Category: Video

Flipping through the Channels…

by J. Michael DeAngelis

Thursday nights always offer up a tough choice.  Do I watch 30 Rock or Big Bang Theory?  Did I choose to spend the night with Bones and Fringe or do I dutifully watch The Office?

Or maybe I should watch all those episodes of Psych I’ve got recorded…or just pop in an old Star Trek on DVD.

Sometimes, I wish everything I wanted to watch was just on one channel.  Today, we’re moving closer and closer to that with the ability to DVR and watch online – with media guides and search functions and TiVO algorithms that help us find exactly what we want to watch.

Here at Career Services, we’ve had the same idea – creating a Vimeo site that features our many career videos.  You’ll find interviews with current students and alumni, discussions with our career counselors, videos of past programs and helpful orientations to various services offered by our office.  Many of our videos are also viewable on your favorite mobile device!

You can check our the main channel or visit one of our specialty channels:

So tonight, when you’re flipping through the channels, why not click on over to Vimeo and see what’s playing on the Career Services channel?

Trick or Treat

by J. Michael DeAngelis

When I was little, I had what I think was the greatest record collection a four year old could have. One of the crown jewels of my collection was a Walt Disney’s Trick or Treat, which retold one of the great Donald Duck cartoons of all time:

Oh, Donald, you irascible mallard!

“But Michael,” I can hear you say, “what does this have to do with Career Services?” Well, there’s a lot that we can learn from Donald, especially when it comes to attitude. Donald thinks pretty highly of himself. His refusal to give Huey, Dewey and Louie any candy stems not just from selfishness, but from a feeling of superiority. The unabashed glee that Donald has in outsmarting his nephews and Witch Hazel is comically evident throughout, but what’s funny in a cartoon is often destructive in real life.

Now, obviously, I don’t think that any of you are planning to stick firecrackers in your recruiter’s suitcase. Still, I have seen many people on the job hunt sabotage themselves because, consciously or un, they exude a Donald Duck like attitude. I see this not only here at Penn, but also in my second career in the theater arts.

There is a very fine but distinct line between having confidence and being smug. For example, I was recently looking to hire a small staff to work with me on a show for the Philly Fringe Festival. A young woman came to interview for a position and on paper, she seemed perfect. Her resume was good and she seemed enthusiastic about the project. Within in minutes, however, my feelings had changed. She spent the entire interview talking about how she and her friends had been “robbed” at a local awards ceremony. She began by saying that she was smarter than anyone on the awards committee and that her level of experience should have made her their top consultant. I was immediately turned off. Talk about overselling yourself. Worse, she continued by openly bad mouthing those who had won awards – including people I considered friends. If she hadn’t discounted herself yet, this sunk her. A real Donald Duck.

Be proud of what you’ve done. Feel free to speak of your talents and achievements. Wow potential employers with everything you bring to the table…but be mindful of ego and hubris. In the interview room, don’t be a Donald Duck or, as the song says, “your nightmares will come true.”

Tap Into Your Alumni Network

Homecoming is this weekend.  Time to reminisce and celebrate Penn’s rich history of excellence and its many traditions. It’s also a time where there are a lot of alumni on campus, and events that connect current students with them.  So, don’t let this opportunity pass you by.

As a Penn student, you are part of an extensive network that you can leverage for your job search and professional development at any stage of your career. Take advantage of the events that are going on here this weekend and build your network.  You never know when an opportunity will present itself because of a connection you made.

Here’s a video from last year’s networking event during homecoming, Quaker Exchange, for insight about why alumni are excited to connect with you and what you can take away.

DO Quit Your Day Job!

A few months ago, I posed a blog called “Don’t Quit Your Day Job…”, in which I spoke about the importance of finding a steady “day job” that allowed you to still pursue the carer of your dreams.

While browsing around my favorite sites this morning, I came across this great video about a man, Paulie Gee, who walked away from thirty years working in I.T. to open his dream business – a pizzeria.


Second Acts by Yahoo! via Slice

What I like about this video is that is shows that it is never too late to go after a dream. Mr. Giannone obviously worked very hard for a long time before deciding to strike it out on his own. I’m inspired by the risk he took in opening his own business and by the obvious joy he has in the decision he made.

Develop Your Expertise

By: David Ross

Consider your role in your organization. While we all have job titles and specific duties, some people are dubbed the “experts.” Are you known as an expert in your field? Is your knowledge and expertise utilized within your organization? Or do you have room for growth in your position and the opportunity to become an expert? While expertise is usually acquired over a period of time, here are some ways to further develop your expertise:

– Increase your knowledge about your profession and industry by joining professional associations and attending conferences and webinars. Joining professional associations provides the opportunity to keep updated with the latest trends and get a feel for best practices in your field. Attending annual or periodic conferences and webinars ensure that you remain up-to-date with information on an ongoing basis.
– Take advantage of any opportunities to research a relevant topic and give a presentation at local or national conferences. Any research you conduct as you develop your conference presentation will augment your existing knowledge base. By presenting your information to other industry professionals, you may be viewed as an expert in a specific area.
– Identify a topic or subcategory related to your work and specialize in that area. Sometimes it can be very overwhelming to focus on developing broad, widespread expertise. Start off with something more manageable such as becoming an expert on a system used in your company or learning the intricacies of one particular industry.
– Subscribe to (and read!) industry publications and articles. Trade journals, magazines and other periodicals can reveal salient topics, legal issues and other important information you can share with your organization to showcase your expertise.

Experts are valued and sought after by organizations. Think about ways in which you can enhance and demonstrate expertise in your field.