The Summertime FAQ Blues

Tamara Mason, Administrative Assistant, Wharton and Engineering

With the end of summer break quickly approaching, it might be difficult for some to get back into the swing of university life again. Whether it’s working at an internship, doing summer volunteer work, or just hanging out with friends, the beginning of the school year is just around the corner and the transition can be somewhat jarring. Not to be an alarmist or cause any undue feeling of doom and gloom as the end of summer nears, but as the Administrative Assistant for the Wharton and Engineering schools here at Career Services, I find that all too often students come back to campus only to be bombarded by the onslaught of school responsibilities while at the same time trying to navigate the sometimes treacherous path of Fall recruiting. Because most of the panicked calls come directly to me, and to alleviate some of the stresses associated with the On-Campus Recruiting season, I’d like to address some concerns that students will inevitably have upon their return.

1. Although it is popular belief that On-Campus recruiting is for Wharton students only, the misconception is completely false. On-Campus recruiting is for any undergraduate/graduate/PhD student (within one year of graduating) who wants to apply for full-time positions or summer internships for those who are not within one year of graduating.

2. “I don’t see the On-Campus Recruiting link on my PennLink account”, says Student X half way through the recruiting season. Please, please, please, before you start your foray into On-Campus recruiting, be sure that your PennLink account is up-to-date. There have been countless students who have come into the office half way through the recruiting season to alert us that they haven’t been receiving notifications about resume drops for positions to which they would have loved to apply. This is the most common issue I run into with students at the start of fall recruiting and unfortunately once the date has passed there is nothing we can do to plop a student into closed resume drops. The On-Campus Recruiting link only appears when a student is eligible for it and the system determines that based on your graduation date. If for any reason your graduation date has changed, it is your responsibility to change it in PennLink (it will not be done automatically). Every student should be in the habit of making sure that their PennLink account is up-to-date and that all the necessary fields are filled in on their profiles. For additional OCR tips, please see our OCR page here: http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/recruiting/

3. Most importantly… while On-Campus recruiting, or the job search in general for that matter, can be somewhat hellish and stressful, don’t overwhelm yourself and don’t get so worked up that you turn it into a bad experience. On-Campus recruiting was designed to be an aid to students so that they didn’t have to juggle school work with trying to travel to different companies for interviews; it was made for your convenience. Take it easy on yourself!

The Career Services office is always here to assist students in their career planning needs. Stop in and see us! We are open 9am – 5pm, Monday through Friday. Check out our website at http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/ where you will find lot of additional information to assist.

Enjoy the rest of your summer and see you back here in September!