News you can use: Summer Survey report

by Helen Cheung

During the Fall, many of you answered our pleas and completed the Summer Survey which asks undergraduates what they did last summer.  Thank you so much!  I’ve read each and every one of your responses (those from CAS students) and enjoyed living vicariously through your experiences.  In doing so, I also have learned a lot about summer opportunities.  Just as we like to base our career advice on real information, I hope that you will use this data to guide your summer job search. Those of you who have met me might know that I’m a fan of “fact checking.” Here are some facts:

1. Exploration: First, if you are ever curious about what other students in your major and class do, what opportunities are out there in a particular field, how much money on average an intern makes, or where students live over the summer, the Summer Survey Report has the answers.  One thing I learned is that nearly half of the students do more than one thing in the summer – they work full-time and intern part-time, or they take classes and volunteer, etc.   You can also search for upperclassmen to ask internship-related questions on the Penn Internship Network, the database of Penn students who have volunteered to speak with other students about their internships.

2. Industries: The industries that hired the most CAS students are: education, financial services, nonprofit, communication, and government.  So, while CAS students have no trouble finding work in business, far more students are in creative and service industries. Don’t limit yourself to the types of employers who recruit on campus or post jobs on PennLink if your interests lie elsewhere.

3. Jobs: CAS students held summer positions in more than 90 different job categories and is the most diverse of the undergraduate schools at Penn.  Your arts and sciences education gives you many career options.  Therefore, explore and research your options.  For example, students who did a legal internship worked not only in law firms, but also higher education, nonprofit, manufacturing, and government industries.  The “What Can I do With My Major” link is a good resource that lays out for each type of work, what sort of organization you would look in to find it.

4. Application timing: Last summer, 65% of CAS students found their summer jobs in March, April and May last year, with most offers coming in April.  That means *now* is a good time to apply for jobs and follow up on leads and applications.

5. Search methods: 30% of CAS students found their jobs through personal contacts and 18% through applying directly to the organization. The lesson here? Talk to people, meet new ones, take the initiative to research organizations, inquire and follow up. Too many students believe that their applications go to a “black hole” and don’t bother applying at all.  In addition to applying directly, diversify your approach, including using PACNet or LinkedIn to seek advice and leads from Penn alumni.

I hope these observations and advice will be helpful as you continue your summer job search. As always, you’ll find a great deal of helpful information on the Career Services website, and I encourage all of you to connect with one of the career counselors if you have questions about your search.  Good luck!

Spring is in the air…

By: David Ross

Well, it was a few days ago. How quickly things change. 60 degrees, sunshine one day…40 degrees and rain the next. At least the snow is gone? For now? For good?

Career Services was open this past week as many students left town for Spring Break. It’s amazing how a change of pace can re-energize you for the rest of the semester. As Spring Break comes to a close (and I’m sure it has gone by too quickly for many people), now is the time to prepare and make plans as you finish up the semester.

If you have a chance, take some time to stop and reflect on where you are with your plans for the summer or after graduation for seniors. Is there anything you need to do or focus on over the next two months? Before things get busy again with academics, devising your plan of action may help keep you focused. Now may also be a time to reassess your goals and priorities and determine if you need to make any adjustments. Do you need to tweak your resumes or cover letters? Or perhaps expand your job or internship search? Whatever your situation may be, try to make the most of any free time you have now.

Enjoy the last few days of Spring Break and we will see you back on campus next week.

Spring is here! (Almost)

Clinical Volunteering Abroad: Know Your Boundaries

As a pre-medical or pre-dental student, visiting another country to volunteer in a clinic can be a valuable, even life-changing experience that strengthens your commitment to medicine and teaches you about patient care in a different cultural or economic context.  If you are interested in serving communities abroad and learning more about global health issues, clinical volunteer work in another country is a great idea!  There are, however, some points to “know before you go.”
1.  It is not necessary to volunteer abroad to get into medical school; in fact, a week or two in a clinic abroad without medically-related service work in your local community or the U.S. can raise doubts about your commitment to serving others.

2.  Evaluate the organization or program carefully before you commit.  How long has it been in operation?  Have you talked to anyone who has participated in the past?  What plan is in place should you fall ill or are injured?

3. Consider your budget when looking at programs as well as less expensive ways to volunteer that might be equally interesting to you.  Some opportunities can be extremely expensive.

4. A good clinical volunteer experience is not the one where you are allowed to do the work of trained physicians and dentists.  When volunteering abroad, your level of training may be vastly overestimated by staff and patients.  Consider carefully whether you, as a patient, would want an untrained volunteer giving you medical advice or performing procedures such as pulling teeth or conducting hands-on exams.  Show respect for patients by knowing your limits before you go abroad and expect that you may be asked or invited to perform duties beyond what you might do at a clinic at home.

Read: An interesting ethical case study on the AMA’s website, “Limits on Student Participation in Patient Care in Foreign Medical Brigades,” profiles a third-year medical student who sutured incisions without supervision.

It may seem necessary to volunteer abroad to build a strong application, but it isn’t the case.  Also, you may despair that your clinical volunteer work will not impress admissions committees because you “didn’t get to do a lot of hands on stuff” that other students have reported from their experiences.  Know that professionals on admissions committees are troubled by applicants who appear to have put themselves before the patient by taking on care beyond their training.

Having the above in mind while searching for a clinical volunteer experience can help you find a “good fit” for what is sure to be a rewarding, exciting, and educational time in the field.

A Quaker in the Middle East – guest blog continued

By Maura Connell, B.A. Cultural Anthropology ‘08, and now Human Resources Coordinator, Hill International

This post from a Penn alum who is working in Dubai is continued from yesterday.

When I got on the plane in July 2008 I did not think I would be gone for longer than one year. In July 2009 I moved within Hill to their Gulf headquarters office in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, a 45-minute plane ride from Doha, Qatar. I am no longer recruiting but am now a regional HR Coordinator, overseeing employee programs and new hire mobilization and orientation for the Gulf region, which includes offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Bahrain, Kuwait, Riyadh, and Jeddah. Tentatively

Living overseas and especially working overseas is very different from visiting, even from an extended study abroad trip, and I really love it. For all the challenges it presents and all of the frustrations related to being in an unfamiliar place, those same challenges and frustrations are what make life abroad interesting and exciting. Those are the same things that I will miss when I leave. The thought of working in an office where everyone speaks the same language, where people aren’t traveling internationally on a regular basis, where you don’t debate walking to the Indian or the Lebanese restaurant for lunch is a disappointingly bland thought. I would put money on my settling in the States at some point, but the more I travel and work overseas the more I relish the exposure.

What I discovered on a trip back home last winter was a disappointment in knowing that so many people in the States would never have a significant experience abroad to expose them to different peoples and different ways of life. There is a quote from Mark Twain that reads, “travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness,” and while some will always uphold discrimination regardless of their travels, I believe there is undeniable merit in opening one’s eyes through experience abroad.

Over the past 14-months I’ve gone from camel races to roof top bars at 5-star hotels to Indian dance clubs to desert camping to British social activity clubs to working next to Qataris to staff meetings at construction sites of towers that are defining the Doha skyline. I’ve had discussions and debates with my older Arab male bosses about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I’ve gotten my SCUBA certification and have dived in the Persian Gulf. I’ve stepped carefully to avoid camel dung and frozen my buns off while cooking a late night desert camp dinner by the Inland Sea bordering Saudi Arabia.  I’ve had homesick nights and all nighters talking with friends about the American Presidential election and its impact on us as young expatriates. I’ve attended events with ambassadors and foreign ministers, and have been privy to exclusive tours of world-class hotels before their grand opening. I cannot stress how much I enjoy being in a place that has such international influences.

And so I encourage you to explore the possibility of working outside the United States. After all, never has the prospect of applying for jobs abroad been more appealing than in today’s economy. But make sure before you jump in that you are ready for the unknown challenges that you are sure to encounter. If nothing else it is vital to be both flexible and open-minded whenever venturing beyond American borders. One of my favorite quotes and one that I have found to ring true in all new endeavors was said by a French marquise, Mme. De Deffand, that “the distance doesn’t matter- only the first step is difficult.”

Careers Services’ International Opportunities page is a good place to start.