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Teach, Intern or Work Abroad through the International Opportunities Virtual Fair

By Kelly Cleary

Perhaps you’ve studied abroad and can’t wait to get back to Paris. Maybe you’ve written papers about human rights issues in Africa and you’re eager to do what you can to improve the lives of the people you’ve studied. Or you’ve heard about the exciting business and financial opportunities in China and India and you can’t wait to be a part of the next wave of corporate leadership. Or maybe you just want have a short-term adventure before you head into “the real world.” These are just a few of the reasons Penn students pursue work and volunteer opportunities abroad.

The International Opportunities Virtual Fair is a great way to connect with short and long term summer or post-graduate opportunities abroad and/or with an international focus.

Virtual International Opportunities Fair

Teaching, Internships, Full-Time and Graduate Study Opportunities Abroad Available online Mon., Nov. 22, 2010 through Fri., Jan. 21, 2011

The Virtual International Opportunities Fair, an online career fair, is for Penn students and alumni who are interested in international opportunities.

Through PennLink you can “visit” the International Opportunities Fair to meet representatives from over 30 globally-oriented organizations, companies, and schools that provide teaching, internship, work, volunteer 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. After the fair is over, employers will receive the resumes you dropped and will contact you directly if they’re interested in an interview.

To participate in the Virtual International Opportunities Fair:

1) Log into PennLink. If you do not have an account already, you will be asked to complete a brief profile.

2) Upload or update your resume (if you haven’t done so already) by clicking on the “Documents” tab.

3) Click on “Virtual International Opportunities Fair” under the “Events” box on the rights

4) Be sure to click on the “Positions Recruited” tab to view full job descriptions and application instructions.

5) To express your interest in an organization, go back to the main “Participants” page and click “GO” to submit your resume.

A Sample of Participating Organizations by Industry (* Indicates the organization charges a program fee. ):

Business
Abroad China, China*
IBM, China and India
Milagrow-Business & Knowledge Solutions, India
Social Entrepreneur Corps, South America, Africa*
Communications
Botswana-UPenn Partnership
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) (Journalism internship)
The Education Abroad Network, Australia, China*
Engineering/Technology
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) – RISE
IBM, China and India
Education/Teaching
Aclipse, Asia
China Education Initiative, China
EPA! Español en Panama
Teach in France program, French Ministry of Education
Footprints Recruiting, Georgia/Eastern Europe
Milagrow-Business & Knowledge Solutions, India
Summerbridge, Hong Kong
Teach for India
The Kelly Yang Project, Ltd, Hong Kong
Environment
Frontier
Healthcare
Penn Botswana-UPenn Partnership
Child Family Health International, Africa, Asia, South America*
Unite for Site, New Haven, CT
Non-Profit/Public Interest
Foundation for Sustainable Development*
Humanity in Action, Worldwide
Indicorps, India
Israel Government Fellow*
Social Entrepreneur Corps, South America, Africa*
Research
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) – RISE
RWTH Aachen University, Germany

Career Services’ International Opportunities and Year of Service/Gap Year Programs pages offer additional resources. If you haven’t already, be sure to log into GoinGlobal (PennKey required) to search its international job & internship board and its country job search guides.

Nonprofit Careers: Making a Living While Making a Difference

By Kelly Cleary

Sometimes students talk to career counselors as if they were making a confession. We often hear “I don’t want to be a doctor (or lawyer)” in almost a whisper so their parents in Long Island or LA can’t hear them. But sometimes, instead of a whisper, it’s a confident voice accompanied by averted eyes, as if to say, “I know this is crazy but…,” coming from a student who has made up his or her mind, but isn’t sure how friends and family will take the decision. She wants to join the Peace Corps, he wants to write a screenplay, she wants to go to culinary school, or he wants to do conservation work in Alaska. In any case, I love meeting with these types of students because instead of committing to a future career they feel lukewarm about, almost guaranteeing themselves a future case of the Sunday evening blues, they’ve identified something they really care about and enjoy. The next step is simply (or not so simply) helping them find a way to make a living while pursuing their passion. Pursuing a career in the nonprofit sector can be one great way to pursue your passion while making a living.

Yes, you can support yourself and make a living while working for a nonprofit. It’s true salaries in nonprofits tend to be quite a bit lower than salaries in the for-profit and even government sectors, but once you’ve reassessed your budgetary needs (Netflix is probably cheaper than cable; cooking is healthier and cheaper than ordering out; having a roommate means more money in your pocket, etc.), you can quickly realize you can make ends meet. And often, once you’ve proved yourself as a competent professional in a nonprofit, especially if you work for an organization that offers tuition assistance for graduate school, your salary will increase. All the while you’ll be supporting a cause you really care about, working with people who care about the same issues, and usually having a pretty great work-life balance.

For more information about pursuing a nonprofit job, attend tomorrow’s workshop:

NONPROFIT CAREERS 101 workshop (Wednesday, November 17, 5:00-6:00pm, Civic House Living Room)

This event is designed to help you better understand the non-profit sector and assist you in navigating the job search in the public interest. The session will demystify some of the myths about careers in the public interest as well as help you better determine which job opportunities to pursue, and how best to go about attaining them. The session will also introduce you to resources both on campus and the web. (CO-SPONSORED BY CAREER SERVICES & CIVIC HOUSE)

For additional information about nonprofit careers read the The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers for First-time Job Seekers or The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers for Sector Switchers. Also, keep an eye out for several nonprofit-related career fairs co-sponsored by Career Services in Spring 2011 including the Not-For-Profit Philadelphia Fair, the Not-For-Profit & Public Service Fair at Columbia, and the Philadelphia Nonprofit Fair co-sponsored by Idealist.org.

Go Abroad Young Man (or Woman): Working Abroad to Advance Your Career

By Kelly Cleary

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” -Mark Twain

You can always count on Mark Twain for a fine inspirational quote, and this one seemed to nicely sum up the advice I generally give to students who are mulling around the prospect of working abroad, or simply considering working in a different part of the country for their first job after school. For those of you who have met with me to talk about the possibility of traveling and/or doing a gap year abroad after graduation, you know I’m a big fan of pursuing this kind of adventure while you’re young and have the travel bug. To be honest, I don’t necessarily like using the term “gap” year, because this kind of experience shouldn’t really be a gap in the career development process—it has the potential to be a fundamental building block similar to most study abroad experiences. Students and recent grads who study and/or work abroad tend to experience tremendous personal and professional growth that can impact both their career interests and their qualifications as prospective employees in a very positive way. As any international student can tell you, living abroad helps you become more confident and independent, and nearly forces you to be more flexible and creative. Living abroad also provides an excellent opportunity to gain a keener sense of cross-cultural understanding and better grasp of political, cultural, and economic issues in the global context– qualities that are essential for successful leadership in today’s political and economic climate.

My first job was a teaching internship in Italy while my boyfriend/future husband taught in Latin America and then landed an editing job in London (an organization called BUNAC helped him sort out the visa details for both experiences). Neither of us saved any money that year, but we had a great time and have no regrets about spending that year overseas. In fact, we both feel like those experiences had a huge positive influence on our future career paths. My teaching experience in Italy combined with my graduate degree in counseling helped me land a job in Belfast, Northern Ireland working for an Irish peace process program as a contractor for the Department of State, and I often draw on both of those experiences in my work at Penn.

For those of you who might be interested in heading abroad, here are a few opportunities and resources to get you started. First, mark your calendar for our International Opportunities Fair on Friday, November 5^th. Then familiarize yourself with some of the resources on our International Opportunities page, especially GoinGlobal that includes an international job and internship database and country guides that include job search resources and tips for CV’s and visas.

Navigating OCR with a Low GPA: Networking & Persistence are the Keys to Success

This blog was written by a May 2010 graduate who, despite a low GPA, landed a great job through the recruiting process.

My GPA at the beginning of senior year was far from perfect. While I had a great resume in terms of community achievements, extra-curriculars, and work experience, my GPA consistently kept employers at bay. It’s not very surprising that I received only a meager handful of interviews (I estimate about 3) with my resume alone. I can probably attribute another 3 interviews to my networking efforts at On-Campus Recruiting (OCR) events (like the Career Fairs being held this week.)

My tips for OCR networking would be to 1) formulate and ask questions that you would have if you were really planning to work for the firm, and 2) to bring something to the table — if you run a business on the side or a non-profit, offer up a board or advisory position.

Regarding 1), it doesn’t help to ask a recruiter whether they like their job or about the projects they’re working on — most likely, they’re bound by confidentiality agreements and can’t tell you much. Instead, I liked to ask for a rundown of a day-in-their-life, or ask them about specific metrics and tools they use on a daily basis. These are questions that give a more tangible answer that can help you better understand the profession and prepare for the job. As for 2), I happened to work for a non-profit consultancy at the time and we were looking for people to fill our Board of Directors — I ended up being more memorable than most people because I could leverage that offer and talk up my involvements at the same time.

However, the bulk of interviews that I scored (about 10 or so) resulted from waking up early each day, dressing up as if I had an interview, smiling grimly to myself, massaging the tired bags that lingered persistently beneath my eyes before heading out, and working my way through the Recruiter Add-On Interview process where employers fill open interview slots on the day of their on-campus interviews by accepting “Recruiter Add-On Interview Requests”. (see the link for instructions)

Overall, OCR was an extremely humbling experience, and I ended up making some contacts (which I keep in touch with via LinkedIn) that truly believed in my intellectual worth. I also picked up valuable communications skills and learned how to effectively “sell” myself as a candidate. If anything, it amply prepared me for the interview that did land me a job, as I am now happily employed at a firm that has given me the exact opportunities I originally planned to tackle 3 or 4 years down the line. So, if you are in my shoes, I wouldn’t expect to get a job offer early in the process — but when you do, it’ll most likely be a better fit than you ever imagined.

To be fair, I had a somewhat excusable reason for my low GPA (something that can be considered an extenuating circumstance.) And I inherently believed that I had something to offer companies. So this is by no means the go-ahead to dive into OCR with a low GPA and some poorly timed drunken escapades or a reckless freshman year to blame. You really need a strong emotional support network (friends, significant other, family, mentor etc.) — because you will break down occasionally — and a healthy, unwavering sense of self-confidence to take this OCR approach. However, I hope this will help prospective job seekers with low GPAs understand the truth — companies do not look lightly upon a poor GPA. It does not matter how life-threatening your circumstances, you’ll still deal with the skepticism and have a hard(er) time getting your foot through the door.

Despite this, don’t let a low GPA deter you from participating in the OCR process. Build on your strengths and have an arsenal of positive accomplishments to offset that GPA. Make sure companies understand you are hard-working, but not necessarily in the traditional sense. And most importantly, you just have to work harder than other OCR-goers — and unfortunately, that’s just something we have to accept.

This old blog post offers tips on preparing for a career fair.

Back to School Shopping for Professional Attire – Dress for Success But Don’t Break the Bank

By Kelly Cleary

We all know we should dress to impress when it comes to professional networking and interviewing, but what does that mean, exactly? We know it doesn’t mean jeans, t-shirts, or anything you’re likely to wear to an 8am class or a party on Friday night. But what should you wear to employer information sessions (which begin the night before classes for full-time OCR positions), alumni panels that include networking receptions, career fairs, or first or second round interviews? (The info session and employer links above provide some tips on what to wear to these events.)

If you’re planning to interview for post-grad jobs or internships in the upcoming year, you don’t need to buy a whole new wardrobe, but it’s a good idea to have a few key pieces of professional attire in your closet, or at least at your disposal (your roommate’s closet?) If have clean and pressed articles of these types of clothes that fall into the same color scheme (black, gray, dark grey, some neutral tones), you should be in good shape for recruiting season.

What to wear? The Basics

A dark suit, ladies can opt for pant or skirt suits
Dress pants, again dark shades are preferable
Dress shirt(s) in conservative colors (white, blue, other neutrals)
You can also add a professional looking sweater, ladies can go with a blouse
A blazer, if you can find one that works with one or two pairs of your dress pants
Dress/professional shoes that work with your color scheme (black shoes make a black/grey color base easy) with dark socks
For Men: a tie or a few
For Women: conservative (just above or below the knee) skirts or dresses can also work well.
This About.com article offers more detailed advice on what to wear.

Where to look for your new professional attire? Yes, you can easily spend a chunk of your hard earned summer cash on new clothes, but you don’t need to do so. Here are some suggestions for finding professional clothes while staying within your budget.

Hand-me-downs – check big sis, big brother or maybe even mom and dad’s closets. I’ve always been really fortunate to have a mother who dresses well and is about my size. I’ve also scored some great clothes from my sisters once they were gainfully employed and happy to pass on last season’s suit or shoes.

Discount stores – you can find great deals on suits, slacks, shirts, ties, blouses, and shoes at stores like TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, and Kohl’s.

Sales at department stores and specialty stores – If you hit the sales right or remember to bring in those 20% coupons (which can sometimes be found online), you can purchase some of these wardrobe staples at great prices at stores like Macy’s, Ann Taylor, J. Crew, and Banana Republic.

Your friend’s closet – Most of us have friends who seem to have endless closets of really great clothes, and some of those friends are also willing to share. When I was in college one of my suitemates worked at Ann Taylor so she had a closet full of stylish professional clothes. Several friends treated her closet like a library for interview clothes. Unfortunately for me she was 5’8 and I was 5’2. She was also finance major and I was an English major, so at the time I was more than a little intimidated by her career path focus and interview confidence… but that’s another blog story.

For more tips on business etiquette and professional dress read the article on p. 89 of our career guide Pathways. (Note, this link takes you to the 09-10 guide, but hardcopies of the 10-11 guide are available in Career Services and it will posted online soon.)