Author: Kelly

Kelly Cleary is the Senior Associate Director of Career Services for College of Arts & Sciences undergraduates.

Spring Career Fair 2/19 in Houston Hall

The 3rd Annual Spring Career Fair for internship & full-time opportunities is TODAY Friday, February 19th, 2010 from 11:00 am – 3:00 pm in Bodek Lounge & Hall of Flags in Houston Hall

Don’t miss this chance for students from ALL years and ALL majors to meet representatives and learn about job and internship opportunities from employers who are interested in hiring Penn students and alumni. Represented industries include:

  • Business/Financial Services
  • Communications/Media/Entertainment
  • Consulting
  • Education
  • Government
  • Healthcare/Biotechnology/Insurance/Pharmaceuticals
  • Hospitality/Tourism
  • IT/Computing
  • Manufacturing/Engineering
  • Marketing/Retail/Sales
  • Public Service/Non-Profit/Social Service

For the current list of over 70 registered employers,

No registration required. Dress is business casual. Be sure to bring copies of your resume!  Note: This fair is only open to Penn students and alumni.

Preparing for the Spring Career Fair

By: Kelly Cleary

It’s career fair season once again with Penn’s Spring Career Fair on campus THIS FRIDAY, followed by the All Ivy Environmental and Sustainable Development Career Fair on Friday, February 26th and the Not-for-Profit & Public Service Career Fair on Friday, March 5th, the latter fairs being held in NYC.

The Spring Fair on Friday, February 19th from 11am-3pm in Houston Hall will be a great chance for students from ALL years and ALL majors to meet representatives and learn about job and internship opportunities in a variety of industries including communications/media, business/finance, consulting, education, engineering, government, healthcare, IT, and nonprofits. For the current list of over 65 registered employers, click here or check PennLink.

While career fairs are a fantastic way to connect with job and internship opportunities, I’ve talked with many students who really stress out about career fairs.  When I talk to students who are hesitant to attend career fairs because they worry they’ll get nervous and won’t know what to say or do, I always remind them that recruiters register for (and pay good money to attend) career fairs because they are eager to talk to and potentially hire talented students like YOU.

Here are a few career fair prep tips to help ease some of that pre-fair anxiety:

Reflect on your career interests, skills, and personal goals for the fair. Are you looking for an internship or a full-time job?  What type of what of work do you want to do (i.e. writing, analyzing, programming, event planning, researching…)? What industries are you most interested in? Where do you want to live?

That said, while it’s important to have goals in mind, it’s also important to keep an open mind so you don’t miss out on an opportunity simply because you overlooked the fact that it could be a worthwhile way for you to gain experience.

Develop your “30-second commercial” – if that sounds silly to you, just think of it as your basic introduction. Career fairs at Penn do get crowded so you might only have a few seconds to attract and keep a recruiter’s attention. This can be a little daunting, so work out a great sentence or two about your career interests, skills, special research projects, and background (academics, extra-curricular, internships, etc.)

Research  organizations that are attending and develop a plan of attack. Come up with a list of your “must see” companies to make sure you don’t miss their tables, but survey the entire list of attendees. An organization doesn’t have to be a household name to be a great employer who offers interesting and rewarding opportunities.   I know a student who received a super job offer with a great company after she stopped by a table that had no student traffic when she walked by. She would never have known about what that company had to offer if she didn’t stop to ask.

Taking the time to reflect on your interests and goals, develop your introduction, and research organizations will help you make the most of your time at the fair.

And here’s a quick run through for the day of the fair– dress sharp, brush your teeth, bring lots of copies of your resume, shake hands, smile a lot, ask intelligent questions, take business cards (and make notes on those cards for easy recall), and follow up with recruiters that night. You can find additional career fair tips on our Navigating Career Fairs page and our Tips For Mastering a Career Fair video, or plan to attend the Career Fair Prep workshop on Tuesday, February 16th at 2:30pm in McNeil Building, Room 97.

Career Decisions: What do you want to be when you grow up?

It’s that time of year when many people– graduating seniors in the post-grad job search, sophomores getting ready to choose a major or concentration, juniors trying to decide what type of internship to choose, and even alumni who realize it’s time for a change– come to Career Services asking some version of the question, “What do I want to be when I grow up?”

While there is no single correct answer to this question because there are a gazillion career possibilities out there, there are some basic considerations people should make to increase the likelihood that they’ll actually be happy in their chosen career. And in my opinion, since most of us spend so many of the waking hours of our adult life at work, we can’t afford not to be happy in our career.

To put it simply, your career path should be a good fit with your interests (activities you like to do or issues you care about), skills (your abilities and strengths), and values (your ideals and the lifestyle choices that are most important to you.) Once you’ve “self-assessed” your interests, skills, and values, the next step is to explore the job and career opportunities that may be a good fit for you.


photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbsc30/

For current students trying to find some career direction, Career Services and CAPS are partnering to offer the Career Exploration Seminar: Exploring your Potential, Finding Your Fit to assist students in the career discovery process. This seminar will lead students through a guided exploration of their values, skill sets, and interests. Participants will also take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) which is an assessment that helps students understand work and personality fit, and the Strong Interest Inventory (SII), which matches students’ interests to various career options. While assessments aren’t tests that “tell you what to do,” they can provide a great starting point for successful career exploration.

For more information about the Career Exploration seminars, seminar dates and to register, visit the CAPS website. The first session is this Wednesday, January 27th.

You can find additional resources on Career Services Career Discovery page, and from the Career Services Career Exploration page for College Students you can view this short video on Career Exploration.

Career Exploration from Penn Career Services on Vimeo.

Seniors: Five Job Search Tips for Winter Break

by Kelly Cleary

Once the semester stress is behind you and you’ve had some time to rest up and celebrate, I imagine many seniors will start to focus on your post-grad plans. Even through, for many industries, the application timeline won’t begin until later in the spring semester, there are some things you can do now to better position yourself when you do start applying for jobs. Below are a few tips and resources to help you get started.

winter

FIVE JOB SEARCH TIPS FOR WINTER BREAK

1. EXPLORE YOUR OPTIONS: Spend some time exploring career possibilities by looking at some of the websites below. This can be an overwhelming project but it’s an important first step.

  • First Jobs and Graduate Schools for Penn Grads, listed by major–  these are long lists of what Penn students have done with their major in past years.
  • Career Plans Surveys for the Class of 2009 and earlier years – you might be surprised by the wide variety of paths your predecessors have chosen. And hopefully you’ll be encouraged to see that while only about 30% of the College Class of 2009 had accepted job offers by the end of December, almost 75% of them had accepted job offers by the end of May.  (The 2009 report is preliminary. It will include more detailed employer information soon.)
  • What Can I Do with this Major?—These PDF’s provide a helpful overview of career paths related to specific majors including suggestions for types of employers and advice on preparing for those jobs.
  • Watch ourCareer Exploration video:

Career Exploration from Penn Career Services on Vimeo.

2. RESEARCH EMPLOYERS: Once you’ve narrowed down your preferences for types of work, industries of interest, and where you hope to live, it’s time to start developing your wish list of prospective employers and build your list of favorite job search websites.

  • Vault & Wetfeet Guides – Yes, these two companies make great books to help students land i-banking and consulting jobs, but they also publish career and company guides for other industries like entertainment, fashion, retail, green, healthcare, pharma, marketing, PR, and many others. You can download the career guide books for free from our Online Subscriptions page.
  • PennLink – This is where employers who specifically want to hire Penn students post jobs. Under the “Advanced Search” tab, you can set up a Search Agent to schedule weekly emails of new jobs that match your interests so you don’ t have to log into PennLink every day.
  • Career Resources by Field – From Anthropology and Arts to Sciences and Sports, you’ll find job search websites and transcripts from alumni speakers. There are similar websites for Wharton, Engineering, Nursing, and Graduate programs.
  • Online Subscriptions – this page includes log in and password information for over 25 job search websites including Art Search, Ecojobs, JournalistJobs, Policy Jobs and many others.
  • GoinGlobal – From GoinGlobal you can access international country and U.S. city guides that include lists of job search websites and links to local chambers of commerce which all have extensive employer directories for their regions.

3. TALK TO PEOPLE WHO DO WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO: Yes, I’m talking about networking. Outside of trying out a job through volunteering, interning or actually getting the job, talking with people who do or have done the job is one of the best ways to figure out if a career is right for you and to gather advice for landing a job in a particular field or within a specific company.

  • PACNet – Penn’s alumni career networking database is an easy way to connect with Penn alumni who have volunteered to be career mentors. They are a great resource for information and advice.
  • LinkedIn – Linked In, which is basically a professional version of Facebook is one of my favorite job search tools. If you don’t already have an account with an up to date profile, you should. Here are a couple of tips for making the most of LinkedIn for  your job search:
    • PEOPLE Search –  If you don’t find what you’re looking for in PACNet, you can search for alums (or even people with whom you don’t have a common affiliation) who work in the fields and/or organizations that interest you. You can view their profiles to see sample career paths and you can send direct messages to ask for advice. While this is more like cold calling, if it’s done respectfully and professionally, it can be worthwhile.
    • GROUPS – There are thousands of groups (i.e. alumni, specific industries, etc.) in LinkedIn where people share job postings and other career-related information, and they also serve as a forum for asking questions and gathering answers from more experienced professionals. Joining the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Group is a great first step.
    • Want to learn more about LinkedIn? Check the LinkedIn Guide for Recent Graduates. Tutorial from LinkedIn.com.
  • Watch our Networking Tips video.

4. UPDATE YOUR RESUME AND COVER LETTER DRAFTS:

5. RELAX AND ENJOY:

  • Unless you’re heading straight to graduate school, it’s likely that it will be a while before you have such a long mid-winter break again, so  sleep in, eat well, and enjoy good times with your loved ones.

fireplace

Good luck with your remaining finals and papers. I hope you all have a safe and fun break. We look forward to seeing you in 2010!

Tips for Phone Interviews

by Peggy Curchack and Kelly Cleary

(courtsey of samantha celera via Flickr)
(courtesy of samantha celera via Flickr)

Tis the season for many employers to conduct phone interviews for internships and full-time jobs. Phone interviews, and even video interviews (through Skype and more formal videoconferencing equipment), are becoming increasingly popular with employers since they are a great way to conduct first rounds while saving time and money.

So, how do you prepare? In many ways, particularly related to the content of the conversation, you should prepare exactly the same way you would for an in person interview. That said, a phone interview does call for some special considerations.

First, make sure you have a reliable phone line secured. A land line is ideal but those aren’t always easy to come by since most students have gone completely mobile. If you can’t find a landline, make sure your cell is fully charged and you will be taking the call in a physical space that is quiet and well supported by your mobile network (areas where the be-speckled Verizon guy and his entourage or Luke Wilson and his AT&T postcards hang out.)

Before you receive the call, prepare your space.  Turn off the radio, TV, email notification beep, or tea pot.  If you have roommates and you’ll be taking the call at home, let them know that you have a scheduled phone interview so that they don’t interrupt you while you’re talking to the employer.  Phone interviews are interesting because on the one hand, since employers can’t see you, you can do things like have your resume in front of you, or have a list of things you want to be sure to say about yourself, and the organization.  On the other hand, since you can’t see them it makes it harder to gauge their reactions.  In general, be sure to keep your answers to the point, and don’t go on and on (that’s good advice for fact-to-face interviews too, but especially important on the phone).

Also, smile.  Yes, literally, smile.  One can “hear” it over the phone. Since for many people it’s harder to project enthusiasm, poise — your personality — when you have no visual clues to support you, it becomes important to compensate for the lack of visuals.  One way to do that is with one’s voice.  We’ve all had the experience of talking to customer service people – I’m sure you can tell when you talk to someone if they are just going through the motions, or are really engaged.

If you are contacted by an employer who is interested in conducting an interview by video conference you may be able to use Career Services’ new video conferencing equipment (ISDN and IP options). For more information go to:  http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/videoconferencing.html

This recent article from Time offers some thoughts on video interviews from the recruiter perspective:

“How Skype Is Changing the Job Interview” http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1930838,00.html

The article also includes a video on How to Ace a Job Interview on Skype