Jamie Grant – Page 8 – Penn & Beyond

Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall…

..who is the fairest one of all? If you’re familiar with the children’s story of Snow White, you know this is a desperate plea from the Evil Queen to her enchanted mirror, so that she may know with certainty if Snow White has perished at the hands of the Evil Queen’s minion, making her the “fairest in the land.” Even Harry Potter had the Mirror of Erised, in which he saw his “living” parents.

And while I certainly would like an enchanted mirror of my own, in which to ensure work gets done or to see my heart’s greatest desire, I am not sure such things exist in real life. But, I do think reflection can be of great help to you in your job search.

Thinking back on where you’ve been and where you are today, on what you’ve enjoyed, what you’d rather not do again, what skills you’ve gained and experience you’ve earned, will prepare you well for SO many questions you’ll be asked as you apply to internships and jobs. Are you considering a career path that requires a great deal of team based work? Think back to your (possibly many) examples of great team work – as well as those times your team didn’t succeed. “What is your greatest weakness?” is a popular question – when did you suffer from a shortcoming and work hard to overcome it? Sift through your experiences in advance, so you can easily tell YOUR story when asked. Think back on the times you’ve been applauded for success, been celebrated for your achievements, but also the times you’ve had challenges, and times you’ve learned from disappointment or mistakes. I guarantee the answers you can create for interview questions will be the better for it.

More than just “Small” Talk

…as you engage in your first job search or if you’ve been in the world of work for some time, chances are you’ve found yourself in a professionally related situation that required “small talk.”

by Jamie Grant, C’98, GEd ’99

Recently, I met with a student who was traveling for a job interview; the organization’s offices were an hour from the airport and he would be picked up and driven back by the person overseeing the interview process. Overshadowing the candidate’s preparation for the interview was concern about what he could possibly talk about during the long car ride with a stranger-slash-potential boss. The weather? Sports? Politics? Music? While this was an extreme situation, as you engage in your first job search or if you’ve been in the world of work for some time, chances are you’ve found yourself in a professionally related situation that required “small talk.”

Like the business etiquette lessons you will find so useful throughout life, the ability to make small talk is an important skill to practice and develop, and one that will be more beneficial than you might think. Small talk can put you at ease during the job interviewing process, while meeting new colleagues or clients or at social events. It is a large component of successful networking; developing rapport with another through conversation and interest in a shared topic is an ideal way to create affiliation and forge strong and longstanding relationships.

So, how might you develop or improve your small talk skills? One strategy I have found very helpful is to read widely. In just a few moments, you can be well prepared for any situation that may involve small talk by reviewing the latest headlines of the New York Times or Washington Post, easily accessible online. Another fantastic resource I use often is National Public Radio, or NPR. Broadcast across the country and designed for an eclectic listener base, NPR frequently plays interesting short stories or interviews that cover everything from current events to art and lifestyle topics as well as entertainment and music of many genres. I have had several interesting discussions with new acquaintances on brief excerpts from StoryCorps on NPR (a famed oral history project preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress). The above mentioned sites are just a few of many widely available resources to aid you in developing a repertoire of topics to discuss.

Another key to effective small talk is to be observant as well as a careful listener. As you speak with someone new to you or who has been a colleague for some time, pay special attention to detail. You may learn that someone enjoys food by an innocuous comment made over a catered business lunch, leading to a spirited conversation on the area’s best restaurants. Or, a comment admiring someone’s jewelry or bag could inspire that person to share the story of where it was acquired and how much they enjoyed traveling to the country in which it was purchased. But, you say, what if the other person doesn’t respond or engage with my attempt? Remember that small talk is not formulaic, nor can it be forced. You may be surprised, though, how pleased others are to engage in conversation with you when you have an interesting way to start.

Don’t Take It As Hard As Vincent…

…they had wall-papered their entire front hallway, from floor to super-high ceiling, with the rejection letters they had received from job and grad school applications.

by Jamie Grant, C’98, GEd ’99

A few years back, I went to a graduation party at a good friend’s off-campus house. He and his roommates were an interesting group of soon-to-be Penn alums: from different majors, all very smart, and applicants for a wide variety of jobs and graduate programs. Most memorable, however, was the many rejection letters they had each received, with which they had wall-papered their entire front hall, from floor to super-high ceiling. They laughed and pointed them out to everyone. These were bright guys with Ivy League degrees -what were they going to DO after Penn???!

Chances are you’ve received such letters – and possibly felt keen disappointment. When Vincent Van Gogh was rejected, he cut off his ear; thankfully my friends took rejection much better than he, and I hope you will, too.

It’s likely there is not one specific answer as to why you did not get a particular job offer or invitation to a graduate program. Sometimes companies have too many great candidates from which to choose for a limited number of jobs in a tough economy. Perhaps your research interests detailed in your personal statement don’t align closely enough with what the faculty are doing in a graduate program. It’s possible that at the end of a mere 45 minutes, your interviewer didn’t think your personality or style fit into the existing culture of the organization, regardless of your qualifications. There are a multitude of reasons why rejection letters are sent out, and sometimes it has nothing to do with you at all.

I encourage you to remember that despite any rejections you may receive, it’s likely that your career will turn out exactly as it should, and you will be glad for where you end up. As the old saying goes, a door closes but a window opens – make sure you’re ready to climb through!

My friends? I ran into a few of them at a wedding recently – one went on to study literature at Oxford, another started his own business, one worked abroad and later went back to school for an MBA, another got an offer later that summer at a not-for-profit, yet another decided to travel and now works in an engineering firm. Each took a first step on a path that while perhaps obscured at first by that sea of rejections, seems to have worked out just fine.

My advice to you? Please – be patient, stay positive, come in or call and speak with a career counselor for guidance, but trust that you, too, will find your path. And for those people that keep asking what your next step is? Smile brightly, let them know you’re still seeking – and by the way, do they know anyone who is hiring??

An International Student’s Job Search

Once you understand your work permission, have carefully developed a resume and practiced your cover letter writing and interviewing skills, you are ready to engage in the job search – right? But, how do you find jobs not restricted to U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents? Career Services is here to help!

by Jamie Grant

Are you an F-1 (international) student, working diligently towards your degree, and find yourself, like many other students, thinking about internships, or your life after Penn? Perhaps you have already starting “job searching” (aka clicking through PennLink) and are dismayed by the number of job postings that clearly state applications are “limited to U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents.” You are confident that you have strong skills, motivation, and could be an excellent worker, if only given the opportunity. What can you do to be considered, interviewed and hired?

Let’s consider what it really means to be “F-1.” An F-1 is a student, non-immigrant visa – just one of many visa types offered by the U.S. Government. Your F-1 visa was offered to you so that you may complete a degree in the U.S. Your status as an F-1 student requires that you understand the exact rules and restrictions as to what you can and cannot do while in the U.S. You most likely remember signing an official-looking legal document that required you to state that you will return to your home country after graduation. So, how can you possibly stay in the U.S. to work?

While it’s certainly not a secret, many F-1 students that I’ve met in my years of career counseling don’t realize that the F-1 visa has significant training benefits attached to it, otherwise known as “work permissions.” If you don’t know what terms like pre- or post-completion OPT, the STEM extension, or April 1st might mean to you and your career – keep reading!

To fully understand your potential ability to be hired by a U.S. organization, you have several great learning resources. Your first stop should be to visit with your advisor for International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) in the International Programs office here on Penn’s campus, or to spend some considerable time studying the ISSS website at http://global.upenn.edu/isss. Their webpage on F-1 Student Information – http://global.upenn.edu/isss/f1 – has details on just about everything you need to know about your visa and work/training options. You should become very familiar with your work permissions if you’re serious about applying what you’ve learned and working legally in the U.S. It is more than likely that you will need be able to clearly explain your permission, either in writing or during an interview, to your potential employer.

Once you understand your work permission, have carefully developed a resume and practiced your cover letter writing and interviewing skills, you are ready to engage in the job search – right? But, how do you find jobs not restricted to U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents? Career Services is here to help!

There are several key resources and events targeted to F-1 job seekers brought to you by the Career Services office. While you might find your search a bit more challenging than searching and submitting applications through PennLink, as a Penn student you have access to a database of U.S. companies with a history of hiring international candidates – like you – called GoinGlobal. By researching in GoinGlobal, and cross-referencing your findings with PennLink, company career websites and other job posting resources, you are more than likely to find opportunities in which you have great interest, and for which you may very well be a top candidate.

In addition, each year Career Services hosts a presentation by representatives from the legal firm McCandlish Holton, designed to help you understand all the rules, regulations, requirements, and best strategies to successfully manage your search and career. http://www.lawmh.com/practice_areas/immigration.htm. Handouts from their program held throughout the years are available in Career Services for your review.

Other resources maintained by Career Services and accessible through the Career Services Online Library include The H-1B Online Job Databases for Foreign Students/Postdocs (fairly self-explanatory), and Uniworld.
Uniworld offers two online directories – one of American organizations with International subsidiaries and one of International organizations with American subsidiaries. This could be especially helpful, much like using GoinGlobal, in guiding you to identify organizations more amenable to hiring international candidates. In addition, should you not be able to secure a job in the U.S. after graduation, using Uniworld will help you to identify American companies operating in your country of origin – companies that may highly value the educational and cultural experience you have gained by studying in the U.S. and may perhaps consider you for a U.S. post in future years.

You can easily access the resources and directories mentioned here through the Career Services Library On Line Subscription Database: http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/library/ – look for “Online Subscriptions…”

Also, consider types of employing organizations that have greater capacity to hire foreign graduates, such as universities, non-profit organizations affiliated with universities (such as research facilities or hospitals), non-profit research organizations engaged primarily in basic or applied research, and governmental research organizations. These types of organizations are not subject to the same restrictions on the numbers of foreign graduates for whom they can obtain authorization to hire with H1-B visas, and as such are some of the more common employers of F-1 students.

The “big and little L” of Leadership

…a leader is not only to be found in the team captain, class president, or valedictorian…Consider ways in which you have led by example; when you have helped or taught others; when you have assumed responsibility to do something well or to see something through, even if you weren’t the one “in charge.”

The ability to lead – and lead well – is a highly coveted skill in the employment market. Maybe you’ve taken a class with “Leadership” in the title; perhaps you’ve been a captain on an athletic team or the President of a student club. Intern and entry-level candidates devote entire sections of their resume to the details of their elected or appointed leadership positions held throughout their school years. Scan just about any job posting and it is easy to see that employers are consistently looking for candidates that have demonstrated this valued attribute.

However, a leader is not only to be found in the team captain, class president, or valedictorian. When speaking with students in career counseling meetings, I often discuss the difference between the “big and little L” of leadership – those times when you may have been appointed or recognized as the leader – the “big L” – and other times, when you weren’t necessarily or formally “in charge,” but demonstrated characteristics and qualities that illustrate your leadership potential and talents, and would be ideal to share with a potential employer.

John Quincy Adams once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” I encourage you to think of the ways that Adam’s interpretation of what makes a leader resonates with your own life experiences. Consider ways in which you have led by example; when you have helped or taught others; when you have assumed responsibility to do something well or to see something through, even if you weren’t the one “in charge.” Chances are, this has happened often in your life – with classmates, siblings or relatives, co-workers and others. By detailing those experiences, and the personal and professional development gained, you have the potential to be considered an even stronger candidate for the careers you are considering!