Changes to On-Campus Internship Recruiting for 2016 – 2017 Academic Year

Career Services and Penn Abroad have announced changes to on-campus recruiting for internships for the 2016 – 2017 academic year.  In the past (and currently for this year) we have held internship recruiting for non-technical positions in February. (Computer Science and Engineering internship recruiting has occurred in the fall during the past few years, as it will this year.)  Recently, additional employers have begun their internship hiring much earlier in the year and we have found that we are increasingly out of sync with companies who have opted to interview for internships in the fall.

In order to maximize the number of summer internship opportunities for Penn students, next academic year we will begin on-campus recruiting for both technical and non-technical internships on October 31st, 2016, with resume submissions occurring earlier in October. We expect that there will be a large number of on-campus interviews conducted during the first three weeks of November 2016; many offers will be made by the end of fall semester. Generally, employers will expect decisions from students by the end of the semester. Employers may choose to interview in the spring if they wish, but we anticipate that the bulk of current OCR employers will choose to interview in the fall.

Please note that most employers who come to campus to participate in recruiting tend to be larger employers in business and technical areas.  Smaller employers, and those in areas such as government, communications, education or nonprofits, do not participate heavily in OCR so this change will not likely affect students seeking opportunities in those fields.

We wanted to let students know of these changes now as some of you are likely considering your study abroad plans for next year. We certainly encourage Penn students who are interested in studying abroad to do so as it is very often a life-changing experience.  Studying abroad affords students with unique, culturally immersive experiences and new perspectives while also developing important intercultural communication and language skills – critical competencies and skills valued by future employers who are aware of the ever changing global workplace.

Penn offers both fall and spring study abroad options. Please consider which semester might be preferable for your individual circumstances. If you are interested in finance, technical, or consulting positions, it may be helpful to be on campus in the fall to participate in OCR.  However, we will certainly work with and encourage employers to use phone and video interviewing as an alternate means to interview students who are not in the United States, whether in the fall or spring term. Many employers we have spoken to have indicated their willingness to do so.

Students who go abroad in the spring will also need to keep in mind that academic calendars differ around the world.  In other countries, the “spring” term may end in June or even July, making it difficult to be back in time to participate in the  internship training programs required by some employers. If  you go abroad in the spring, you should be mindful of your program dates.

Please note that there are many different ways to find summer internships and the timeline for hiring for different industries can vary widely.  Please feel free to make an appointment with a career advisor in Career Services to discuss your particular interests as you plan for next year.

If you are interested in studying abroad, start researching your study abroad options on the Penn Abroad website (http://global.upenn.edu/pennabroad/students/getting-started).  Also, mark your calendars and plan on attending the Study Abroad Fair on Thursday, November 5 to learn more about the exciting international opportunities available to Penn students through the Penn Abroad office. On the same day Career Services will be holding an International Opportunities Fair, with many of the participating organization offering international internships for students.

A Summer at the EEOC

This is the next in a series of posts by recipients of the Career Services Summer Funding grant.  We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they’ve been spending the summer.  You can read the entire series here.

This entry is by Genesis Nunez, COL

My summer got off to a less than stellar start. Our drive down to Washington, DC from New York ended up taking hours longer than expected and since my housing plans had fallen through a week before, I had no idea where I would be. I thought that if this was any indication as to how the summer was going to go, I was in trouble. Luckily, that was not the case.

This summer, I spent my time interning at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. As a sociology major interested the intersection of law and discrimination, having the chance to intern at a federal agency dedicated to eradicating one of the most salient forms of discrimination was everything I could ask for in an internship. While at the EEOC, I got to work on various projects that had important and direct impacts on the agency. My first assignment was to compile a detailed list of directed investigations from the EEOC’s offices across the country as part of a study being conducted on why the Commission brings about such investigations. Other projects I worked on during my time there included conducting an extensive review of Worksharing agreements from offices across the country, editing the material that was going to be used at the annual national EEOC Investigator training session, and reading about joint cases between the EEOC and the Department of Justice. The highlight of my internship, however, was getting the chance to sit in on Commission meetings and listening to experts and victims testify on a range of employment issues from sexual harassment to retaliation. It was here where that I got the chance to see how it is the Commission interacts with the public to expand its knowledge on employment issues and really makes an effort to learn from those they serve. All in all, this past summer was the most meaningful learning experience I have had outside the classroom.

I would not do my summer justice, however, if I did not talk about the amazing experience that was living in a new city. I have been wanting to intern in DC for as long as I can remember and so I made sure to take in as much of the city as I could while I was there. My weekends usually consisted of visiting monuments, Smithsonian Museums, bakeries, and waterfronts. I went on a paddleboat in the tidal basin, watched fireworks over the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, and rode a bike around the city, all things which I had never done before. It was truly an amazing city.

My summer was an incredible learning opportunity, both intellectually and personally. I am incredibly grateful for all the great people I had the chance to meet and have rich conversations with. Thank you to Career Services for helping make this experience possible.

What’s the deal with OCR?!

by Mylene Kerschner, Associate Director

Ever feel like this?

It’s understandable. This is the time of year when *everyone* is walking around in suits, talking about OCR sign-ups and interviews and offers. Maybe you’ve always wanted to be, say, a marine biologist. Or an architect! But *everyone else* is pursuing consulting, and they’re getting full-time offers in October – if they didn’t have one before they got back to campus! Maybe you should be a consultant, too?

HoNY

I saw this post on the Humans of New York Facebook page* earlier this month and it stopped me in my tracks. What a perfect analogy! We’ve all been there. You watch one Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and then suddenly it’s four hours later and you’re not sure why you’re watching this segment, or where your afternoon went.

But as it relates to the daunting “choosing what do I want to do with my life,” the analogy can be less amusing than an afternoon of comedy. And honestly, based on my conversations with students recently, this guy could be a Penn student. When you were growing up, did you even consider a career on Wall Street or in consulting? Or did it pop into your head when you got to Penn and saw the upperclassmen tying their ties and sliding on their heels and heading over to the On-Campus Interviewing suite in droves. On-Campus Recruiting has a huge presence on campus, and it’s an incredible opportunity for many of our students. It’s completely natural to glance over to see what it’s all about.

And I’m not saying don’t explore. By all means, do! Take an internship in a field that’s unfamiliar. Join a club that you find interesting but know very little about. Network, network, network!

Just be true to what YOU want to do. Find your calling. Be sure that while you’re glancing left and right in DRL and on Locust Walk, you’re also checking in with yourself, and considering your interests.

And if your calling is in latex sales, don’t be afraid to pursue it with abandon.

vandelay

Say Vandelay!

 

*Also, if you don’t already follow Humans of New York on Facebook, you must! Brandon photographs and interviews strangers, then shares stories and images of rare book librarians and inspirational architects, farmers who moved to Alaska to find a new start and many, many others.

Governor’s Internship at the Commission of Asian American Affairs

This is the next in a series of posts by recipients of the Career Services Summer Funding grant.  We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they’ve been spending the summer.  You can read the entire series here.

This entry is by Naimah Hares, COL ’16

This summer I received the rare opportunity to intern under Tiffany Lawson, the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Governor’s Advisory Commission of Asian American Affairs. After spending a few months reaching out to Mrs. Lawson and telling her about my background as a Penn student interested in studying law, we agreed to design an internship that would help enrich my learning experience about the state government.

Recently Governor Tom Wolf was elected, and his three main goals for his term are “Government that Works, Schools that Teach, and Jobs that Pay”. Along with these missions, the Commission functions as an advocacy group for all Asian communities in the state of Pennsylvania. In order to assist with this function, I began to create an updated service directory of all organizations that assisted Asian communities as a resource to the public. The project in itself was intriguing as I learned a lot about grassroots organizations that I did not even know; they provided helpful tools such as classes to learn English and assistance for refugees. Growing up in an immigrant family, I was again reminded of the hardships that many foreigners faced when moving to the United States, and I was grateful that these organizations assisted many members of Asian communities adjust to the American Culture.

When I was not working on the directory, I shadowed Mrs. Lawson as she attended numerous meetings and events. I was amazed at how busy one person could be, as she drove from Harrisburg to Philadelphia twice a week (I interned only in Philadelphia) and attended back-to-back meetings. As I quietly observed Mrs. Lawsons interactions with leaders of communities, businesses, and government staff, I learned a lot about the content of the meetings in terms of rising issues in certain communities and why foreign businesses would be interested in investing in parts of Philadelphia. But the most important skills I learned were about simple communication.

Before, I never had experience with networking and talking to people I knew nothing about, but Mrs. Lawson made an art out of it. Always with a big smile on her face, I was astonished at how much energy she had not only in greeting people, but also remembering very specific details about every person and making a conversation out of it. She coached me in being able to talk to other people and not feeling intimidated, and event took me to networking events to practice meeting people and following up with them. But now I feel very comfortable walking up to someone I have never met, having a casual conversation, and remembering that person later.

Thanks to the summer granted through Career Services, I have gathered a priceless experience in a number of areas. Without Mrs. Lawson, I would have never learned that there were amazing communities that existed such as the Bhutanese population in South Philadelphia, and the amount of effort each cultural community organization has put into investing in their community and helping especially immigrants to achieve a better standard of living. Having grown up in an immigrant community myself in West Philadelphia, I truly appreciate the existence of these community associations and organizations and think that their work goes a long way in helping immigrants and their children born in the United States achieve social mobility. In addition, my internship has also made known to me various social issues that I never considered. For example, in 2010 there was an issue regarding deportation among the Cambodian community in Philadelphia, which has influenced a national grassroots organization known as the 1Love Movement to form to assist communities in gaining autonomy.

My most recent and memorable experience at the internship has been attending my first fundraising event in Chinatown. Held at Ocean City Restaurant, the event was held for the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, one of the most impressive Asian American Film festivals held on the East Coast. It was an amazing event that raised awareness of the films that would be screened for the festival. I was lucky enough to meet City Councilman and Minority Whip David Oh, as well as a number of important leaders, and saw Mrs. Lawson deliver Governor Wolf’s greeting for the fundraising event. Impressed by the organization of the event (as well as having delicious Chinese food and trying jellyfish for the first time), the most important thing I gathered from the event was how most of the important figures I had met from various events in one room. It showed me the connections various Asian communities, organizations, municipal and state representatives had with each other.

My summer internship, while very enriching and fun, was also very short. However, I am happy to say that Mrs. Lawson has provided the wonderful opportunity to continue interning with her. I am grateful to her for putting in the time and effort to teach me important social skills, meet admirable and influential leaders, and inspire me to do what I can to assist my local Asian community, the Bangladeshi Community of Pennsylvania. I look forward to finishing the service directory, as well as have more experiences to learn about other cultural communities and learn from Mrs. Lawson herself about working for the state.

CS Radio Episode 1: Career Discovery

podcast cover

Welcome to the first episode of CS Radio, the official podcast of The University of Pennsylvania Career Services office.

Each Monday, your hosts A. Mylene Kerschner and J. Michael DeAngelis will discuss a new topic from the world of Career Services, highlight important and interesting upcoming programing and bring special guests into the studio to discuss their own career paths.

This week’s episode, “Discovery,” looks at the broad topic of career exploration.  Special guest David Fox, Director of New Student Orientation and Academic Initiatives, tells us about this year’s academic theme, The Year of Discovery, and about his own varied career as academic administrator, lecturer and performing arts critic.  We’re also joined by Barbara Hewitt, Senior Associate Director of Career Services to talk about self-assessments and career inventories.

One note, due to some technical difficulties, we’re a little late in posting the episode, so some of the events highlighted in this week’s episode have already passed.  We apologize for any confusion.

Enjoy the show!