Category: Pre-Grad

CS Radio Episode 5: “Researching Jobs & Graduate Schools”

episode 5

Sorry for the delay! We’re a day late in posting, but he hope it was worth the wait.

In this week’s episode, we look at how to research employers and graduate school programs to figure out if you’ll be a good fit.  We welcome Senior Associate Director Todd Rothman to tell us about today’s Graduate School Meet Up program and he reveals his surprising dream career!  All that, plus the regular rundown of this week’s events highlights and Michael gets Halloween started early with an interview horror story!

Enjoy!

Consider the Value of Joining and Participating in LinkedIn Groups

By: David Ross, Associate Director

A very popular tool that some candidates use in their internship and job searches is LinkedIn. Perhaps you have created a personal account or utilized the “Find Alumni” feature. While both are great starting points, consider joining and participating in LinkedIn groups to discover additional advantages of the system.

Identify a network of individuals with a shared interest.
One approach to search for networking contacts with professional experience within an industry is to input search criteria or use filters to generate a list of individuals. Another approach would be joining a group that may have dozens or hundreds of members with a shared interest, educational background or work experience. Depending on what type of individuals you are trying to identify, joining a group may be a faster or more efficient way to identify a network of individuals you are looking for.

Demonstrate your expertise in an area.
Once you have joined a group, you may notice individuals pose questions on occasion in search of feedback from group members. Responding to questions on topics you have insight can signal your expertise. It can also build goodwill and possibly open the lines of communications with others you may not have connected with in the past, expanding your network.

Uncover job and internship leads – before they are posted on job sites.
Sometimes individuals will post job or internship leads within a group with the idea that a targeted forum with individuals that may work within a field can be a source of referrals for strong candidates. Occasionally, these job and internship leads are mentioned in groups before they are published publicly elsewhere. Thus, being a member of a relevant group can lead to insights on additional job and internship leads.

Receive insight, advice or assistance from other professionals.
There may be a topic or question you would like perspective on from other professionals. Or perhaps you are working on an event or program and are searching for volunteers that have a certain background. Leveraging group forums in some instances may be very helpful in these instances.

Ultimately, when you search for Groups in LinkedIn, you may notice an overwhelming number of possibilities. You may want to start by joining a small number of groups first. Try to become actively involved as you never know when your participation can lead to unexpected benefits.

Undergrad Interested in Research? Consider NSF-REU Programs!

Undergrads can learn about and apply for prestigious national research positions through the NSF-REU programs – info session on 11/5/13!

*NOTE:  Event on Tuesday 11/5 related directly to this post!
The National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF-REU) Programs Panel, Tuesday, November 5, 2013, 5:30 – 6:30 PM, Raisler Lounge, 2nd Floor Towne Building, 220 S. 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA
(Open to UPenn students, with faculty presenters from UPenn and Temple U., information from CHOP’s program, as well as Q&A with student panelists who have worked across the country in REUs)

Considering research this summer, in the future, or for your career?

A research-based experience is one of the primary ways in which undergraduate students – including freshmen – can gain experience and knowledge beyond the classroom, most especially in the early years of their education.  While many opportunities exist throughout the year – on campus with faculty, in labs, as part of nearby facilities like HUP and CHOP, among many other places – a few special programs exist in the summer months to help students gain specialized research experience.

A prestigious option to consider is the National Science Foundation-sponsored “Research Experience for Undergraduates” programs – NSF-REUs for short.

NSF-REU experiences offer a multitude of benefits to participating students, including the opportunity to:

  • work in small, diverse yet focused groups with noted faculty on novel topics
  • complete guided and independent research in areas including:
    • economics
    • engineering (a variety of fields available including nanotech, clean energy, biomedical, chemical and others)
    • ethics and values studies
    • mathematics
    • physics
    • sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, and others)
    • social sciences (psychology, criminology, diversity and inclusion, social aspects of hurricanes, anthropology, sustainability, politics and political science, civil conflict management,
    • technology (cyberinfrastructure, Department of Defense, etc.)
    • and more!
  • be published in well-respected publications and return to school with impressive projects to add to your resume
  • receive a highly competitive salary (referred to as stipends, typically ranging from $3,000 – $5,000) and often also receive additional funding to cover housing and/or meals
  • participate in fun activities organized by the site host
  • and more (benefits vary by location)

Sites can be found right here in Philadelphia, at UPenn, CHOP, and Temple U., as well as across the country and around the world (there are even polar research sites in the Arctic!)

Click on the below link to see a list of topics and find your site within.  Most students apply to more than one program, and individual requirements and deadlines (which can vary) are included on each program’s page as the site updates it.

http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/index.jsp

If you’d like to speak with a Penn student who has done an REU or any other type of research, be sure to use the Penn Internship Network to search, or attend the panel in 11/5/13!: http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/undergrad/pin.html

Best of luck in your search for a research opportunity – it’s a surefire way to build a great resume and potentially launch a lifelong career!

by Jamie Grant, C’98, GEd ’99

Don’t Leave School Without It!

Graduating students, don’t leave Penn without setting up an Interfolio account through Career Services. This on line credential/reference management system offers you the opportunity to store letters of recommendation, and have them mailed whenever you apply for graduate school admission, jobs or special programs in the future.  This is the ideal time to ask current professors, your advisor, or others you have worked with for a recommendation.  Let the author of a letter know what your future plans may be.  Have a discussion with them to determine their willingness to write a recommendation for you.  More detailed information is available on the Career Services website:  How to Ask for a Recommendation.

Please go to www.interfolio.com. Follow the instructions for opening an account and learn how the system works.

Pre-Health applicants will continue to use the Career Services Credentials system.

Learning from Grad Students About Graduate School

Peter Stokes

An essential part of figuring out if you are really interested in graduate school, and getting advice about how to get there, is to talk to people in the field that you want to get into. If you want to get a Ph.D., it’s vital to talk to faculty in a relevant field. If you’re considering an MBA, for example, it makes sense to talk with people in the industry you plan to go into, to investigate what the MBA will do for you, if there are specific programs to be recommended in your field—and even if you will actually need the MBA at all.

It’s also an excellent idea to talk to current graduate students in the field you’re interested in. They have been through this process of making decisions, and submitting applications, quite recently, after all. They can share their experiences of that—and also let you know what life really is like as a graduate student. A superb resource for Penn undergraduates who want to connect with graduate or professional students at Penn in any of a very wide variety of fields is the Graduate/Undergraduate Mentoring Program, run out of the Graduate Student Center. If you go to www.gsc.upenn.edu/mentoring you’ll find information about the program, and the form to fill out if you want to be assigned a graduate student mentor. It’s a terrific way to meet and learn from someone doing what you hope to do.