Helen Cheung – Page 3 – Penn & Beyond

What should freshmen be doing with their summer?

Most Penn freshmen have just settled in on campus before their in-boxes get flooded with emails about different opportunities. So, I am not surprised that freshmen are often concerned about what they should be doing over the summer.

For some students, the summer is a great time to kick back and hang out with their friends and family. Others might wish to use their three months to try out a career idea, to gain new skills and experiences, or make money. Penn freshmen have spent their summers writing plays, competing in sports, babysitting their siblings, doing community service, traveling abroad, taking classes, and working full- or part-time jobs.

The options are unlimited and there is no right or wrong answer. My bias is that students should do something, ideally something that they don’t get to do during the other nine months of the year. I also think that they should be careful not to spend so much of their time during the Spring semester searching for that perfect internship.

So, for instance, I spent the summer after my freshmen year in Hong Kong working at a university because I wanted to travel and speak Chinese. The job itself was boring, but everyday I got to interact with Chinese people and eat good cafeteria food. The summer after my sophomore year, I got an internship in advertising. I share this because what students do each summer don’t have to be a spectacular career move. Just be productive and deliberate with your time.

So, what should freshmen be doing over the summer? To answer this question, weigh your priorities and also consider whether these priorities are best met during the summer after freshmen year. So, what is most important to you?

– To save money
– “Build resume” or meet people in a particular industry
– Try out a potential career or major
– Help people/community
– Learn something
– Check out a new city/country
– Spend quality time with family and friends
– Catch up on sleep
– _______________

If you want to see examples of other things Penn students have done in their summers, check out the Summer Survey Reports posted on the Career Services website.

Videos: how to find an internship in…

Internship season is upon us and many students are coming to CS to learn about finding an internship. In addition to reviewing the advice & listings on our website, you can check out the videos of interviews conducted with your fellow students to get a first-hand look at the internship search process.

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Thinking about a government internship? Last Fall, we talked to four students who interned at NASA, Senate Banking Committee, Delaware Attorney General’s Office, and Department of Energy and Climate Change (UK). Here’s what they said about their jobs and how they found them:

Government Internships: Myths & Advice from Penn Career Services on Vimeo. (Thanks to my wonderful colleague Claire Klieger for putting together this video)

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For more videos like this on a variety of internships from start-ups to communications, visit the CS Internships Vimeo Channel. And I hope these videos will inspire some of you to conduct some informational interviews of your own.

Post-thanksgiving Pep Talk

So, you’ve followed your career counselor’s advice to do some networking while at home for thanksgiving break and perhaps got a contact – a relative’s next door neighbor, let’s say – who works at the magazine that you’d like to intern at next summer. Nice job! But now, what do you do with this information?

Even though it seems early to be asking for internships right now, I’d encourage you to connect with this contact and follow up with your referrer this week. Connecting early gives you more time to learn more from this person about opportunities at this company. Besides, it’s good manners – if you don’t use this contact and follow up, the referrer might be more reluctant to offer you a contact or do other favors in the future. Remember that at least half of the jobs out there are never advertised. If you’re the first to ask about it, you might just get it and in the process you save the company the hassle of recruiting.

As the resident shy career counselor here, I understand that networking can feel unnatural at first. The trick for me is to think of these lukewarm contacts as your friends of friends and you’re merely asking for a bit of advice from them. It’s like when you were in high school and you asked your buddy’s cousin who is a Penn alumna about what Penn is like and how fast you have to run to get on the Penn track team.

With that mentality, craft a short introductory email to the contact that includes:

1) Name drop: “My aunt so-and-so suggested that I give you a call because I’ve been researching design careers in the magazine industry…”

2) Who you are: “I’m a sophomore at Penn with a Health and Societies major…” Include information about your background and interests but don’t overwhelm with your qualifications

3) The “Ask”: “Would you have a few moments to talk with me by phone about …? I have some questions about …”

4) Next steps: “I’ll call your office next week to see if we can find a time convenient to chat.”

5) Thank you

After you’ve emailed your contact, also send your referrer a thank you note, which could be via email or snail mail. This takes only a few minutes and she will appreciate the feedback that she has been helpful to you. Then next week, call the contact to follow up on the email as you promised. For what to do next, especially once you get an informational interview or face-to-face meeting with the contact, I refer you to the articles on the Career Services website about networking and information interviewing.

Why not U.S.?

As a career counselor for the College, I’m supposed to learn a little bit about every career. When I was charged with giving myself a crash course on government careers, I was probably like many people and thought – boring! But the more I read about working for the Uncle Sam and the more I talk with the alumni feds, the more I realize what a unique employer the government is. (Yes, it is an occupational hazard to be attracted to a new field every day.)

Not only is the federal government hiring right now, but they are hiring for jobs in every field. You can work in public health, finance regulation, historic preservation, foreign service, engineering, environment, etc. It also turns out that federal jobs pay better than I thought, and there is a schedule for raises and promotion. The jobs are located in every state in the U.S.

I admit that government applications can be a hassle, but that’s why Career Services is putting on a slew of events to help you navigate the process and talk directly with real feds who can show you the ropes. Here’s what’s coming up this semester:

Finding and Applying for Federal Jobs and Internships Tuesday, September 28, 3 – 4 pm
State Department Information Session Wednesday, September 29, 5 pm – 6 pm
Internships in Government Wednesday, September 29, 3 – 4 pm
Policy and Government Career Fair 2010 Friday, October 1, 11 am – 3 pm
Careers with the Foreign Service: From Philadelphia to Pakistan and Back Friday, October 1, 3:30 – 4:30 pm
Business Careers in the Government Panel and Networking Reception Thursday, October 14, 4 – 5 pm panel, followed by reception
Working for Uncle Sam: you, what, where, why, and how Thursday, October 14,12 – 1pm
Federal Resume Critiques Thursday, October 14, 2 to 3:30 pm (sign up required)
Foreign Service Oral Exam Prep Session Thursday, October 21, 12-1:30
International Development Careers in the Government Panel Friday, Oct 29, 12 – 1 pm
Careers in Science & Engineering in the Federal Government Panel Friday, November 5, 12 – 1pm

News you can use: Summer Survey report

by Helen Cheung

During the Fall, many of you answered our pleas and completed the Summer Survey which asks undergraduates what they did last summer. Thank you so much! I’ve read each and every one of your responses (those from CAS students) and enjoyed living vicariously through your experiences. In doing so, I also have learned a lot about summer opportunities. Just as we like to base our career advice on real information, I hope that you will use this data to guide your summer job search. Those of you who have met me might know that I’m a fan of “fact checking.” Here are some facts:

1. Exploration: First, if you are ever curious about what other students in your major and class do, what opportunities are out there in a particular field, how much money on average an intern makes, or where students live over the summer, the Summer Survey Report has the answers. One thing I learned is that nearly half of the students do more than one thing in the summer – they work full-time and intern part-time, or they take classes and volunteer, etc. You can also search for upperclassmen to ask internship-related questions on the Penn Internship Network, the database of Penn students who have volunteered to speak with other students about their internships.

2. Industries: The industries that hired the most CAS students are: education, financial services, nonprofit, communication, and government. So, while CAS students have no trouble finding work in business, far more students are in creative and service industries. Don’t limit yourself to the types of employers who recruit on campus or post jobs on PennLink if your interests lie elsewhere.

3. Jobs: CAS students held summer positions in more than 90 different job categories and is the most diverse of the undergraduate schools at Penn. Your arts and sciences education gives you many career options. Therefore, explore and research your options. For example, students who did a legal internship worked not only in law firms, but also higher education, nonprofit, manufacturing, and government industries. The “What Can I do With My Major” link is a good resource that lays out for each type of work, what sort of organization you would look in to find it.

4. Application timing: Last summer, 65% of CAS students found their summer jobs in March, April and May last year, with most offers coming in April. That means *now* is a good time to apply for jobs and follow up on leads and applications.

5. Search methods: 30% of CAS students found their jobs through personal contacts and 18% through applying directly to the organization. The lesson here? Talk to people, meet new ones, take the initiative to research organizations, inquire and follow up. Too many students believe that their applications go to a “black hole” and don’t bother applying at all. In addition to applying directly, diversify your approach, including using PACNet or LinkedIn to seek advice and leads from Penn alumni.

I hope these observations and advice will be helpful as you continue your summer job search. As always, you’ll find a great deal of helpful information on the Career Services website, and I encourage all of you to connect with one of the career counselors if you have questions about your search. Good luck!