Claire Klieger – Page 11

Why Reneging on an Offer is Bad for Your Career Mojo

By Claire Klieger

This is the time of year when people start to feel desperate about jobs or internships and may be tempted to accept something, anything, just because it’s a job and a job right before graduation equals peace of mind. So you’re thrilled to get any offer and you say yes so your parents and friends will stop hounding you about what you’re doing after the semester is over and you breathe a big sigh of relief. I mean, ok, so it’s not your dream job but the places you were really excited about never called you back. Except…sometimes they do.

Occasionally, you’ll later hear from an employer that you’re a lot more excited about that you’re invited for an interview or even that you have been offered the position. And here’s where things get difficult. You may hear from family members and friends things like, “Awesome! Just back out of that other job offer. What does it matter now that you have what you want? Plus, if you’ve just said yes on the phone and haven’t actually signed anything, it’s not like it’s legally binding anyway.” However tempting, this is seriously bad counsel.

Despite what you may hear, employers consider a verbal acceptance as good as signing a contract. While you’re not legally obligated, you’ve made a verbal commitment and there are definite consequences to reneging on an offer:

1) First and foremost, you can be pretty sure that you are ruining your chances of chances of ever working for that organization. Employers’ memories are long and you will forever have that figurative little black mark on your file.

2) In addition, you may be affecting your chances of working at similar organizations. Keep in mind that most industries are relatively small and that the people you angered by saying no may tell (warn) others in the industry about you. As you can imagine, this is particularly damaging in instances where the offer came through on-campus recruiting where recruiters from competing organizations all know each other, making it much less likely that such an individual would have interviewing options with any of those organizations in the future. In fact, we’ve even seen cases where the thwarted recruiter has called the employer with which the student is defecting to explain the situation and the new employer has pulled their offer (leaving the student with no offers).

3) Reneging on an offer damages the Penn reputation, and as such, future recruiting opportunities for Penn students. When you renege on an offer the employer doesn’t just think negatively about you, they also think negatively about Penn. In fact, we’ve often had to do serious “damage control” with employers who had one or multiple reneges from Penn students. It may only take one instance for them to conclude that “this is just the way Penn students are” and be less inclined to consider applicants from Penn in the future.

The way to avoid being in that situation is to not accept an offer without carefully thinking it through. You should never tell an employer yes if your plan is to continue to look until you find something better. It’s not fair to them and it’s untrue to you. There are always jobs out there and it is far better to wait for the right thing to come along than to damage your own career reputation by going back on your word.

It’s not too late! (Good) Internships are still out there.

By Claire Klieger

I’ve been seeing lots of students who are still looking for internships and worried that it may be too late. Fear not, there are still lots of great opportunities (Yes, really—no, not just “the bottom of the barrel” stuff) out there. In fact, last year 46% of college students did not secure their summer internships until April or May, according to the Summer 2009 Survey Report. For some industries like entertainment, summer internships often crop up very last minute (especially mid-late May) so don’t feel like if you haven’t got your summer plans set yet that you’re doomed to working at your local movie theatre or mall food court.

needlehaystack — Your internship hunt doesn't have to feel like looking for a needle in a hay stack

SEARCH STRATEGIES – GET INDUSTRY SPECIFIC

Part of the issue is being unsure of where to look. Certainly, iNet and PennLink are good places to start and new internship openings get posted there every day. Keep in mind that you can set up either system to email you when new things get posted that

meet your interests by doing an advanced search and saving it as a search agent, which you can then set to run however often you’d like.

However, when you’re looking for something specific, your internship search can sometimes feel like looking for a needle in a hay stack—it can become overwhelming sifting through hundreds of postings looking for what you want. So, it’s important to search smart (like using the search agents in PennLink). One of the best ways to do this is by looking for opportunities on industry specific websites. For example, if you’re interested in media, you should be looking on mediabistro ; if something at an international NGO is what you seek, Idealist is an excellent place to look; should you be really into rocks, getgeologyjobs.com is probably your slice of heaven. To learn more about industry specific resources, look on Career Services’ “Career Resources by Field” page and come talk to one of us.

SEEK ADVICE FROM THOSE WHO WORK IN YOUR FIELDS OF INTEREST and NETWORK

That said, some of the best advice both on where to look and how to market yourself comes from others who work in the field. So, take advantage of those Penn connections and start talking to Penn alums who have the kinds of jobs you think are interesting. Remember that everyone on PACNet, our alumni database, has volunteered to be contacted with questions (though, please, don’t make that question, “hey, can I have an internship where you work?”).

Talk to your peers as well. By searching the Penn Internship Network, you can connect with current students who have said they are willing to talk about their summer 2009 experiences which can be a great way to find out how someone found an internship and possibly to get an employer contact.

GENERAL & GEOGRAPHIC– SPECIFIC RESOURCES

Other good general internship search resources include simplyhired and indeed where you can put in a job title (e.g.“public relations intern”) and location (e.g. “Boston”). If you know you want to be in a specific area like say….New York (I know, shocking), you can look on ReferenceUSA for employers (and can target specific industries) in the New York Area and target your search on specific websites. GoinGlobal (accessible for free through our online subscriptions page) offers city specific resources for job or internship searching so even if your top choice for the summer is Austin, Texas, you’ll have some good ideas for how you can look. If you’re not really sure what you want, you might try subscribing to something like One Day, One Internship, a daily blog written by a recent (though not Penn) grad that highlights internships at a different company each day.

The point is…there are tons of great resources out there so don’t give up hope on your internship search–It’s just a matter of figuring out where to apply and continuing to send out applications. If you have questions about your individual search feel free to come talk to us.

How Study Abroad Can Be Career Gold

By Claire Klieger

Increasingly, the world is becoming a smaller place and being able to easily navigate in unfamiliar circumstances and different cultures certainly has its advantages. As someone who spent 11 years abroad as a child and teenager, I can’t tout the benefits of studying abroad enough. I think it’s an experience everyone should have if they can. Living some place unfamiliar will give you a perspective and skills that you can use for a lifetime. It has certainly been true for my career. My international living experience is something that has come up in every interview I’ve had as an adult. And I honestly still believe the skills I gained from that experience I use on a daily basis.

Here are the first two installments of our “Study Abroad Advice” series: “Benefits of Studying Abroad” and “Making the Most of Your Time Abroad.” Additionally, if you didn’t catch it the first time, you can read more on Career Strategizing from a Land Far Far Away.

Want to watch on your mobile device? Click here!

Say it Ain’t Snow

By Claire Klieger

Remember how excited you were when we had our first major snow storm of the season—all those beautiful flakes falling and covering campus in a blanket of peaceful white? And now, 70-plus inches later, just hearing the words “chance of snow showers” incites groans, hair pulling and the desire to throw things (or, at least it does when you are responsible for shoveling and driving in the stuff).

Your job/internship search can often be a similar emotional roller coaster. You may start out excited by the prospect of new opportunities and the many interesting postings at the click of your fingertips. However, in this stormy economy, it’s really hard to stay motivated if multiple applications yield few results. If you have gone far enough along in the interview process to start imagining your name on the business cards, it can be especially demoralizing. Like this year’s winter weather, it may feel like your torment will never be over.

Whether OCR did not pan out for you or you just aren’t having much luck in your search, it is important to keep looking. Rather than giving into that urge to just throw yourself under a blanket and live in your PJs, now is the time to reconsider your strategy. Are you looking in the right places? Is your resume effectively highlighting your relevant skills or experiences? Are you networking? Do your interview skills need work? Come talk to us in Career Services to see if there are tools to help you better weather your search.

Even though they are calling for snow (again) on Wednesday, eventually warm weather will be here (sooner than later for those of you going to sunny destinations for spring break). There are lots of great jobs and internships still out there. In fact, for internships, peak season for postings is actually March. To be successful you just need to continue to put yourself out there. So, keep those wellies or uggs and that rain coat handy (as well as a retooled resume and networking or interview techniques) and when you hear that fateful weather forecast, take a deep breath (after possibly a few choice and colorful words) and say “bring it.”

Answering the Dreaded “Why isn’t your GPA Higher?” Interview Question

By Claire Klieger

reportcard monster — Don't be tormented by your transcript.

This is the kind of question that most of us dread because let’s face it—we probably all have at least one class or semester that just didn’t go so well. In some cases that may be a mere blip in your academic performance and for others, it can be an all out bomb. Regardless, here are some tips to help you better prepare for such a question:

1) Don’t divulge negative information unless specifically asked. Sometimes, a GPA or grade in course that really concerns you is not a big deal for the employer. If it is an issue, you are can be sure that the recruiter will ask about it so there is no need to volunteer negative information. You may think that by broaching the subject you will have a chance to explain the circumstances, but doing so without being prompted actually just shines a bigger spotlight on the potential issue. Take that C you received in a particular course. Especially if it’s in an unrelated discipline, chances that the recruiter may not even care but bringing it up on your own just draws attention to it.

2) Avoid the blame or comparative game. When you try to displace the fault you not only come across as someone who complains (and may even be seen as whiney), but you also never know when you may inadvertently insult someone. For example, I regularly hear students in science or math heavy majors say to me, “well, if I had an easier major, like English, my grades would be higher.” What if your interviewer (like me) majored in English? I certainly wouldn’t have described the multiple twenty-plus page papers I wrote a semester or the probably thousands of pages of reading I did as an easy course load. Pointing fingers just doesn’t create a good impression.

3) Take responsibility for your actions. Instead of blaming a bad grade in a class on your major, the curve or the difficult professor, ask yourself what was really going on. Employers want to hire folks who can own up to their mistakes. In particular, if you can focus on what you’ve learned from that experience so you won’t make a similar mistake again, you can alleviate employers’ fears about any potential “skeletons” in your closet.

4) The best answer to a difficult question is always the truth, though you should consider your approach. What is real reason you had a rough semester? Perhaps you underestimated the time commitment of rushing a sorority or pledging a fraternity? Maybe you got in over your head by taking three upper level classes in the same subject next semester? Simply state what happened without a lot of details or over explanations and then focus on how you learned from the experience, particularly if it allows you to focus on more recent positive events.

Example: “I struggled with adjusting to college life and didn’t manage my time as well I should have freshman year. However, since then, I’ve learned to more effectively juggle my responsibilities and prioritize and as you can see from my transcript, I’ve continued to improve each semester since then.

5) Own your own story. Remember that interviewers are people too, who have made their own mistakes in life and are usually willing to overlook your own provided you have the right approach. It’s important to be comfortable in your own skin. If you are upfront and honest when asked a question without coming across as defensive you will project a self assurance that will put recruiters at ease.

Here is my favorite true anecdote from a few years ago: A student was hitting it off with a recruiter at an on-campus info session for a very prestigious consulting firm. However, her hopes began to dash when the recruiter asked her, “What’s your GPA?” She could see that her response of a 2.76 made the recruiter’s face fall and so she said, “I can see that you’re disappointed,” and the recruiter agreed. The student lifted up her chin and said with a smile, “Let me tell you something. I’m the first person in my family to go to college and I am so proud of the fact that I worked hard enough to end up at Penn. I’m continuing to work hard here and I’m thrilled with my GPA.” Guess what? She ended up getting an interview.