Preparing for the Spring Career Fair

By: Kelly Cleary

It’s career fair season once again with Penn’s Spring Career Fair on campus THIS FRIDAY, followed by the All Ivy Environmental and Sustainable Development Career Fair on Friday, February 26th and the Not-for-Profit & Public Service Career Fair on Friday, March 5th, the latter fairs being held in NYC.

The Spring Fair on Friday, February 19th from 11am-3pm in Houston Hall will be a great chance for students from ALL years and ALL majors to meet representatives and learn about job and internship opportunities in a variety of industries including communications/media, business/finance, consulting, education, engineering, government, healthcare, IT, and nonprofits. For the current list of over 65 registered employers, click here or check PennLink.

While career fairs are a fantastic way to connect with job and internship opportunities, I’ve talked with many students who really stress out about career fairs.  When I talk to students who are hesitant to attend career fairs because they worry they’ll get nervous and won’t know what to say or do, I always remind them that recruiters register for (and pay good money to attend) career fairs because they are eager to talk to and potentially hire talented students like YOU.

Here are a few career fair prep tips to help ease some of that pre-fair anxiety:

Reflect on your career interests, skills, and personal goals for the fair. Are you looking for an internship or a full-time job?  What type of what of work do you want to do (i.e. writing, analyzing, programming, event planning, researching…)? What industries are you most interested in? Where do you want to live?

That said, while it’s important to have goals in mind, it’s also important to keep an open mind so you don’t miss out on an opportunity simply because you overlooked the fact that it could be a worthwhile way for you to gain experience.

Develop your “30-second commercial” – if that sounds silly to you, just think of it as your basic introduction. Career fairs at Penn do get crowded so you might only have a few seconds to attract and keep a recruiter’s attention. This can be a little daunting, so work out a great sentence or two about your career interests, skills, special research projects, and background (academics, extra-curricular, internships, etc.)

Research  organizations that are attending and develop a plan of attack. Come up with a list of your “must see” companies to make sure you don’t miss their tables, but survey the entire list of attendees. An organization doesn’t have to be a household name to be a great employer who offers interesting and rewarding opportunities.   I know a student who received a super job offer with a great company after she stopped by a table that had no student traffic when she walked by. She would never have known about what that company had to offer if she didn’t stop to ask.

Taking the time to reflect on your interests and goals, develop your introduction, and research organizations will help you make the most of your time at the fair.

And here’s a quick run through for the day of the fair– dress sharp, brush your teeth, bring lots of copies of your resume, shake hands, smile a lot, ask intelligent questions, take business cards (and make notes on those cards for easy recall), and follow up with recruiters that night. You can find additional career fair tips on our Navigating Career Fairs page and our Tips For Mastering a Career Fair video, or plan to attend the Career Fair Prep workshop on Tuesday, February 16th at 2:30pm in McNeil Building, Room 97.

The Job and Internship Search Process…

By: David Ross

…can be somewhat unpredictable each year. Regardless, it’s great to see many students contemplate and pursue a myriad of employment opportunities with a keen interest in obtaining experiences that will serve them well for their future endeavors. And while there are “do’s” and “don’ts” that can be helpful as guidelines, one thing never changes: the process is unique and distinctive for each individual.

Why is this important? Well sometimes it may be easy to get caught up in day-to-day activities without taking a moment to consider the process. What may be helpful is perspective and reflection on the bigger picture. As students here at Penn, all of you have already accomplished great things and are destined to continue to do so in the future. You are all extremely talented individuals with great things to offer. Don’t ever lose sight of that. The odd thing about searching for jobs and internships is how unpredictable the process can be even when applicants proceed with great diligence in a structured manner. Sometimes the search may take longer than anticipated or require more effort than imagined. But that’s ok (and common!) – ultimately the number of interviews you receive and how long the process is irrelevant.

I encourage everyone to keep focused on your goals and remember that jobs and internships will continue to become available over the next few months. Think broadly about your interests and consider utilizing your background and skills in creative ways. Try not to depend on one job/internship search resource – diversification is key. Hang in there. And one last thing…take some time to do something enjoyable – everyone deserves to have some fun at some point.

Tick, tick, tick…Timing Your Application to Medical School

photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotologic/

Is time finite and structured?  Or, is it flexible, even fluid?  Scientific and philosophical considerations aside, from the point of view of a pre-health advisor, it depends on whether you are applying to medical school this year or not.  The application process begins more than a year before you enter medical school with lots of deadlines to meet.  Once you decide to apply, time is not on your side.  You may hope that if you are accepted you can defer admission, but it is the rare circumstance in which a medical school grants you an extra year before beginning your studies (p.s. come talk to a pre-health advisor about this if you are counting on a deferral).  You may expect the clinical experience and grades you get after you submit your application to make a difference.  This is not a great strategy, unless you truly believe that admissions folks have the time to continually review your application along with the thousands of others they receive.

Before you apply, on the other hand, you can take as much time as you need to build your application or do things that are not directly related to medical school.  Everyone is different.  Some people go to the medical school right after they graduate and that’s fine; however, there is nothing inherently “better” about going straight to medical school.  The best time to apply to medical school is when your application is strong and you are committed to beginning your training to become a physician.

Here are some points to consider:

1.  The application you submit, is the application that is reviewed. It is not a wise strategy to submit your application thinking that you will update the schools with all the great things you are going to do over the next year.  By all means, stay active while you are in the process of applying and talk about your experiences if you are fortunate enough to have an interview, but don’t assume someone will revisit your application when you email those great fall grades or that extra letter of recommendation.  A pre-health advisor can’t tell you whether you will get into medical school or not, but he or she can talk with you about the strengths and weakness of your application as well as the challenges of the admissions process.

2. Applying a second time to medical school can be challenging (not to mention expensive).  If you turn around and apply the next year the schools are less likely to ask, “Who is this?” than “What’s different this time?”

3.  Applying later in the application process puts you at a disadvantage.  Yes, the official application deadline may be in October; however, if you submit your application then your chances of receiving an interview are considerably smaller than if you have applied by mid-summer.

4.  Take the MCAT when you are prepared.  This is not a test you want to “take a shot at.”  Is it realistic to take the MCAT, start a new job, take two science classes, and find a new place to live in the same month?  From what I’ve seen, it is not.  It’s also worth noting that you don’t want to take the MCAT too early.  If you are planning to take a significant amount of time before applying to medical school, check schools’ policies regarding the oldest MCAT that is acceptable.

5. Time spent strengthening your application is not a “black hole” or a personal failure.  Taking some more time may not have been your plan.  It may be, as I’ve heard students say, that you “have no idea what you would do” with that time.  As pre-health advisors we present taking some time as an option, but it’s always your choice.  Thinking through the possibility allows you to make an informed decision about the possible benefits and risks.

6. Is there anything that you, personally, want to do before you begin medical school?  Once you enter medical school, and then the medical profession, the demands on your personal time will be significant.  If there is another career you want to explore, a different call to serve that you wish to answer, or a desire to pursue a personal, non-academic experience, you may want to give yourself time to do that before making your commitment to becoming a doctor.

Keep in mind, of course, that you can make time to meet with a pre-health advisor by appointment or during walk-in hours. We never take time off!  (Unless we are buried in snow, like today.)

Winter Weather Notice

Special Message regarding inclement weather on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010:

If the University closes tomorrow (Wednesday, Feb 10) for the snow storm, Career Services will be closed. If the University remains open, Career Services will be open, although some staff may not be able to make it in. Some counseling appointments may be held over the phone. You will be notified if that is the case. Some programs may also be canceled. Check our web site before venturing out.

On Campus Recruiting will remain open, whether or not the University closes, thanks to our intrepid recruiting staff. Several scheduled employers are already in Philadelphia and will be conducting interviews as planned. Others are unable to fly in, so will be doing telephone interviews. Still others are re-scheduling for next week or a later date. If your interview is going to be held over the phone, or has been postponed, you will be receiving an email with the details. If you are not notified you should come to the recruiting suite at your scheduled time.

We in Career Services and our recruiters are doing the best we can in the face of bad weather. We appreciate your patience. Thank you, and stay safe if you venture out in the storm.

Patricia Rose
Director, Career Services

CareerCast: Finding a Consulting Internship

by Jaclyn Chen (W ’12) & Angie Luo (C ’11)

Introducing our first of many industry-specific videos!

As work-study students in Career Services, we were given the project to interview Penn students about their internships in certain industries: consulting, finance, public sector, and communications (we’ll be expanding to more industries in the future).  We asked different questions about how they found their internship, what their responsibilities were, what they learned, what skills they used, etc.  We tried to ask the kinds of questions we have ourselves about the internship process and we hope you find their answers as enlightening as we did.

The response we got was great, and we’ve started to compile the videos by industry and then by question. Here’s the first one:  “Consulting: Finding an Internship”

Enjoy – and let us know if there’s a specific industry you’d like to see explored in the future!


Want to watch on your mobile device? Click here!