Helen Cheung – Penn & Beyond

Is it possible to find a summer internship in June?

Believe it not, you can still find a summer internship in June. Sure, many applications deadlines have passed, and many interns have started their jobs. But take heart in the fact that Career Services is still getting internship announcements from employers and hundreds of students finalize their summer plans in June. The internships offered to students in June are not even the dregs. As the graphic below shows, employers in a variety of industries hire their interns late.

Industries of employers who hired interns from Penn in June of 2012

An internship that’s available in June isn’t necessarily that different from those that hire earlier, but you do need adjust how you conduct your search a bit. Many of these internships are not posted on a job board (see pie chart below). Your search needs to be more proactive. You should identify employers and apply or inquire directly. You should reach out to contacts to get ideas or advice for where to look. You should follow up with employers you previously applied to. You should apply to lots of internships but also take care to send high-quality, tailored applications. (See the internships page for more guidance on any of this.)

Method of obtaining internship for Penn students who got their offers in June of 2012

Also, Career Services is here for you. If you are looking for something to do this summer, I’d encourage you to make an appointment to talk with a Career Services advisor soon. We can review your strategy, make an action plan, and also identify alternative ways to have a productive summer break. We can help you research employers in your field and point you to helpful alumni and other students. We can coach you on contacting employers to follow up on applications you already submitted. We can, of course, critique your resume and cover letters, do a practice interview, and offer feedback on your networking spiel. Come see us!

Virtual International Opportunities Fair 2012

If you’re interested in working or volunteering abroad, check out the Virtual International Opportunities Fair which began on Monday, November 5, 2012 and will end on Friday, December 14, 2012. Over 40 employers are signed up, and they recruit students for opportunities in conservation, consulting, global health, international development, teaching, technology, and more.

The Virtual International Opportunities Fair is an online career fair featuring employers that provide international opportunities including internships, jobs, and service. Through PennLink you can “visit” the International Opportunities Fair to interact with representatives from globally-oriented organizations, companies, and schools that provide teaching, internship, work opportunities and post-graduate education abroad. The online format of the fair enables you to make contact with employers by viewing their profiles and submitting resumes to employers/positions that interest you. You can also instant message with recruiters directly during the Virtual International Opportunities Fair. Please visit the event website for more information or go to PennLink to get started.

Using your liberal arts education for the common good – Q & A with Wyn Furman, CAS 2009

Wyn Furman graduated from Penn in 2009 with double majors in History and French. She is currently the Manager of Community Research for The San Diego Foundation, a community foundation that stewards philanthropic funds on behalf of the San Diego region. She recently shared her thoughts on her nonprofit career with Career Services.

1. What got you interested in working for a nonprofit, and in the philanthropy field, specifically?

My interest in working in the nonprofit sector developed when I realized how much I had benefited from the generosity of others—particularly in receiving my education—which made me want to “give back” through my work. Arriving at Philanthropy was a happy accident. In our field, we feel that people don’t graduate from college hoping to enter our line of work, probably due to a lack of familiarity with this part of the nonprofit sector. As a result, some of us are hoping to introduce more intentionality to this career path by encouraging young talent to pursue philanthropy sooner.

2. Can you tell us a little bit about what you do and why it’s important?

Primarily, I serve our donors by helping them learn more about the issues and organizations to which they would like to dedicate funds. This includes providing background on challenges our region faces and even evaluating organizations’ financial position via tax records (which I enjoy, even though I was a history major!). In addition to the research component, I also solicit reports from organizations that describe the work they do with grants from our donors.

The aim of my work is to help donors feel more informed when deciding which organizations to support. This is great for the community because we help donors act on their passions. For instance, we’ve had donors who read about an organization in the paper call us to vet the organization before making a grant. In those cases, we’ve helped turn news coverage into dollars that support the community!

Our capacity for research is also among the services that help distinguish The Foundation from other institutions that manage charitable funds, like banks. Although my role is “behind the scenes,” I think it is important because I provide tools that help my colleagues strengthen their relationships with donors, and that help donors feel more connected to the community. It’s a win-win that ultimately benefits our region.

3. What are the different hats you’ve worn since joining the San Diego Foundation?

I started by helping to coordinate Our Greater San Diego Vision (www.OGSDV.org), a campaign that engaged 30,000 people across the greater San Diego region in planning for its long-term future. After more than a year and a half in that position, the bulk of the project was complete, so I chose to apply for the newly created position of Manager, Community Research.

This work draws on the regional knowledge I gained by working on Our Greater San Diego Vision. The nice thing about moving from a programmatic role (working on the Vision) to donor stewardship is that I have a solid understanding of the responsibilities and priorities of our two major areas of operation, and relationships throughout our organization. This has led to being engaged in some exciting projects and discussions in which I might not otherwise have been involved.

Continue reading “Using your liberal arts education for the common good – Q & A with Wyn Furman, CAS 2009”

Life lessons from a concussion

While biking home two weeks ago, I collided head on with another cyclist on Kelly Drive and suffered a concussion. I spent the next week at home on cognitive and physical rest with a “screen ban” in place. No texting, no reading, no television, no thinking, no running. It sounded daunting. But that week off the grid got my head back together and taught me a few things.

1. There are nice people out there. Be one of them. Can you believe that the cyclist who hit me stayed until help arrived, admitted that the crash was his fault, and emailed to check on me after the accident? Also, not one, but two friends, happened upon the aftermath and helped me get in touch with my family when I clearly didn’t remember why I was sitting on the bike path and that I have a phone on me. Nevermind that the ambulance never came, but I am reminded again that how you treat people on a day-to-day basis is how you make an impact in this world. I am so fortunate that I have a job where I help people, and I hope that my students will find a way to contribute to the common good, too.

2. If you ever want to know what you’re about, don’t do anything for a week and then see what you miss doing the most. I didn’t realize I can drop everything at once. It turns out it’s okay if I don’t read the paper everyday, but I need to interact with people. It turns out what I miss most is running after my toddler, not running marathons. Since the accident, I’ve cut down my blog roll significantly. So, if you’re curious about what is essential, what you need to be spending your time doing, try deprivation.

3. Worrying is not productive. Keep in mind the big picture. I couldn’t reply to emails while I was concussed, and felt stressed knowing that there were probably important questions in my inbox. But everything turned out okay. My wonderful colleagues pitched in, and many students found answers to their questions marked “urgent,” or they emailed me to say that they can wait until I get healed up (thanks!). My career is not over because I let go for a week. The biggest thing I learned from doing nothing for a week is just to step back and worry less.

Olympics and Career Exploration

While watching the Olympics, my sister asked me: “Do you sometimes wonder if maybe there’s another sport you’d play well if you knew about it? Like trampoline? or judo?” Or we might like biathlons if we had grown up where there are snow and guns. It could turn out then that she had good hand-eye coordination all along.

I think that people pursue careers in much the same way. We generally go into careers we have heard about and know someone in, and we choose a career that we have a little experience in to know that we’d be good at it. So, for those of you who are trying to figure out what your calling is, don’t just sit back and debate the options. Go out and experience new things, take a class in something you know nothing about, talk to people in different jobs, volunteer or do an internship, and fact check. My point isn’t to find some obscure career that you have to move far away to do, but that there are a lot of careers out there that you might like a lot and be very good at, so why limit yourself to the careers you’ve heard about but not so sure you want?