Patricia Rose – Page 8 – Penn & Beyond

Can you pivot?

Unless you have been sleeping the spring away, you know that Facebook recently bought Instagram, the photo sharing company, for $1 Billion. But Instagram didn’t start as a cool photo sharing app. The founders originally started a company called Burbn, which allowed users to share their locations as well as notes and pictures. Burbn did not take off, so the founders did what many successful start-up guys do: they pivoted in a slightly different direction. They stripped out the location and note sharing, and focused on photo sharing with filters and effects, thus setting Instagram apart from other apps. Its popularity soared. The rest is history.

I was reminded of pivoting founders this week when I attended a talk by former dean of Columbia College Austin Quigley, who discussed his own career, which developed in non-linear fashion, as do the careers of most of us. He stressed the need to learn how to change, or pivot. Today’s professionals will likely change careers multiple times. Even those who don’t must quickly adapt to rapid changes in their fields. Those who don’t stay ahead of the curve, Quigley said, will be left behind.

This was just the beginning of Quigley’s talk, which was fascinating and covered a lot of ground. I focus here on his emphasis on educating people for change. He feels institutions like Penn and Columbia are particularly able to provide this education through a thorough grounding in the liberal arts. This resonated with me, as I meet more and more Penn alumni who have successfully adapted to the challenges they face in their careers. They learned to pivot. And that is one of the most important things a Penn education can provide.

Can you recognize when it’s time to pivot? Are you ready to do so, again and again? To stay ahead of the proverbial curve, you must, regardless of where your career takes you. Success is not measured in billions, after all, but in the ability throughout one’s career to work and contribute in meaningful ways. Good luck with your pivots – and enjoy the summer.

Summer Checklist

by Patricia Rose, Director of Career Services

The semester is almost over; all that remains are final exams and papers and projects. Regardless of what you are doing this summer (career-related internship, research, travel, beginning a permanent job, getting ready to start graduate school), think about these suggestions. They can serve as your to do list.

Read a book. So many students, even those with scholarly interests, confess that they don’t have time to read during the academic year. Take advantage of whatever down time you have to read a book, or two or three, purely for pleasure.
Try something new: a new sport, a new game (chess? backgammon?), a new volunteer activity, a new performance (opera? Reggae?), even a new food you have never eaten. The point is to challenge yourself in ways large and small. You may surprise yourself with your newly-found skills or interests.
Try to broaden your career network by meeting people who are actively pursuing fields of interest to you. You may be spending the summer in a new location, one that has more professionals in a particular field (marine biologists, publicists, producers) than does Philadelphia. Take advantage of wherever you are by reaching out to Penn alums or other professionals who have a wealth of wisdom to share. But remember, the onus is on you to make the initial contact.
Do something fun every day, for yourself.
Do something for someone else every day. This could be as simple as giving up your seat on the bus, or offering directions to someone who is lost. Kindness counts.
Sleep! Many of you are sleep-deprived. Try to catch up.
Think! Turn off your electronics. Escape the ever-present screens. Give yourself permission – and time – to appreciate your own thoughts, your own reflections.
Thank someone: a parent, a spouse or partner, who has helped you get through the year. Let this person know you appreciate what they do.

Summer is a great time to re-assess, to re-charge, to re-commit to what is important to you. Unfortunately, it goes by too fast. Make the most of it, stay safe, and enjoy yourself.

A Different Kind of March Madness

by Patricia Rose, Director of Career Services

It’s the last week of March, and you still are not sure where you will be working after you graduate, or interning this summer if you are not yet in your final year. Perhaps you have been busy with your academic pursuits, or other pursuits, and haven’t had time for a job or internship search. Maybe you have been looking hard for work, or maybe not so hard, hoping that, as Mr. Micawber says in David Copperfield, “something will turn up.”

At this point, what is past is past. You can’t assume anything will turn up, although sometimes things actually do. Make a schedule starting today for job hunting. Do something every day, even if only for half an hour. For job hunting tips, see helpful resources on our web site: www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices.

This is the time to focus on organizations that do “just in time” hiring. They are most likely to have positions now, and in the weeks ahead. These tend to be employers who are smaller and only start looking when someone currently working resigns.

Another possible source of internships and permanent jobs: start-ups. Many start-ups are growing and are actively hiring young talent. Working for a start-up is an exciting proposition for many candidates: the employees tend to be young, and the office culture is frequently casual when it comes to dress. But don’t be deceived. Start-ups are serious business. It can be intense to make things up as you go along, the hours can be long, and the pay can be lower than in a larger organization. But the rewards are many. Check out our start-up resources at http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/undergrad/startups.html.

Finally, don’t forget to stop by and talk to a career counselor. He or she can provide helpful suggestions, so that you won’t be “madly” running in circles. We can help you make a plan for the final (not four) seven weeks of the semester. Good luck!

The Just in Time Hiring Season is Here

Are you just starting to think about what to do next summer, or after graduation? Perhaps you have been too busy with your academic work, your activities, your part-time job to do very much of a search. Or perhaps you‘ve done all the prep work and have just been waiting for the hiring cycle to begin for the industry you want to join. Well wait no more. If you do nothing else this month, attend our Spring Fair, which will be held this Friday, February 17 in Houston Hall. Over 100 employers will be attending, and the fair will run between 11:00 and 3:00. Every year numerous students find positions at this event: bring copies of your resume.

This fair has a broad range of employers. Whether your interest is in media/entertainment, consulting, public service, health care or technology, this is the fair for you. And for the first time, we have a “fair within a fair” for start-ups. Over 20 will be here, all rapidly growing, filling full-time and internship positions. There are opportunities for technical and non-technical candidates, in (among other cities) New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Chicago. Find out what all the excitement is about in the start-up ecosystem. Don’t miss Career Services’ Spring Fair.

Ready or Not, Internship Season is Here

Welcome back. If you are hoping to find a career-related internship this summer, it’s time to get started. Here a couple of thoughts to keep in mind:

If you are particularly interested in exploring a field, this summer is the perfect time to do so. If it turns out to be a good fit, you can explore for permanent employment next year. If you don’t love it, better to find out after a brief summer experience, so you can re-focus your energies for full-time positions.
Be aware that whatever you do this summer could lead to a permanent job offer for 2013. In some fields, the majority of full-time positions go to interns from the previous summer. If you are interested in such a field (investment banking is one example, but there are others), be sure you take advantage of the internship process, both OCR and other offerings (Spring Fair on February 17, internship listings in PennLink and iNet).
Remember that for employers in many fields, there is no OCR, and there may not even be a formal internship program. You will need to network to learn about opportunities. The first place to start is your personal network, but for most of us, that is limited. Be sure to use PACNet (the Penn Alumni Career Network) and the Penn Alumni LinkedIn site to connect with a broad range of alums who are working in a huge range of fields and professions. Ask them to share their expertise, and benefit from their advice.

Are you ready for the internship search process? If not, get started now. Those of us in Career Services are here to help you take advantage of all the career-related resources Penn has to offer. We will work with you as you sort out your options, now and in the months ahead. Good luck!