Category: Interviewing

Tips for the Long Distance Job Search

By Barbara Hewitt

With spring break upon us, I’ve been thinking (a bit jealously I admit) about all the wonderful places Penn students will be travelling to during the coming week. (This week I’ve had students tell me they are headed off to Mexico, Florida, Trinidad/Tobago, and Japan among other places….Ahhhh, the life of a student!)

It is a big world out there, with plenty of places to ultimately settle down for a job. Whether you are looking to return to a place you hold dear to your heart, or seeking to put down roots in a new location, a long distance job search can definitely add a layer of difficulty to the process, which is why I thought I would focus this entry on providing some tips for just such a search.

Before you even begin sending out resumes and cover letters to far-away employers, recognize the challenges that you might face. If the location is entirely new to you, your network will likely not be well established there. Some employers will be hesitant to hire applicants unfamiliar with the area, worried that you may not stay long. If it is an organization that pays for interview travel costs, they will undoubtedly find it cheaper to bring in local candidates. If you are looking internationally, even the communications process can be difficult, as what is the middle of the day for prospective employers may be the middle of the night for you.

However, even with all the hurdles, it IS possible to land a job across the country or the world. During the initial stages of your search, it is wise to focus your search enough to make it manageable. Looking for a job “West of the Rockies” may be a bit too broad to start with, unless you are seeking opportunities in a relatively small industry. Start focused, and then you can expand your search later if necessary. Learn as much as you can about the growth industries in the area, the economy, and the demographics. For example, if you know that the area has a large Spanish speaking population, it would be helpful to highlight your Spanish language skills on your resume. If possible, plan at least one (preferably two) trips to the area. The first trip could be ideal for networking, exploring housing options, and conducting informational interviews, while the second could focus on actually scheduling interviews with employers. (Hopefully you can line up a number of them to help make the trip most effective.)

There are a variety of ways to research potential employers including checking out websites for the local Chamber of Commerce, which often provides a list of member organizations and may coordinate networking events. You might also research regional trade associations in your industry of interest, as they may sponsor conferences (great for networking!) and list available jobs on their websites. An added plus is that often student memberships are extremely affordable! You might also check to see if there are any career fairs that will be held in the area, and plan a trip to the area to coincide with it.

Read the local paper, as it can be very helpful in uncovering employers which might be hiring. That article about the advertising agency getting a brand new account or a real estate firm developing a new shopping center could inspire you to send them your resume! Newspapers will also help you when you go on your interview. It’s important to know how the local sports teams are doing and what the big issues are in the community. You never know what will come up over lunch when interviewing with prospective employers….and a familiarity with the community could be a big advantage.

Online sites such as Indeed.com or SimplyHired.com can let you search opportunities by geographic location and keyword, which can be extremely helpful. PennLink also has an option to search by zip code. The RileyGuide can help you find specific job boards for regions of the country. Specific city web sites can also be useful.

In a long distance job search, networking is critical! Check out PACNet (Penn Alumni Career Network) and regional alumni clubs to see if you might be able to schedule informational interviews with alumni in the area. Talk to other contacts you might have (friends’ parents, parents’ friends, faculty, etc.) about your interest in a particular region. You never know who might have the perfect lead for you!

In your cover letters, discuss any ties you may have to the area and the reasons you want to move there. Indicate if you plan to be in the area in the near future and suggest arranging an interview to coincide with it. It can often move the process along more quickly if the employer knows they won’t have to pay your travel costs. If you don’t plan to visit soon, suggest the possibility of an initial phone interview to discuss the position. Note that the Career Services office also has videoconferencing services available which current students can use to conduct interviews with distant employers. Skype might also be a good option to suggest for smaller employers which might not have more elaborate videoconferencing facilities easily available to them.

A long distance job can take longer and be more challenging than a local search, but it is successfully done by job seekers every day. (Want proof? California is the second most common destination state for Wharton graduates in most years.) You can land a position in a far-away place…you just need to be willing to put some extra effort into the search.

Friends on the Inside

by Julie Vick

If you plan to apply for a job at a company or organization where a friend works, think carefully about how to “use” that relationship in a positive way.

It might be very helpful to ask your friend for information about the department or division as you prepare to submit an application or for an interview as you prepare for an interview. If the friend mentions to others that you’ve asked, no harm is done, because your question shows that you are trying to prepare thoroughly.

Once you’ve had your interview but haven’t heard anything, it’s difficult to know what’s really happening. If several weeks go by and you haven’t been contacted there are several possibilities: they haven’t finished interviewing; a reference said something to give the hiring manager pause; or you presented yourself well and your references are positive but you’re simply up against some very stiff competition. Even though your friend might be able to give you some insight into the process you should avoid being a pest and above all, don’t say anything negative about those who interviewed you.

Once an offer is made, however, think hard before involving the potential colleague in a salary negotiation. If it’s a very good friend in the same department, you might ask how flexible the department tends to be in negotiating offers, but leave it at that. For example, the friend may have done a poor job of negotiating, realizes it, and now finds him or herself in the awkward position of advising a new colleague about how to get paid a higher salary! If the friend is in a different department, the situation is less awkward.

Employees develop loyalty to their employer and, particularly in tough times when people want to hold on to their jobs, they don’t want to do anything that could be perceived as disloyal. As a rule of thumb, if you have to ask whether you could trust someone with information about your job search, you probably don’t know the person well enough to assume their loyalty would be to you, rather than to their employer.

Recruiters reveal their deal breakers

I am old enough that most of my friends have become bosses in their jobs.  So, they make decisions about who will work for them.  Recently, I got to learn more about what they consider to be deal breakers in a job application. Here are four of them:

– Deal breaker: Resumes longer than one page. This is a bigger issue for the corporate employers than the nonprofit employers.  To be safe, keep your resume to one page at least until you turn 30.  If you need help choosing what to include on the resume, meet with a career counselor in Career Services.  Exception: resumes for positions in the federal government are often 2-3 pages long because they require more detail.

– Deal breaker: Not showing understanding of what the job entails. Apparently, employers can spot generic cover letters in 10 seconds and eliminate a quarter of applications this way.  How to get your application to the “interview” pile?  Write to the employer about the job and how you will use your skills and experiences in the position.
– Deal breaker: Apologizing for not being able to do the job. I come across phrases like this a lot in cover letter critiques: “While I don’t have a lot of experience in the field, I ….”  Since you’ve only got a page to cover a lot of ground, focus on what you have done and what you can do.

– Deal breaker: Not dressing up for an interview. It seems obvious that we should wear a suit to a job interview, yet Penn grads have reportedly shown up for an interview at a nonprofit organization dressed in khakis and polo shirt. It did not make a good impression with the interviewer, who had already interviewed three suited-up candidates that morning. Lesson learned: Score some easy points by dressing the part.

I hope that by sharing these insiders’ tips, you will avoid some common job search mistakes.  Good luck!

Don’t Try this At Home

As a career counselor I often hear the frustrations of job seekers who send out applications, who interview, who network…. and despite all these efforts, get little response from certain employers for their invested time. Particularly heartbreaking are stories from people who get through the interview process only to feel themselves in a “black hole” as employers delay (or avoid) letting them know their status in the search for candidates. Typically in this situation, no news isn’t good news, but there are some constructive tips for handling the ambiguity that is inherent in the job search process. I will share those ideas below, but first, a humor-filled moment (if you think shows like MTV’s Jackass are funny).

I recently read a fun article from the New York Times about a man who got his revenge for all the agonizing silence we job seekers have collectively experienced. Read his story here: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/complaint-box-the-e-snub/

Now, that was action packed! But… I don’t recommend it for job seekers who are more interested in landing a job than pulling off a crazy stunt. Here are some effective, and reasonable actions you could try on your own:

1) Think ahead – if you are interviewed, find time at the end to ask the question “what is your timeline for making a decision?” and to state something like “I’ll get back in contact with you if I haven’t heard anything by this time, are you the best person to call?”. It is critical to have this information before leaving an in-person interview or putting the phone down for phone interviews. Asking about “next steps” means you are indicating your genuine interest in the job and puts a bit more control into your hands regarding the communications you have with the employer.

2) Exercise patience – remind yourself that ambiguity really is part of the job seeking process. Keep putting yourself out there, get feedback from a career advisor regarding your job search strategies if that would be helpful.

3) Be proactive in a polite way – whether or not you interview, it generally is fine to follow up your application either by phone or email, to see how the employer’s search for a candidate is going, and/or to let them know you remain interested in the opportunity. (A caveat: if a job application says “no phone calls please” then you ought to follow the expressed preference of the organization.) Ultimately, if an employer is unresponsive to your effort to check in, then stay open to hearing from them, but move your job search energies into other endeavors.

4) Remember, it isn’t all about you – sometimes employers don’t get back to you because they are busy, because they have been inundated with applications, because they have many people who are involved in the decision making process, because there are formalities that prevent them from responding to your inquiries. You might be their first choice, but they haven’t had a chance to get back to you in a timely way. You might be the second choice – which means you still have a chance at the job if their initial offer is turned down. You may not be selected at this time. The point is, you do not know what is happening on the employers’ side. Give them the benefit of the doubt, but don’t take it personally.

5) Remember, it isn’t all about this one opportunity – as hard as it is to put effort out in the form of applications and interviews, the measure of success is not all-or-nothing: getting an offer of employment is not the only way to measure a successful job search. Each time you write an application, go through an interview, and meet people in the field, you are strengthening the skill sets that will serve you well in your future. Don’t forget, many people change jobs every 3-5 years. You will be using those job seeking skills again and again.

Winter Weather Notice

Special Message regarding inclement weather on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010:

If the University closes tomorrow (Wednesday, Feb 10) for the snow storm, Career Services will be closed. If the University remains open, Career Services will be open, although some staff may not be able to make it in. Some counseling appointments may be held over the phone. You will be notified if that is the case. Some programs may also be canceled. Check our web site before venturing out.

On Campus Recruiting will remain open, whether or not the University closes, thanks to our intrepid recruiting staff. Several scheduled employers are already in Philadelphia and will be conducting interviews as planned. Others are unable to fly in, so will be doing telephone interviews. Still others are re-scheduling for next week or a later date. If your interview is going to be held over the phone, or has been postponed, you will be receiving an email with the details. If you are not notified you should come to the recruiting suite at your scheduled time.

We in Career Services and our recruiters are doing the best we can in the face of bad weather. We appreciate your patience. Thank you, and stay safe if you venture out in the storm.

Patricia Rose
Director, Career Services