Month: October 2014

Is it Really Time to Quit?

by Julie Vick, Senior Career Advisor

“I didn’t have enough time to look for a new position so I quit my job to devote myself to job hunting.  It’s taking so long to find a new one.”

“I resigned because I didn’t like what I was doing and started looking for a new job right away. I can’t believe how difficult it is and I still don’t have a job.”

As a career advisor, when someone tells me that they resigned from their job to look for a new job I immediately wish they’d been in touch with me before they made that decision.  The old adage, “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” is true, especially in the often-challenging job market we’re currently experiencing.

Reasons to job hunt before quitting:

  • Having a job makes you more confident even if it makes you feel frazzled to do your job and look for a new one at the same time.
  • If you apply for a job while not employed some employers will question why you’re not working and will wonder if you were fired.  On the other hand, if an employer sees that you’re currently working that makes you look “hirable”.

At least get busy networking.  Involve yourself in your professional/regional association.  Have coffee or lunch with people where you work who are in different departments.  Get together with people through our alumni association to share information about different kinds of work.  If you’re unfamiliar with networking, read one of our recent blog posts: “Curiosity & Careers: How Informational Interviewing Can Build Your Network (Revisited)”

If you decide to quit:

  • Don’t quit in anger.  It might give you momentary satisfaction but in the long run you may regret an angry outburst and it certainly won’t help you get a good reference.
  • Ask yourself if you can afford to quit.  Make a plan to have enough savings to draw from for a minimum of six months but, ideally, for a year.

Realize that not only employers but friends and family may question why you left your job.

If you do quit:

  • Develop a believable and, possibly, compelling narrative about why you quit but focus on the future and what you will bring to a new position.  During the job search don’t ever say anything negative about your former employer even if you had a terrible experience.
  • Have something else to be doing in addition to the job search such as a regular volunteer commitment.  You need something to give structure to the day and something that gives you a degree of success.

When you’re employed again have your antennae up for friends thinking of quitting their job without another in sight and give them some advice based on your experience.

My Penn Path: Kaustuh Deo

Last spring, we asked several current Penn students in the College of Arts & Sciences to talk to us about their summer internship experience.

We hope these brief interviews give you some insight into the many opportunities and career fields that await you out in the world!

Today’s interview is with Kaustuh Deo, CAS-WH ’16
deoTell Us About Yourself

Name: Kaustubh Deo
Hometown: Seattle, Washington, United States
Year/major/minor: 2016, Huntsman Program (Business and International Studies), French Minor
Where did you work and what was your job title?

I split my summer into two portions. The first six weeks were spent doing the Penn-in-Tours program in France. When I returned, I completed six week internship at Five Ultimate, a company that specializes in making jerseys for Ultimate Frisbee teams around the world. I was a marketing intern, though the marketing department consisted of one of the co-founders and the head of marketing (and me).

How did you get involved in your summer position?

I’ve played Ultimate since middle school, and during the junior year of high school I got a summer job doing quality control, meaning I just had to make sure all the jerseys were printed properly and the right sizes were included in every team order. It was a really boring job, but I was able to meet everyone at the company (around 10-15 full-time employees), including the five founders, who are all siblings, hence the name Five Ultimate. I emailed one of the founders and asked her if there was any way to put together a business-related internship for the second half of the summer. I met with her when I went home during Spring Break and we were able to figure out a plan that would be mutually beneficial.

Did you have any background with this subject/field before?

I had no formal experience with marketing specifically, but I am very knowledgeable about Ultimate and the culture of the sport, which is obviously very valuable for a company whose customers are all Ultimate players. Further, my team here at Penn usually orders our jerseys from Five.

What was your favorite part of the experience?

It was really great to work side-by-side with the head of marketing in the open office set-up. Everyone could chat with each other throughout the day, leading to a relaxed, friendly work environment. It showed me what kind of people I want to work around.

What was something you learned/did that you didn’t expect?

The experience provided me with an insight to how a small business or start-up operates, which is great context as I move forward and intern with larger corporations in future summers. Second, my original motivation in pursuing this internship was to assess if marketing would be something I want to do in the future and this gave me an idea of what marketing entails in the real world.

What was the most valuable lesson you took away from this experience?

I think learning how to work independently while on a team was extremely valuable. Most of our school work tends to be individual, while group work tends to be completed as a group. However, working a job usually requires individual work that is then aggregated into a group effort. At Five, I took care of my part of projects while my co-workers did their parts, and then we would meet primarily to collaborate and merge our work (unlike school, where we meet to do the actual work itself). Learning this dynamic makes me a more productive employee and more valuable teammate.

How has this experience influenced your long-term career plans/goals?

I definitely know now that I need to work in a setting that promotes collaboration and cross-fertilization of ideas. Working in a vacuum with little understanding of the big picture is not something I want to do. In addition, I learned that marketing is a little too qualitative for my taste, so I’m going to look for careers that require more quantitative analysis and technical work.

What would you recommend to other students trying to pursue the Road Less Traveled?

Email anyone and everyone who could possibly help you. This includes extended family, high school teachers, parents of your college/high school friends, etc. I even googled random companies in industries I was interested in, then went into their “People” section of the website, and would read employee bios until I found someone who went to Penn and email them. I’ve actually gotten to have coffee or phone calls with some very interesting people that way, even if it doesn’t necessarily lead to a job.

hibernation

The weather this weekend was beautiful. However, when the temperature dropped on Sunday, I noticed that it took me a little longer to “get up and go.” The chilly morning weather kept me indoors. This is a marked contrast to those early fall days when I raced outdoors to take advantage of the day – heading to the playground with my kids first thing, running errands, even being proactive with my to dos!

This glimpse of chilly weather has reminded me of the importance of preparing for those shorter, colder days. During the winter months, even though the outside world seems to slow down a bit life as a student remains busy. You may not only have class and assignments, but an internship, job, or even a job search to think about. Some days it may take a little more to motivate yourself and stray from the warmth of home to get to that early class or study group. I remember those days.

Even though it feels most natural to hibernate, take stock now of what you may need to stay healthy, connected, and productive this winter. Regardless of whether it’s a long-term project, the job search, or a personal goal, planning ahead is always a good thing. Find a friend or classmate who’s working towards a similar goal – someone who will get to that evening meeting with you or share the snowy walk to the library. If the job search is on your mind consider what you can tackle now to begin the winter on a strong note. By taking care and preparing, the semester can heat up, the days can cool down and you can take it all in stride.

My Penn Path: Kyra Reumann-Moore

kyraLast spring, we asked several current Penn students in the College of Arts & Sciences to talk to us about their summer internship experience.

We hope these brief interviews give you some insight into the many opportunities and career fields that await you out in the world!

Today’s interview is with Kyra Reumann-Moore, CAS ’15

 
Name: Kyra Reumann-Moore
Hometown: Philadelphia
Year/major/minor: Senior/Environmental Studies & Hispanic Studies double major

Where did you work and what was your job title?
I worked at the University of Colorado – Boulder. I was part of one of the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates programs. This one was in Environmental Sustainability within the university’s Environmental Engineering department. I was a Research Assistant working on the Sustainability Research Network: AirWaterGas project. I focused on the effects of natural gas extraction on water quality.

How did you get involved in your summer position?
I heard about the program from the professor who was my mentor, who was a family friend. I was especially looking to gain research experience, and this fit into that category very well. However, I still had to go through the whole application process and be accepted to the program.

Did you have any background with this subject/field before?
I had worked the previous summer on a campaign working to call for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in Pennsylvania until its effects on human health and the environment were determined. So I knew that I was interested in the topic, but I did not have much experience on the science side of the issue. I also learned how to use GIS software, which was completely new to me.

What was your favorite part of the experience?
I really enjoyed the entire experience, but especially the fieldwork I got to do. It was great to gain hands-on experience collecting the types of data I was analyzing, and I got to meet a lot of cool people who had volunteered their water wells for us to sample.

What was something you learned/did that you didn’t expect?
I was not exactly sure what to expect in terms of the fact that the program was based in the environmental engineering department. I thought that some people’s projects might be too technical for me to be interested in. But I learned that everybody’s projects were really current, applicable, and engaging. I am now much more interested in that field.

What was the most valuable lesson you took away from this experience?
That even if you do not have direct experience in an area, if it is something that is really interesting to you you can have a great time doing it and learn a lot.

How has this experience influenced your long-term career plans/goals?
I am much more interested in pursuing a career that involves research as well as policy. More immediately, I’m also going to continue with my research for my senior thesis, which is exciting.

What would you recommend to other students trying to pursue the Road Less Traveled?
I definitely recommend applying to REU programs – there are tons all over the country in lots of different disciplines. Also, try to reach out professors, family friends, etc. – they might have random ideas that turn out to be a really great experience

Lists, Lists Galore!

By Barbara Hewitt

As most Penn students know, Career Services uses email listservs to relay lots of information to our students. We have lists for each undergraduate class year by school, so, for example, Wharton juniors get a specialized e-newsletter focused just on them each Friday. (That being said, please know that we don’t send a lot of information to first-semester freshmen, as we know that acclimating to Penn in both an academic and social sense is your first priority upon arriving on campus!). We also have special listservs for students interested in graduate programs for health professions, law school, and other graduate schools. Click here  to find out how to sign up for those.

In addition to these lists, however, we have a variety of specialized lists for students interested in international opportunities, common good careers (nonprofit and government), creative careers, and a new listserv to relay career related information for students with disabilities. These are “opt in” lists, so if you are interested in joining them you can follow the instructions below to be added.

International Careers Listserv
The International Careers listserv was created by Career Services as an open forum where the Penn community (staff, faculty, students, etc.) can share information about events, opportunities and resources related to international careers.

To subscribe to the International Careers listserv, send an email from your Penn email account (NOT from a GMAIL or another account connected to your Penn account) to: listserv@lists.upenn.edu
with this command in the body of the e-mail: SUBscribe InternationalCareers

Common Good Careers Listserv
The Common Good Careers listserv was created by Career Services as an open forum where the Penn community (staff, faculty, students, etc.) can share information about events, opportunities and resources related to nonprofit, government, policy, public interest and other common good related careers.

To subscribe to Common Good Careers listserv, send an email from your Penn account (NOT from a GMAIL or another account connected to your Penn account) to: listserv@lists.upenn.edu
with this command in the body of the e-mail: SUBscribe CommonGoodCareers

Creative Careers Listserv
The Creative Careers listserv was created by Career Services as an open forum where the Penn community (staff, faculty, students, etc.) can share information about events, opportunities and resources related to creative careers.

To subscribe to the Creative Careers listserv, send an email from your Penn account (NOT from a Gmail or another count connected to your Penn account) to: listserv@lists.upenn.edu
with this command in the body of the e-mail: SUBscribe CreativeCareers

Career Services Listserv for Students with Disabilities
The Penn Career Services office occasionally receives information about positions and career opportunities from employers particularly interested in connecting with students with disabilities. (This is typically part of their diversity outreach efforts.) This listserv was set up as a channel to more effectively reach these students. All students who consider themselves to have a disability are welcome to be included on the list. If interested in being included on the listserv, please email Barbara Hewitt (hewittb@upenn.edu), Senior Associate Director of Career Services, your Penn email. Note that the listserv members will remain confidential and only the list owner will be able to view who is on it.