social media manager here at Career Services, my personal mission is to help any student or alum become comfortable with this amazing tool.  Why? It is powerful.  Let’s review the facts on just why it’s so powerful from LinkedIn’s website:

1)      There are more than 187 million members in over 200 countries and territories.  That is a LOT of people.  Odds are, if you want to learn about an organization or a career trajectory, you can find someone on LinkedIn and see what they did. For example, do you want to be a consultant? I would recommend looking for someone who is currently an associate at a consulting firm you are interested in and see where were they before? This is one way to get an idea of how you can follow a similar path.

2)      As of the school year ending May 2012, there are over 20 million students and recent college graduates on LinkedIn. They are LinkedIn’s fastest-growing demographic. Part of on-going professional development and one’s ability to find positions after college (whether that is the day after you graduate or 5 years after you graduate), it is important to stay connected to your peers.

3)      Over 39 million members in Europe as of June 30, 2012 and more than 34 million members in Asia and the Pacific as of September 30, 2012. Want to work in Europe? Want to find a job back home in China? One way to do that is to connect with those who are working there right now, especially if they are Penn alums, and ask them for advice.

So you see, LinkedIn can be useful/powerful/helpful/awesome (in my eyes). Now you’re wondering, how do I get started? How can I take my LinkedIn profile to the next level?  This semester we’re offering a variety of programs to help undergraduate and graduate students.  Here is a list of hand-on workshops offered in the Weigle Information Commons at Van Pelt:

Jan 14, 2013, 12:00 PM-01:00 PM
Jan 24, 2013, 12:00 PM-01:00 PM
Feb 28, 2013, 12:00 PM-01:00 PM
Mar 13, 2013, 12:00 PM-01:00 PM

To sign up for these workshops offered, visit the registration page.

We’ll also offer custom programs for different populations throughout the semester. Information on those workshops can be found on the Spring 2013 program and event pages for undergraduate and SEAS master’s students and for graduate students and postdocs. And, of course, if you can’t make one of these programs, utilize our LinkedIn resource page or come in and meet with a counselor.

Advice from the Poet

Happy New Year, welcome back to campus, and welcome to spring semester. I hope it will be a good one for you. May you take courses that will introduce you to new material that will excite you, will challenge you, and with luck will help prepare you for a future of purpose. That future will come soon enough. Enjoy this semester.

I read a speech recently that quoted the German poet Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet. The advice Rilke offered is good for all of us, not just aspiring poets:

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”

May you live the questions in your life now, be they career questions, or personal questions or philosophical questions. And may you then gradually live into the answers. Have a good semester.