Category: OCR

By Claire Klieger

One of the best ways to successfully survive OCR is simply by avoiding some of these common and often detrimental pitfalls:

Form/Generic Cover Letters. Yes, we understand the appeal of these as, naturally, it takes a lot less time to simply replace the name of the employer for each letter and included lots of phrases like “your company” or “this position” and “I’m really interested in working for _______ because it is a leader in the industry.” But guess what? Employers aren’t stupid and can spot these a mile away. Why would an employer want to hire someone who can’t even be bothered to take the time to write a letter specific to them or, worse, doesn’t understand why they want to work for them? If you choose to go that route, don’t be surprised if you don’t get many interviews.

Typos. This sounds obvious but I can’t tell you how often we see very blatant (and often embarrassing) typos on resumes and cover letters.  I even once witnessed a recruiter cancel a scheduled interview with a student on the day of the interview when he noticed that the student had misspelled his major. What the employer gave as his explanation is the reason why this is such a detrimental mistake, “What this says to me is that this is someone who doesn’t have good attention to detail and is careless and I don’t want someone like that working for me.” So please, please, proofread (don’t just rely on spell check).

Applying to all the available positions at an organization. While it’s fine to apply to more than one position simultaneously at a single organization, applying to every open position simply sends the message that you don’t know what you want. Limit your applications to positions that are similar enough (in skill types) that it is reasonable for you to be interested in them.

By Claire Klieger

It’s ok. You can admit it if the thought of the impending OCR process makes your palms sweat. How will you stand out among the sea of impressive applicants from Penn? With loads of info sessions daily and those waves of deadlines and the added drama of all deadlines being at midnight, where do you even begin?

1) Accentuate the Positive. Rather than getting stuck on the ways you think you aren’t competitive, focus on what strengths (and you all have them) you bring to the position. The easiest way to do this is to first understand what skills an employer is looking for so…

2) Know the industry. Following what’s going in the industry is critical to setting yourself apart. Not only will it help you better understand the differences between major players, but also establish yourself as someone who is genuinely interested in this line of work.

3) Research the Employer. Employers want to hire someone who is excited about working for them. You can’t create this impression well if you don’t know much about the organization. So, hop to it! Scour their website, Google them, and ideally, talk to people who work there (don’t forget about PACNet).

4) It’s not quantity, it’s quality that’s important. Sure, you can’t apply to as many positions if you target each cover letter for the individual industry/job type (with a few sentences specific to the employer), but it is definitely time worth spending.

And, of course, use Career Services as your life preserver! There is a great online orientation to OCR as well as some useful FAQs on our website.