Category: OCR

Not Invited? Try an Add-on!

by Marlene L. Cohen, Recruiting Manager, Career Services/On Campus Recruiting

resumehandmanThere is an employer on PennLink that you have submitted your resume for consideration.  You really want to be selected as an invite.  You wait – you check PennLink – you’re “Not Invited.”   Don’t be discouraged, submit an “Add On” request.  Over 150 Add On interviews were held in OCR last season.  Most employers will look at and even schedule last minute interviews with students who have submitted an add-on request.  Of course there is no guarantee of acceptance, but you never know!  Sometimes employers will experience a late cancellation or even a dreaded no show and would like to fill those empty slots.  If your resume is in their packet, you may be selected.

The process is very simple.  Go on the Career Services website and under the main OCR page, select Recruiter Add-on Interview Request Form.  Fill out the form or print several copies to have on hand.  Once the form is filled out, attach your resume and bring them to the Career Services office in the basement level of the McNeil Building, Suite 20.  There you will find the Recruiter Add-On Interview Request Box.  The box will be available to you between the hours of 9:15 am until 2:00 pm.  Now please keep in mind that you’re submitting add-on requests for the next working day’s interviews.  For instance, submit on Monday for Tuesday interviews; submit on Friday for Monday interviews. The add-on requests will be given to the recruiters when they check into OCR the following morning. The recruiter will review the resumes at their convenience and will ask the OCR receptionist to call the students they wish to interview. There is no need to call and check on the status of your add-on request. The OCR receptionist will contact you by telephone if you are selected for an add-on interview.  If you are not selected, you will not be contacted.

Many students who have received add-on interviews have also received offers from those employers.  So try it!  You might get an interview with the employer you really want!

Resume Submissions Now Open for Full-Time On-Campus Recruiting

By Barbara Hewitt

OCRS4

Even though the official start of the school year is still a couple of days away, on campus recruiting is already underway! The official interviews will begin on Monday, September 21st, but many of the resume submission periods opened on August 17th so that you could get an early start if you would like. (That said, the first resume deadline is not until Sunday, September 13th, so no need to worry if you haven’t started yet!) Students graduating in December 2015 or May/August 2016 are welcome to participate in on-campus recruiting for full-time positions. If you plan to participate, please attend a live OCR orientation (held on Wednesday, August 26th, 12:00 – 1:00, Claudia Cohen Hall, Terrace Room OR Friday, August 28th, 2:00 – 3:00, Huntsman 240). If you are unable to attend the live orientation you can watch the on-line version here at your convenience. Students participating in on-campus interviewing are expected to be familiar with the information provided in the orientation. Employer information sessions (lots of them!) will begin on Wednesday, August 26th. You can see the list of information sessions by logging into PennLink or checking this page which doesn’t require you to log into PennLink.

Finally, don’t forget the Career Services advisors are here to assist you throughout the process, including perfecting your resume and cover letters, practicing your interviewing skills, and negotiating offers. Best wishes for the beginning of the new year!

A Notice to Sophomores Regarding Fall 2015 On Campus Recruiting

Dear Penn Sophomores:

Yesterday Career Services sent an email to Penn sophomores to inform them of planned changes to the internship recruiting timeline for next year.  We immediately received feedback from a substantial number of students who had been planning to study abroad during Fall 2015 who felt that they had not received enough time to adequately plan for such changes and who were not comfortable with the option of using videoconferencing to conduct their internship interviews from abroad. We apologize for not making the decision earlier in the year, but we felt it was important to gather statistics and data from the 2015 internship cycle to better inform our decision about the optimal timing for internship recruiting.  We were not able to make a decision until right before Spring Break and so announced it as soon possible when classes resumed.

We have heard from a significant number of students with concerns about the proposed change, and at this point we have decided that the best course of action will be to postpone the implementation of fall internship recruiting until Fall 2016.  For current sophomores, on-campus interviewing for non-technical internships will take place in Spring 2016.  Current freshmen should expect that internship recruiting will take place in Fall 2016 which will give students more time to adequately plan.

Again, our goal in Career Services is to help each and every student to clarify and pursue their career interests and we hope that the revised timeline will work for all of our students.  We urge rising juniors who are studying abroad next fall to meet with a career counselor this spring or summer to discuss any career concerns they may have and to plan in advance for their return to campus in Spring 2016.

Sincerely,
Career Services

Tough Interview Questions: Why did you not receive a full-time job offer from your summer internship employer?

By: S. David Ross, Associate Director

For students going through the process of recruiting for full-time positions, this question can be very difficult to answer assuming the reason is based on a deficiency in the individual’s performance during the internship. Taking a moment to reflect on your summer experience and delivering a confident response can be helpful to assuage any concerns of recruiters. Here are a few things to consider if you encounter this question during an interview:

– Maintain a mature, positive attitude. Avoid delivering a defensive response and completely shifting the blame on everyone else.
– Take some responsibility for what happened, but share some positive feedback you received. Provide some general context on the situation (keep this brief and avoid going into too much detail), but also highlight positive feedback you received on your performance during the summer, particularly anything relevant to the position you are interviewing for at this time. Note what you learned from the experience that will improve your performance in the future.  Consider getting some feedback on your answer to this question from an advisor in Career Services prior to your interview.
– Be willing to provide one or two former co-workers who can speak on your behalf. Having individuals who are willing to corroborate the things you accomplished during your summer and provide positive feedback on your performance and impact on the organization can be very helpful. Prior to the interview, identify one or two co-workers from your summer internship that can speak on your behalf. Be sure to ask them in advance if they are willing to do so and provide insight into the jobs you are applying for as a next step.  Then be sure to mention that they are willing to speak on your behalf about your performance when you encounter this tough interview question.