Category: Career Services Library

By the Book: New Semester, New Books

by J. Michael DeAngelis, Information Resources Manager

It’s the start of another semester here at Penn and the Career Services staff spent part of the summer refreshing our library holdings for your benefit.  Here’s just a sample of some of the newest books you’ll find on our shelves this fall.

Remember that the Career Services Library has extended hours when classes are in session.  We remain open until 6pm Monday-Wednesday and 5pm on Thursdays and Fridays.  Stop in, we’d be happy to see you!

Case in Point: Complete Case Interview Preparation (7th Edition) by Marc P. Cosentino.  Arguably the most popular book on our shelves, Case in Point is the definitive case interview prep book.  The book includes over forty sample strategy cases that you can use to practice with, as well as marketing cases, human capital cases and more.  Due to the popularity of this book, we’ve increased our holdings to three copies of the latest edition, as well as two copies of the previous edition, which remains a  valuable resource.

Now What? The Young Person’s Guide to Choosing the Perfect Career by Nicholas Lore.  Though sometimes it can seem like everyone around you knows EXACTLY what they want to do with their lives – rest assured it’s just not true.  At Career Services, we have several books about finding a career path, but this newest edition is aimed squarely at college students and recent grads.

Used in conjunction with a visit with a career counselor, this book should give those looking for guidance a good place to start.

Expert Resumes for Teachers and Educators by Wendy S. Enelow & Louise M. Kursmark.  We’ve recently expanded our holdings in the education section of the library and this book is of particular note.  As the publisher states: “This book includes a comprehensive collection of sample resumes and cover letters written by some of the nation s most acclaimed professional resume writers. This guide also reveals how to get noticed and win interviews, choose the best resume type for your situation, and master each phase of the resume and cover letter writing process. In addition, a new chapter explains how to create and use an electronic resume.”

Changing Hats While Managing Change: From Social Work Practice to Administration by Felice Davidson Perlmutter and Wendy P. Crook.  For students in the School of Social Policy & Practice.

From the publisher: A unique and useful guide for practitioners who want to broaden their repertoire of professional choices and are either moving up the administrative ladder or considering making a career move in that direction. In user-friendly language, Changing Hats While Managing Change addresses the major challenges that face social workers in these complex times and presents a picture of the various roles and responsibilities of administration, illustrating them with lively case studies.

By the Book: Online and In Print

by J. Michael DeAngelis, Information Resources Manager

Here are a few new (or newly updated) resources now available from the Career Services Library!

Current Jobs for Graduates bulletins provide fresh, entry-level job vacancies in the often-overlooked fields of liberal arts and the arts & humanities.  Each bulletin contains hundreds of current vacancies, all with direct links to the original posting for further information and application instructions.  This extremely popular resource was upgraded this month to also include internship listings!  Areas covered include: Liberal Arts, Writing/Communications/Publishing, Fine Arts, Performing Arts, Management & Business, Education, and International Jobs. Penn students can take advantage of our subscription to this site by logging on via our Electronic Subscriptions page.

Ten Steps to a Federal Job by Kathryn Troutman.  Ten Steps to a Federal Job is a total campaign approach for the first-time federal job seeker determined to land a high-quality federal position. The book includes updates from the 2010 Hiring Reform, samples of federal resumes, and step-by-step instructions on how to apply for federal positions.

An accompanying CD-ROM can be borrowed through Career Services on a limited basis.  Please speak with the Information Resources Manager during his regular office hours if you are interested in borrowing the software.

 

 


Career Opportunities in the Sports Industry by Shelly Field. Seventy-three careers are discussed in a clear and easy-to-understand style. Boxed highlights of the facts in brief and a two-to-three page summary describe the position, the salary, employment prospects, educational requirements, and tips for entry. Lists of colleges, workshops, professional associations, and the media are appended.  Featuring jobs in Professional Athletics and Sports Teams, Business and Administration, Coaching and Education, Officiating, Sports Journalism, Recreation and Fitness, Racing, Wholesaling and Retailing, Sports Medicine and more.

Culinary Careers by Rick Smilow, President & CEO of  the Institute of Culinary Eduation, and Anne E. McBride.  With information on educational programs and a bird’s-eye view of the industry, Culinary Careers is a must-have resource for anyone looking to break into the food world, whether you’re a first-time job seeker or a career changer looking for your next step.

Looking far beyond line cooks and pastry chefs, Culinary Careers takes a look at the industry as a whole, with opportunities available to those with business, design and liberal arts backgrounds.  Careers covered include: Restaurant publicist, consulting in the industry, kitchen designer, food trucks owner/entrepreneur, restaurant management, restaurant investing, nutritionists and more!

 

 

Come by the Career Services Library today and check out these and other resources!  When classes are in session, we are open Monday-Wednesday 9am-6pm and Thursday-Friday 9am-5pm.  When classes end, we are open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.

 

By the Book: New Year, New Additions

by Michael DeAngelis, Information Resources Manager

It’s a new year!  In fact, today is Chinese New Year, officially beginning the Year of the Dragon (Does that mean Drexel is going to suddenly rise to power?).

At Career Services, we took advantage of the brief amount of downtime while students were on winter break to order some new titles for our library.  A small selection of our new editions are below – stop by the Career Services Library any time to give them a read!  When classes are in session, our hours for the spring semester are, as always: M-W 9am-6pm and T-F 9am-5pm.

Written by Deirdre Martinez, Fels lecturer and Director of the Penn In Washington program,  Public Policy Internships Everywhere: Opportunities Beyond the Beltway is an indispensable guide for students who would like to find an internship in the public policy field but don’t know where to start. The book is written for college students who find Washington out of reach or who want to strengthen their resumes to prepare for the increasingly competitive internship market in Washington, and students who don’t particularly want to go to Washington but want to be part of the policy making process or politics in their hometown, at the state level, or even internationally. Each chapter describes how policy making happens at that level (in the political chapter there is an overview of how political campaigns work), identifies those opportunities available to high school and college students, includes examples and resources to help students identify the right internship, and provides advice on applications and tips on ensuring a successful internship.

 

 

Contrary to the standard joke about how to get to Carnegie Hall, “making it” in music is not simply about practice, practice, practice. Today, over 200,000 people in the United States work as musicians. With competition for traditional employment opportunities for musicians becoming ever more heated, today’s musicians must know how the music industry works and how they can tailor their skills accordingly. How can musicians create their own professional paths? In Beyond Talent, veteran music career counselor Angela Myles Beeching offers up a comprehensive guide for musicians in search of work, demystifying the steps to success. Drawing on a wealth of real-life examples, the book untangles artist management and the recording industry and explains how to find and create performance opportunities. Guidance is also provided on grant writing and fundraising, day jobs, freelancing, and how to manage money, time, and stress. Straightforward and reader-friendly, Beyond Talent is filled with practical tips, examples, checklists, sample budgets, goal-setting exercises, and extensive resource listings. This essential handbook goes beyond the usual “how-to”; Beyond Talent helps musicians tackle the core questions about career goals, defining success, and imagining and then creating a meaningful life as a professional musician.

 

These ever popular books are newly updated for 2012.  Each market-specific edition is created by the local business journal to give you a perspective you can’t get anywhere else. A must for marketing, fund-raising or job search.  The Career Services Library currently has the following regional editions on the shelf: Philadelphia, Washington DC, San Francisco, New Jersey, New England and Baltimore. We also currently receive monthly Business Times/Business Journal updates for each of these regions.  Also newly arrived is the two volume Directory of New York State.   These editions are excellent tools for researching geographic areas you are considering moving to.

 

 

Finally, for students on the School of Design, we have updated our sample resume books for Architecture/Landscape Architecture and Historic Preservation/City & Regional Planning/MUSA/Real Estate.  Using outstanding sample resumes submitted actual PennDesign students, these newly bound collections offer a great way to help those preparing for PennDesign Career Connection Day!

Five Job & Internship Search Tips For Winter Break – REVISITED

by Kelly Cleary

This is an update to a blog I posted a couple of years ago. While some of the links have changed, the career exploration and job/internship process really haven’t, and neither has the fact that this is a great time to rest and recharge, reflect on what’s important to you, think about what you hope to accomplish in the upcoming year, and enjoy good times with family and friends. — And I just realized that the sentiment (and resources) mentioned in this post are pretty similar to Kathleen’s from earlier today, so you get double the winter break advice!

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, and based on the number of juniors and sophomores who’ve been coming to Career Services in the past few weeks, we know underclassmen are thinking about summer internships. Below are a few tips and resources to help you get started in the internship or job search process.

FIVE JOB & INTERNSHIP SEARCH TIPS FOR WINTER BREAK – REVISITED

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.

2. RESEARCH EMPLOYERS & FIND OPPORTUNITIES: 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 internship and job search websites. Most seniors won’t actually be applying to jobs until later in the spring, but underclassmen will soon be applying to internship with January and February deadlines.

  • 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, government, healthcare, pharma, marketing, PR, and many others. You can download the career guide books for free from our Online Subscriptions page (Pennkey required).
  • 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.
  • iNet – iNet Internship Network, is an internship consortium created and shared by 11 universities throughout the country. It includes internships in a variety of industries and geographic locations.
  • Career Resources by Field – From Anthropology and Arts to Sciences and Sports, you’ll find job search websites and transcripts from alumni speakers.
  • Online Subscriptions (Pennkey required)– 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 (Pennkey required) – 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.
  • The Penn Internship Network (PIN)– The Penn Internship Network is a listing of Penn students who have volunteered to speak with others about their summer internships.
  • 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.
  • Visit our Networking & Mentoring page for more tips on networking including an article on Informational Interviews.

4. UPDATE YOUR RESUME AND COVER LETTER DRAFTS:

  • Check our Online Resume & Cover Letter Guide for tips, samples, and instructions for requesting a critique from Career Services.
  • Even if you aren’t applying to internships or jobs just yet, it’s helpful to write a resume and cover letter draft based on a specific position opening so you can be sure the application is tailored to the specific position and company.

5. RELAX AND ENJOY YOUR TIME AWAY FROM SCHOOL!

  • You’ll likely be busy this spring so sleep in, eat well, and enjoy good times with your loved ones.

I hope you all have a safe and fun break. We look forward to seeing you in 2012!

By the Book: New Titles Across the Board

by J. Michael DeAngelis, Information Resources Manager

September marked the start of a new school year, which is always a booming time in the Career Services library.  We’ve been adding titles to our collection every week this month, on subjects ranging from cover letter writing to graduate studies in Europe.  Here’s a look at just three of the most interesting new additions.

Life is What You Make of It by Peter Buffet.  Buffett, son of the much-in-the-news Warren Buffett, and an accomplished composer, penned this New York Times Best Seller about forging your own path in life.

This is a good, quick read for students who are at the start of their career decision making journey.   Without pretension, the author suggests ways of determining your purpose and seizing oppertunities.

Endorsed by such luminaries as Bono, Bill Gates and Bill Clinton, the book focuses on staying true to yourself and holding on to your values over economic prosperity – specifically making money just for money’s sake.

Alumni thinking about making career path changes will also find this, and other titles we have on the subject, helpful.  You can find it in the Career Decision Making section of our library.

The 12th Guide to German Biotech Companies compiled by BIO Deutschland and the Eurpopean Biotechnology Foundation. This extremely unique (and extremely specific) book was recently donated to the Career Services Library by a student who interned in Germany this past summer.  This beautifully put together edition is a directory of every major biotech firm in Germany, complete with contact information and in-depth company profiles.  If you are interested in working in either biotech or pharmaceuticals on the international level, this guide is a great jumping off point.  Written in English, with the American job-seeker in mind.  Located in the International section of our library, with other books on working in Europe.

 

Cracking the New GRE 2012 by The Princeton Review.  This guide is just one of four new GRE study guides we have purchased for the 2011-2012 school year.  As recently noted by our own Peter Stokes in his blog, the GRE completely changed its format starting in August of this year.  All of the guides in the library contain tips and practice tests to help you prepare for the new exam.  The Princeton Review edition also came with an informative DVD, which you can watch in our library on your laptop or at our video computer station.  Students interested in watching the DVD much make arrangements by sending an e-mail to Carol Hagan.  This book, as well all of our GRE study guides and practice tests, can be found in the Graduate Study section of the Career Services library.

Remember, the Career Services library is for reference only.  Books may not be checked out, but we invite you to spend time in our comfortable reading room. Photocopying is available.  The Career Services library has extended hours during the school year: Monday-Wednesday, 9am-6pm and Thursday-Friday, 9am-5pm.