Author: Jingy Yen

Introducing Peer Career Advisors Pop-ins!

Jingy Yen, Associate Director

All summer, we have been prepping and planning for when students return in the fall. This semester, we are launching the new Peer Career Advising program which will provide undergraduate students with more advising resources through quick, 15 minute Pop-ins.

What are Pop-ins?

Pop-ins are run by our Peer Career Advisors (PCAs). PCAs can answer all your career related questions in 15 minute meetings. No appointment needed, just pop-in!

Who can use Pop-ins?

We serve all current undergraduate students at Penn.

When are Pop-ins?

Monday-Friday, 1:00PM-5:00PM.

What can I talk about in a Pop-in?

PCAs can help with resumes, cover letters, interviewing skills, Handshake tips, job/internship search and more. They have been extensively trained on these topics all summer. This is a great resource for those quick questions such as “How do I write about my summer experience on my resume?” and “What is this weird part of Handshake?”

What if I want to see an advisor?

That will always be an option! You can still make an appointment via Handshake or stop by advisor walk-in hours. Advisors can help with bigger questions like “I have no idea what I want to do with my life” or “Help! I have an exploding offer.”  

We are excited about the launch of this new program, and we hope to see you popping-in soon!

Summer Reading List

Jiny Yen, Associate Director

Hurray for summer! It’s finally time for a break from classes, meetings, exams and projects. I usually have a running list of books I keep meaning to read, and my favorite part of summer is that I’m able to finally check off a few. I wanted to share with you some of my favorite career related picks that will help you discover your passions and ways to achieve success.

Design thinking is a hot topic these days, and this book gives practical advice on how to find a fulfilling, meaningful life using design thinking principles. It’s not about achieving success in the traditional sense, and instead focuses on what you can do to find joy in your career.

This book is a great guide for how to handle networking in the social media age. The best part is it includes templates on how to email a recruiter, follow up with a contact and even tips on how to use Twitter and Facebook for your job search.

As a freshman in college, Alex Banayan started on a seven year quest to interview leaders in all different industries and find out what made them successful. His book details those conversations and both the similarities and differences in their experiences. This is a great read not only because of the key insights from these huge names, but also because of the adventure Alex went through to get access.

Spring Cleaning Your Career Journey

Jingy Yen, Associate Director

Spring Break is right around the corner! It’s almost time for a well-deserved break, and I hope you take full advantage of the time off to get outside, sleep in and binge watch your favorite TV show. Spring Break is also a great time to do some spring cleaning, for your home and for your life! Here are some things to do to get organized and come back from the break fully charged.

1. Update things

Consider updating things like your LinkedIn profile or resume with any new responsibilities or activities you’ve gained since you last updated. Take a look at the formatting, are there any changes you want to make?

2. Get organized

It’s easy to apply for all sorts of things as you stumble across them, and then quickly forget what you did or who you even contacted. Figure out a way to keep track of all your target companies, networking conversations and applications to achieve a more tailored approach. You can do this via old school excel spreadsheet, or by using a tool like CareerShift to organize your search.

3. Reflect and respond

Take time to think about what you’ve been doing in your career journey, and what some of the successes and failures have been. Have your interests shifted? Are there new things you want to explore, or things you want to stop pursuing? How about your extracurricular involvements? Do you feel passionate about what you are doing inside and outside of the classroom? Take these reflections and respond by turning them into concrete actions that can help propel your search.

While you are traveling to fun places, soaking up sun on the beach, or just relishing in a midday nap, I will be living vicariously through you! Career Services is still open over Spring Break, and we would be happy to chat over the phone or virtually about any questions you may have along your career journey. Happy spring cleaning!

Treat the job search like a class.

Jingy Yen, Career Counselor

When I was in college, I had trouble figuring out how to balance my time between my commitments, classes, and looking for jobs. I knew I had to sit down and think about applying for things, but after a long day of exams, meetings and projects this seemed almost impossible. My career advisor gave me some advice that I constantly pass on to my students – treat the job search like a class. By doing this, I was able to compartmentalize and the job search didn’t seem like a looming thing that I stressed about all day. To ensure successful implementation of this strategy, there are two easy steps to follow:

  1. Set aside designated time

Schedule time every week to work on your job, internship or graduate school search. This seems obvious, but the most important thing is to not schedule things over it. Treat it like a class by making it consistent and not something you can easily miss.

  1. Don’t worry about it the rest of the time

You know you will work on “career stuff” at a certain time every week, so don’t worry about it the rest of the week. This helped me tremendously because I didn’t feel the constant pressure of having to look for something when I knew I would have time to work on it later. Let yourself have some time off!

Of course there will be times that you have to do things outside of the designated time, like answer time sensitive emails or go to an interview (kind of like homework!). I found that by setting aside the time earlier in the week, I was able to proactively schedule these things, be more prepared and feel more organized throughout the entire process.

I’ve used this strategy for many other things in my life – so it doesn’t work just for career related things! Anytime you have a stressful issue that seems to take over everything, this can be a way to tackle it one step at a time.

Case interviews 101

Jingy Yen, Career Adviser

Interviewing is usually a nerve wracking, anxiety inducing experience. Case interviews bring a whole new level of stress and uncertainty. Here are some tips and tricks for tackling the case interview and making the process more manageable.

First things first –what is a case interview?

A case interview is when the employer presents you with a business problem, likely something that the company has to deal with regularly. Your job is to analyze the problem and give some solutions. There is usually no clear right or wrong answer. The interviewer is assessing your problem solving ability, how you approach different situations, and your ability to talk your way through it.

So when I be expected to do a case interview?

If you are interested in consulting or similar fields, you will most likely have to do some variation of a case interview. Sometimes it’ll be one-on-one with an interviewer, other times you will be expected to present your ideas in front of a panel.

Yikes this sounds scary. How do I prepare?

The good news is summer is a great time to prepare for case interviews. Recruiting starts the minute you get back on campus, so you won’t have a lot of time to prepare in the fall. Start by reading some case books and watching videos online to get an idea of what the case interview looks like. Then, find peers to practice with. You can also make an appointment with a career advisor to do a mock case interview. It’s hard to practice for this on your own, so the best strategy is to connect with as many people as possible to practice with each other. There isn’t a magic number for how many to practice, just try to fit as many in.

Okay fine, but what can I do on my own?

There are many things you can do on your own to prepare as well. Brush up on your mental math. I’m not talking calculus here, I’m talking long division and percentages. Keep updated on current business trends, read The Wall Street Journal and The Economist. This will help you come up with unique strategies and solutions. You can also do “case starts.” Read yourself the case prompt, and set up your initial framework to practice how you would start a case.

What are some resources for case interviewing?

Books (Available to preview in the Career Services library):
Case in Point by Marc Cosentino
Crack the Case by David Ohrvall
Case Interview Secrets by Victor Cheng

Websites:
https://www.caseinterview.com/ (great mental math exercises)
https://managementconsulted.com/
https://www.preplounge.com/en/

Videos:
MConsultingPrep You Tube Channel : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGo4-qWsTYnGKhXeghZE6hA