February 2016 – Page 2 – Penn & Beyond

It’s Almost President’s Day!

By Barbara Hewitt Given that we are in the midst of primary season, it’s almost impossible not to be thinking at some point about our government. Believe me, there have been many heated debates in my house with Republicans and Democrats living under the same roof! At the very least it’s been a very interesting few months. I thought this would be a great time to remind everyone that there are lots career options out there for people who love politics and those who simply hope to contribute to making the government (local, state or federal) run better. Following are just some of the many resources you can find at Career Services to help you explore these paths. Upcoming Go-Government Webinars

Security Clearance 101: Thursday, February 18, 2016, 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., Room 97, McNeil
How to Stand Out in the Application Process: Thursday, February 25, 2016, 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., Room 97 McNeil

Common Good Listserv This is 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 Government Related Resources on Career Services Website Videos, helpful links, and career advice on government and policy related careers http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/careerfields/#government Internship and Job Databases

PennLink: http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/pennlink_jobseekers.php
iNet: http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/inet_jobseekers.php
USAJobs: https://www.usajobs.gov/ The U.S. federal government’s official source for federal jobs and internships

Relevant Career Services Subscriptions Access these resources through the on-line subscriptions link on this page of Career Services website: http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/library

PolicyJobs.Net
PoliticalJobs.Net
Tom Manatos Job List – Jobs, internships, fellowships, and networking opportunities in government and political fields.

Penn Wharton Public Policy Initiative Don’t forget to check out this amazing resource on campus including funded summer internships! http://publicpolicy.wharton.upenn.edu/

Penn in Washington Events, alumni networking, courses, and internships for Penn students on campus and in D.C.: https://piw.sas.upenn.edu/.

CS Radio Episode 14 – “Do What You Love or Love What You Do?”

Love is in the air in this pre-Valentine’s Day episode! Mylène and Michael are joined by the Director of Penn Career Services, Patricia Rose, to discuss the question of loving what you do versus doing what you love. If you’re unable to do what you love, how can you find elements of what you love in another job? How can you even know what it is you love doing until you do it? All that, plus the usual rundown of this week’s events and at least one really bad pun.

Enjoy!

How to Use Sample Resumes and CVs

Dianne Hull, Associate Director

One of the primary components of your job search tool kit is your resume or CV. But where to start if you have never written a resume or CV before or have not updated these documents in many years? The internet has thousands of samples to choose from, but where to start?

Career Services’ website has multiple samples of job search documents to help you get started on your written materials. The samples we have on our website are from real Penn students and alumni who have agreed to share their resume or CV with other Penn students. Spend time looking at the samples on our website that match your educational background. A resume for an undergraduate from one academic discipline will not look the same as a CV from a PhD student. We offer not only samples to help you get started, but also general advice about the types of information you want to include.

You want your resume or CV to speak about you as an individual, so use the samples as a guide and not a template. Look at multiple documents to help generate ideas about what types of information you might include on your resume or CV given both your educational background and your career focus.

Once you’ve written a rough draft of your resume or CV, bring it to Career Services for a critique. You can either make an appointment or come to walk-ins. See our schedule for the appointment and walk-in hours that apply to you. And once you have used your resume or CV to secure an internship or job, send it to us and we will add it to our samples!

Channeling Reese

A couple of months ago I stumbled across this essay, adapted from a speech Reese Witherspoon gave to her students of her high school. I think it’s really great, and can totally be applied to Penn students. Just substitute “high school” for “college,” or “Penn,” and read on:

http://www.chapter16.org/content/reese-witherspoon-gives-young-women-road-map-finding-their-own-future

Now, I personally have pinned Reese’s bangs to my Pinterest “hair inspiration” page, so I’m not sure I agree with her bangs advice, but the rest is spot-on.

Be curious. If you’re interested in something, find out more about it. Read, talk to people, ask questions.

Be brave. It can be intimidating at Penn, looking over your shoulder and seeing all the amazing things your peers are accomplishing. It’s natural to ask how yourself you’re measuring up. But remember, someone else’s feat may not be one you’re even interested in personally. Applaud your friend, be a huge cheerleader and an advocate, but then take some time to think about what you make you equally proud. It may require stepping out of your comfort zone, but…

There’s nothing wrong with failure. Don’t let the fear of failure prevent you from trying. This has been a big topic recently. It’s cliché, but employers won’t rule you out if you’ve failed at something. If you can explain how you grew, describe how you developed a new perspective, approach, strategy. If you tried again and made more progress, THAT’S a compelling story that any hiring manager wants to hear. You tried something unconventional and maybe it didn’t go as planned, but you tried again. Employers can’t teach that on the job, like they can with so many other technical things your job might require.

Have your own ideas. It’s an election year, so it’s kind of impossible to avoid political debates. If you do your own research and develop your own opinions, you can speak with more confidence and that’s important. Your participation is necessary.

Be honest, be graceful, and be yourselves. And honestly, bangs aren’t always a bad idea.

Join Sean Lilley, 3D Software Developer at Analytical Graphics on @PennCareerDay

Sean Lailley is a 2013 Digital Media Design graduate and now a 3D Software Developer at Analytical Graphics (AGI), building software for visualizing Earth and Space. He works on Cesium, an open-source 3D globe for the web. Specifically Sean develops the Cesium graphics engine, where his daily work includes writing shaders, adding support for new WebGL features, and efficiently rendering large datasets.

Sean joined AGI in 2015. Prior to that Sean studied Digital Media Design where he focused on computer graphics and game engine design. In his free time he enjoys working on digital art, music, and games depending on what seems interesting.

Sean will be tweeting about his work day on our @PennCareerDay twitter feed tomorrow, February 3rd. You don’t want to miss it!