Thoughtful Career Advice for Penn Students and Alumni, written by the staff of the University of Pennsylvania Career Services office and selected special guests.
Whether we’re getting sick of Facebook or just want to try something new, many of us are migrating over to Twitter these days. However, as a student using Twitter (or anyone really), we have to keep in mind what image our Twitter feeds may convey. Twitter is a great platform for personal expression, but as with all social media outlets, the fact that almost anyone can see what we post means we need to think before we tweet. Here are some practical tips for a Twitter to be proud of.
Some Don’ts:
Don’t be cryptic – Tweeting out of context non-sequiturs is a great way to lose followers and lose credibility. If no one knows what you’re talking about, they’ll assume you don’t really know either.
Don’t be sarcastic – Sarcasm is a delicate art, and one that doesn’t always translate well online. If you want to make a sarcastic remark about something, think about how well it would go over if the reader didn’t understand the humor. Remember, whoever is the target of your sarcastic joke can easily see your tweets.
Don’t be discriminatory, profane, or intoxicated – Self explanatory. Don’t end up on this Tumblr.
Some Do’s:
Do follow interesting people – Follow news outlets, employers, and other influential people. Twitter can be a great way to stay updated on what you’re interested in.
Do state your opinions – Have an opinion on an article or issue? Tweet it and say what you think (in a respectful, thoughtful way, of course.) Twitter can be a way to establish your expertise as much as it is a way to hear what others have to say.
Do show off your personality – Just because you want to keep it professional doesn’t mean you have to come across like a robot. Share your interests and find your unique “voice” on Twitter.
Do tweet regularly – Keep your posts regular and consistent to build your follower base and show off your interests and fabulous wit.
This summer, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work for a startup in San Francisco called Adamant Technologies. Adamant is a new company in the biotechnology space working on some very exciting medical diagnostic technology, and I was able to work closely with the CEO and founder, Samuel Khamis. It isn’t hard to look back and find many valuable lessons from those nine weeks.
Lesson #1: Skills for the Biotech Space
One of the first valuable insights that I took away from this experience is the type of skills needed in the biotech space. Obviously, strong technical knowledge is very beneficial. Some days, the CEO would need information on a particular type of manufacturing process or a specific material that he was thinking about using in a device; my fellow intern and I would have to comb through scientific literature to find this information. Insight number two is that research skills always come in handy. In addition to understanding the literature, it is also a skill in and of itself just to find the appropriate papers and information by knowing which resources to utilize. The last major “skill” that I used is simply being flexible. As an early stage startup, there were always many tasks that needed to be accomplished on the business and technology sides, and you have to be able to respond to unique situations.
Lesson #2: Context is Everything
Besides useful skills in the biotech industry, I learned multiple important lessons covering a wide range of topics, from starting a company to going to graduate school. One of the most important ones was to not listen to anyone’s advice. This gem was given to me by Naval Ravikant, the founder of AngelList, at an event where he was speaking to interns during my second week in San Francisco. In life, every situation comes down to context. Thus, it is extremely important to tailor that advice to a specific situation. Break down whatever piece of advice you are using and try and find the fundamental assumptions and beliefs behind that advice. If those assumptions and beliefs are valid, use them to your advantage, but make sure that you’re ultimately following the best path for your particular situation.
Lesson #3: Challenges with Starting a Company
In the age of the Internet, is seems like all you need to start a company is some coding knowledge and maybe a small amount of capital. However, a second lesson is that starting a startup is extremely difficult. This fact was brought to my attention by Mr. Ravikant during the same talk in which he delivered piece of advice #1, and the best way to experience the truth of it is to go work for a startup. There is so much more involved than just making a website, from deciding which people to hire to getting funding and even finding furniture for your office. It’s very rewarding to be able to build a company and pursue a vision, but be prepared to deal with a lot of challenges along the way.
Lesson #4: Graduate School
Another piece of advice that applies to the biotechnology industry is to be very, very good at a specific skill set. Sam and I discussed this at our last meeting as well. This piece of advice can be applied to a variety of situations, such as getting a job, but we were discussing it specifically in the context of grad school. If you can come into a lab with a valuable skill already developed, you’re much more likely to get accepted to the group. In terms of a career, it’s also much more valuable to have someone who is great at a skill that is very important and will provide immediate value to a company, rather than someone who is a jack of all trades who may need time and training to develop the necessary competences.
Final Lesson: Business vs. Tech Guy
Besides these lessons concerning life and startups in general, I also learned some lessons specifically pertaining to undergraduates interested in the biotechnology industry. The first lesson is to decide whether you want to be the business guy or the technology guy, because it can be very difficult to do both. If you want to be the technology expert, graduate school is usually in the cards; this entails a slew of advice, starting with making sure you like the team that you’ll be working with. If possible, try and arrange a visit that can act as a two-way interview. The team is looking at you and your specific skill set that should provide immediate value, but you’re also making sure that you will mesh with them. You also want to go to a lab where you can take a leadership role in order to gain experience and have the chance to develop your own projects.
If you want to be the business guy, the only piece of advice I have is to dive in and be passionate about the company you’re working for. Prior work experience, recommendations from previous employers, and contacts in addition to knowledge and a skill set seem to go a long way in the startup industry, and there’s only one way to gain these things.
Needless to say, I learned an incredible amount last summer, and I can’t thank everyone at Adamant Technologies as well as everyone else I interacted with in the Bay area enough for the experience. This summer has made me extremely excited and optimistic for the future, even though I’m only slightly closer to knowing what I want to do. I know that discovering where my passions lie will surely prove that the rewards aren’t in the destination, but rather in the journey.
This past summer I spent two months in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, interning at a human rights non-profit through Penn’s International Internship Program (which provided funding and housing there). Before my departure I had idealistic visions of doing work that would positively affect people’s lives and be extremely helpful to the organization. However, I think that amidst my excitement I didn’t anticipate all the personal challenges that an internship can present, especially one in a developing country.
When I was there the organization was in dire need of funding and very short of staff. I was told this was a slow period for them, so I was not given as much work as I’d expected to have. What they did give me to do (mainly revising reports) was fascinating because I had no previous knowledge of Botswana or the southern African region, or of its politics, history and current human rights issues. The organization also hosted a week of events about the conflict in Zimbabwe, which required significant planning and then reporting about it afterward. Besides the light workload, other challenges I faced included the poor quality of communication among employees and the very basic technology and lack of resources in the office.
Although the internship did not live up to my lofty expectations, it was a fantastic learning experience. It gave me practice in taking my own initiative with projects and dealing with co-workers whose communication was sometimes quite frustrating–problems I know I’ll encounter again in my working life. I was told by one of the Penn-in-Botswana directors that my experience there was typical of office life in Botswana, so I’m glad I had an “authentic” experience. (And of course our weekend trips to go on safaris made my time there even better!) If you’re thinking of interning abroad in a place very different from the U.S., I would advise that it’s great to have high goals, but also be realistic about the challenges you will probably face. Don’t get discouraged if things don’t work out as you’d hoped, and know that whatever kind of experience you have will be worthwhile and teach you a lot–you will probably learn more than you’d ever anticipated!
