Barbara Hewitt – Page 3

Looking Forward: The Spring Semester Job or Internship Search

As the fall semester winds down, we’ve had questions from many students about how the spring job or internship search may differ from the fall search. These questions come from students who may have spent the last four months actively seeking full-time or internship positions, as well as those who are just starting their search now.

The good news is…. there are still plenty of opportunities out there! In fact, employers in many industries don’t event start actively recruiting students until much closer to when they can start work – the “just in time” job search. We’ve just finished up the analysis of outcomes for the Class of 2016, and almost half (46%) indicated that they accepted their full-time postgraduate positions in or after January 2016.

We certainly welcome interested employers to conduct on-campus interviews in the spring and we will absolutely have some activity in our recruiting suite. However, the number of employers will be much smaller than in the fall. Students should be aware that employers who will be conducting interviews on campus early in the spring semester are already collecting resumes, so be sure to check PennLink now and periodically over break so that you don’t miss any opportunities that might interest you.

We will also hold three major career fairs on campus in February for all students served by Career Services. (You can find career fair details here, but in the meantime hold these dates!)

Creative and Common Good Fair: Wednesday, February 8
Start-up Fair: Thursday, February 9th
Spring Job and Internship Fair: Friday, February 10th

In addition to our on-campus fairs, Penn participates in a number of consortium career fairs off-campus including:

Philadelphia Not-For-Profit and Public Service Career Fair: Friday, February 24 @ Bryn Mawr College
All Ivy Environmental Career Fair: Friday, March 3 @ Columbia University
Philadelphia Non-Profit and Government Career Fair: Thursday, March 23 @ Villanova University

These will also be an two additional career fairs focused on graduate students: Ph.D. & Master’s Virtual Career Fair on March 2 and the PennDesign Career Connection Day on February 17.

Between on-campus recruiting, employer information sessions, and the career fairs, we will host hundreds of employers physically on Penn’s campus this spring. However, many more employers are likely to simply post jobs or internships on PennLink (or their own website) and then follow-up directly with applicants of interest to them while never setting foot on Penn’s campus. Particularly for the “just in time” search, it is important that students be proactive by researching employers that might interest them, networking to learn more about opportunities (both advertised and unadvertised), and then monitoring the career sites of employers of interest to make sure not to miss posted opportunities, as they may be open for much shorter lengths (and on a completely unpredictable timetable) than what students experienced in the fall.

Best wishes for a wonderful 2017!

Permission to Take a Break

Barbara Hewitt, Senior Associate Director

Keyboard with Coffee Break button, work concept

Let’s face it – it’s been a really busy fall for just about everybody, but especially those of you who have been doing what sometimes can seem like the Herculean task of being both a Penn student and also looking for a post-graduate or internship position. (And that’s not even mentioning the hours that most of you devote to clubs, activities, work study jobs, sports and many other endeavors!) We just finished a Career Services staff meeting and the career advisors uniformly felt that this has been one of the busiest semesters we can remember. With the move of on-campus internship recruiting to the fall, we not only met (and coordinated interviews for!) hundreds of seniors pursuing post graduate options, but also many juniors and sophomores seeking internships. There certainly hasn’t been much down time for either staff or students this fall.

We’ve heard from many students who have happily finalized their plans and have been able to step back from their job and internship searches to now focus on the many other things on their “to do” lists, but we’ve also been hearing from students feeling high levels of stress and fatigue at this point in the semester. It can be demoralizing to devote extensive energy and effort to attending employer events, writing cover letters, and donning suits for interviews, just to feel that it was all for naught if you haven’t yet landed an opportunity about which you are excited.

As I watched the Presidential election results come in late Tuesday night, I experienced what felt like a similar sense of stress. We’ve all been “living” the campaign on a daily basis for more than a year and many people had strong feelings about who they hoped would win. While some were elated with the outcome, many others came away with a sense of devastation. In both the election and our job searches, no matter how hard we work, we can’t guarantee the outcome, which can lead to even higher levels of stress, as “working harder” cannot always guarantee the desired outcome. A sense of uncertainty was certainly heightened for many people this week.

If you are experiencing this stress, either due to career related activities, the election, or some other circumstance, we in Career Services urge you to take the time to care for yourself. With the end of the semester almost upon us, give yourself permission to step away and take a break from job search activities for a few weeks, focus on your academics, and renew your energy and spirit. Use the Thanksgiving and semester breaks to reinvigorate yourself, and start 2017 with a new sense of optimism and energy to begin a new chapter.

And, of course, when you are ready to begin again, come see us. We are here to support you in exploring and achieving your career goals.

Exploring New Career Paths

It’s that time of the summer when many students are finishing up their summer experiences and thinking about next steps moving forward. Some of you will have had a great summer and confirmed that a particular career field is an excellent fit for you. Others will perhaps have gained valuable experience, but have come to the realization that looking at other career options in the future would make sense. Perhaps you discovered that you didn’t love the particular industry you interned in or maybe the industry was great but the job function was not the best fit. Either outcome is actually very helpful. Even if you have decided that you want to explore other fields moving forward, that is valuable information to have! For most people, career exploration is a very iterative process and what you like / dislike and the rewards you seek through your work will change throughout your life. This is only the beginning! As we approach the start of the fall semester, consider taking some time now to be proactive about exploring careers, particularly if you have decided that a change in course might be helpful.

Here are three easy and free things you can do to learn more:

Read about it! Current Penn students can access the Vault Career Guides by logging in through the Online Subscriptions link on the Career Services web page. Vault provides a wealth of information on a wide variety of industries and employers, as well as helpful information on job search topics including interviewing or networking.

Talk to People! Take advantage of the Penn network by arranging informational interviews with Penn alumni working in fields that intrigue you. The QuakerNet directory is a great place to research alumni, as is the “Find Alumni” tool under “My Network” in LinkedIn. If you are not quite sure how to request and conduct an informational interview, check out some tips on the Career Services networking page.

Explore Yourself with SIGI 3: This is a comprehensive career exploration tool that prompts you to analyze your skills, interests, and values and matches the resulting profile to career options. You can access Sigi 3 by logging in with your PennKey and PennKey password via the online subscriptions link on the Career Services website.

Happy exploring!

Career Resources for Students with Disabilities

Barbara Hewitt, Senior Associate Director

Searching for a job or internship can be daunting for everyone – but can be even more so for individuals with disabilities. Questions about when and if to disclose a disability or how to ask an employer for an accommodation are very personal and often have no simple answers, but happily there are many resources available to help you through the process.

Lime Connect (http://www.limeconnect.com/) is one of the premier organizations working to assist students in this area and “rebrand disability through achievement”. Check out their website (http://www.limeconnect.com/) to read their blog and also find specific opportunities from employers actively seeking to interview and hire students with disabilities. By the way, Lime reports that 90% of disabilities on campus are invisible – including ADD, dyslexia, depression, medical conditions and many others – and all individuals with disabilities are encouraged to take advantage of The Lime Network.

There are also lots of resources closer to home! If you are a Penn student with a disability and have career-related questions, please schedule an appointment with a career services advisor (http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/staff.php) serving your particular school. We are happy to help you with all the various steps which go in to the career development process (career exploration, career decision making, preparing resumes and cover letters, interviewing, etc.). Our services are of course confidential so feel free to share any concerns you might have related to a disability. We also offer a variety of links on our Resources for Students with Disabilities webpage (http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/affinity/disability.php) and maintain a listserv to which we post career-related items particularly relevant to Penn students with disabilities. If you would like to be added to this list, please send an email to Barbara Hewitt at hewittb@upenn.edu and she will be happy to add you!

The Little Things

By Barbara Hewitt

This has been a rather reflective week for me, as I attended a funeral for Sandra, an extended family member. Although I always knew Sandra was wonderful and made a positive impact on many lives, she lived quite a distance from me so I didn’t often get to spend time with her. For that reason, it was especially rewarding to hear the many, many stories from people whose lives she touched through her work. Sandra was an inspiration to many. She was a single mother early in life, and there was no time (or financial resources, for that matter) to think about attending college when she graduated from high school. She worked hard, two and three jobs in the early years, to make ends meet and provide for her three children. Imagine our surprise (and pride!) therefore, when she earned her college degree in her 60s! She truly taught us all that it’s never too late to strive to reach your dreams.

Sandra ran a daycare center out of her house for over 25 years. We heard from many individuals in the community who attended the center as children. Some have even gone on at this point to graduate school! We also heard from the mothers who commented about how much they appreciated the warm, nurturing environment she provided for their children so that they could feel comfortable going to their own jobs each day. The majority of her clients were young, often single mothers, and she helped them navigate the often overwhelming experience of being a new mom and provider while still trying to figure out one’s own life.

As I heard these stories, it reminded me that although Sandra wasn’t famous, didn’t run a company, or hold an elected office, she made a profound difference in numerous people’s lives through her chosen career of nurturing young children and supporting their parents. As you consider your path forward, keep in mind that there are countless ways to make a difference in the world, and while your future may hold a very public position (like being a corporate leader or congressional representative), it may also be something much more private, but equally important in making the world a better place.