November 2015 – Page 3 – Penn & Beyond

Be Cautious of Resume Templates

by Alyssa Perkins-Chatterton, Administrative Assistant

Your resume can have as few as 5-10 seconds to impress a recruiter before they decide to move on. That means you have a short window of opportunity to really wow the recruiter and make them want to interview you. The best way to do this is to showcase a clean, readable document that highlights all of your great experiences.

Most templates you come across are poor quality and you run the risk of choosing one with a terrible layout and bad readability. Many times templates miss out on the details. They utilize bad spacing, inconsistent fonts and have an overall messy look to them. The templates to stay away from are your everyday Microsoft Word (or any other program), “click and enter information” templates. Those templates are impossible to edit and the formatting is always different. Associate Director, Anne Marie Gercke tells students their “resumes should be a fluid document that you change often and tailor for specific jobs.” Working within a template is difficult because it makes changing anything in the document next to impossible. Our office provides a resume tip packet with examples of resumes with great formatting and layout. You can use this guide to find a style that you like and make it your own. You want your experience to be presented in a neat and clean way, this will ultimately show the recruiter who you are and that you are professional.

Just one more reason to avoid templates is the fact that they give the notion that you aren’t spending too much time on the presentation of your skills. You want recruiters to look at your resume and be impressed not only by your experiences but also by your presentation. Don’t sell yourself short by presenting your amazing experiences in a lack-luster template resume. Showcase all the great things that you have done in a way that is yours and will hold the attention of a recruiter.

To sum it all up, be cautious of how you are presenting your skills. Think of your resume as an always evolving document of your professional experiences. You want that document to be the best portrayal of why you are the right fit for a certain job. Most templates are not designed by experts. Don’t put your professional future in the hands of an unknown template designer. Utilize Career Services and all of our resources to ensure that you are sending out your best resume possible.

Helpful Resources:

Resume/Cover Letter Critique Services– Career Services offers resume and cover letter critique services. Visit our website to see how to submit a document for review based on what school you are in.

Online Resume Workshop– Our office hosts multiple resume workshops each semester but if you are unable to physically attend one of those events you can utilize this online workshop.

Career Services Website: Resume Section– This page of our website has resources such as guides, tips and even resume samples for Undergraduate students as well as resources specific to different populations such as Graduate students, Design students, School of Engineering- Master’s students, School of Nursing students, GSE students, and Social Policy & Practice students.

Career Services Welcomes Dianne Hull

Dianne Hull recently joined Penn’s Career Services as an Associate Director working with graduate students, postdocs and alumni of graduate programs. Dianne has worked in career advising for more than 15 years, first as a human resources specialist with a consulting firm and later with students at Saint Joseph’s University and in the Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program at Bryn Mawr College. Dianne earned a B.A. in Sociology from Lehigh University and a M.S.ED. from the University of Pennsylvania.

What interests you most about working with graduate students?

I love working with students who have a passion for what they are studying and it is exciting to be able to help them turn that passion into a career. I learn something new each and every day about varying fields.

In what ways has your background prepared you for this work?

In my most recent role, I worked with postbaccalaureate premedical students who were looking to change careers and go into medicine. I worked with them as prospective students throughout the application and interview process to our program, and then assisted them as students while they applied to medical school and glide year jobs. I have interviewed many candidates – some overconfident, some who were nervous, and many who had amazing experience but were challenged in translating their experiences in an interviewing setting. I love working with students to help them create a narrative of their past experiences for job interviews.

What are you most looking forward to in the coming year?

My colleagues in Career Services are interesting people who are energized by helping students find their passion and putting it to work. My group which works with graduate students and postdocs work with such a diverse and interesting group of students who come from almost every academic discipline. I’m excited to work with such a wide range of students and helping them to take the next steps in their career.

Learning About Opportunities

Julie Vick, Senior Career Advisor

Be open to how and where you might learn about a great job opportunity or helpful contact

Ove the years students and alumni have told me about the unexpected places, groups and individuals from whom they learned about job openings and/or resourceful people. I’ve kept a list of them and include some here in hopes that an entry or two will provide ideas for your own job search.

Groups and individuals

Summer camp friends and campers’ parents
City-wide/regional choral/orchestra group members
High school athletic team members
Parent’s friends
Friend’s parents
Friend’s parent’s friends
Elementary/middle school/high school friends
Book group members
Fellow religious congregation members

Places and situations

Cocktail party
Doctor’s office
Barbershop/hair salon
Neighborhood coffee shop/deli
Gym/community center
Pop-up shops and art galleries

Be open to learning in unexpected places and feel free to add your suggestions to this list!

CS Radio Episode 007: Career Fair Prep

Radio. CS Radio.

Welcome to Episode 007! J. Michael and A. Mylène are shaken, but not stirred as they cover career fair preparation in advance of Thursday’s International Opportunities Fair. College assistant Alyssa Perkins-Chatterton stops by to talk about the work that goes into organizing a career fair, as well as to share some of the feedback she receives every year from the employers who attend. If you plan on coming to the fair this week, this is a must listen episode!

All that, plus the usual rundown of Career Services events and Michael taking every opportunity he has to mention James Bond. Enjoy!

Day in the Life: Rhea May, ’11, Success Academy Charter Schools

Make sure you’re following @PennCareerDay on Twitter tomorrow, November 3rd, to hear about a typical day teaching at a Success Academy Charter School from Rhea May, Class of 2011!

Rhea May is a 2011 Penn graduate currently living in Brooklyn, NY. When she wasn’t in class, Rhea spent most of her time at Penn nestled in Platt Performing Arts House. She was an active member of the student-run group Arts House Dance Company, ran an after school dance program for Philadelphia middle school students (After School Arts at Penn), and served as the Community Service Chair on the PAC Executive Council. Rhea began pursuing her interest in the education field her senior year, when she worked as the Children Youth and Families (CYF) intern at the William Penn Foundation. After graduation, she worked as an Organizational Development Associate at Fairmount Ventures in Philadelphia, continuing to focus on education. In 2013, Rhea moved to Brooklyn to become a science teacher at Success Academy Charter Schools. She also teaches dance now too! Rhea now happily spends her days facilitating kindergarten robotics, designing fair tests with 1st graders to figure out the perfect mealworm habitat, and unlocking 5th grade dancers’ choreographic potential, among other things. Outside of school, Rhea spends her time practicing Bikram yoga, riding her new bicycle around Brooklyn, and taking pictures of cool plants so she can talk to her students about their adaptations.

Follow along with Rhea’s day on Twitter!!