The Confluence of Career Planning & Decision Making

By Jamie Grant, C’98, GEd’99
Senior Associate Director for the School of Engineering & Applied Science

September and October are such interesting months in career advising, as there is a truly full spectrum of questions. It’s a time of beginnings – the freshmen are here, it’s the start of a whole new school year, new classes.  Yet, it’s also a time for many students to be making career planning decisions all along that same spectrum – what kinds of internships do I want to pursue, where are my skills and capabilities the best fit, which full-time opportunities should I go after.  In a few particular industries, it’s “go” time for full-time and internship roles – deadlines to accept or decline offers are looming, even if candidates were able to get an extension from organizations excited to have a commitment from an amazing and skilled Penn student like you.  Others career fields and organizations are just getting started.

No matter where you or your path(s) of interest fall within this process, we’ve got you in Career Services.  At any time of the year, we’re happy to guide you and help you explore all the possibilities, weigh the decisions and go through the pros and cons of your choices in a methodical, objective manner.  I know this can be tough – just this week, I’ve helped new students brainstorm relevant skills and experiences to include on their resumes, helped a soon-to-be graduate compare two similar offers, down to stock options and healthcare plans.  Such objective discussions perhaps may not be possible with others in your support system – I remember my family and friends all offered their own advice on my job search and decision making, and how much emotion and subjectivity defined those conversations.

Before you meet with one of us, you can certainly start some of this thinking and exploration yourself with the tools on our website.  It’s never too early – or too late – think about the impact of your values, skills and interests and how that all ties together with your educational plans and career path.  And know that we as advisors have years of experience helping candidates look at all the angles and weigh the options, present the best versions of themselves throughout the application process, and pursue and achieve whatever “success” may look like for each individual.

3 Things to Do Now That You’ll Thank Yourself for in the Fall

Tiffany J. Franklin, Associate Director

Over the years, I’ve learned that it’s good to think about what can I do now that will make myself happy in a couple months, whether that’s eating a salad instead of grabbing another cookie (which I don’t always do) or as it applies to work projects and other things in my life. Now that summer is approaching, we have a few months that will be filled with internships, summer jobs, research, world travel and many different adventures, as well as hopefully some fun and vacations. With these months before us, it’s a good time to reflect on projects we’d like to accomplish before fall arrives. As this relates to the job search, there are a few things you can do now to make your life easier in the fall when you are balancing many other class and campus responsibilities. A job search is not something that you can cram into a weekend, and that’s why it’s helpful to divide job search tasks into smaller steps that you can do each week rather than try and complete everything all at once.

Here are 3 things to consider incorporating into your summer routine to make life a little easier for yourself in the fall:

1) Update your resume now. If you do that now, you’ll be well-positioned when job postings appear in Handshake in August and for career fairs the first weeks of school. For your current internship and summer experiences, you can leave space on your resume and fill the details in the month before classes start. Throughout the summer, be sure to make notes to yourself about the projects you are doing and write your accomplishments along the way.

2) Take time to Explore Career Paths. Sometimes the experience of the summer makes you question the path you were on; either you have an experience that makes you want to explore something completely new or perhaps a job you’re working on right now isn’t what you thought it would be and you may want to pursue other avenues. Our office offers a variety of career assessments, both formal and informal, that can help you think about all your skills and interests. We can discuss career possibilities that align with your interests and review the formal assessments for insights.

3) Use this time to Network with Quaker Alumni. This is a perfect time to network and connect with alumni in your fields of interest. For example, you can develop a list of people for outreach and create a spreadsheet that includes alumni from Quakernet and LinkedIn. Each week, allot some time to sending emails and talking to people about their careers – what they like, the challenges of their field, what they know now they wish they knew starting out, and any advice they may have. For more information about informational interviewing, check out the Networking section of the Penn Career Services website with tips on how to reach out to alumni and make the most of these interactions. These steps are a great way to build your network now, which takes time, rather than trying to cram this into your fall schedule.

When looking back on past summers, the productive ones started with a strategy at the beginning of June. By dividing my projects into smaller parts and working it every week, I felt less pressure. By the end of the summer, I could look back and see how much I accomplished over time. Plus, I started the fall with a to do list with things already crossed off by the beginning of the school year. Remember, Penn Career Services is here to help you throughout the year, so be sure to reach out to us anytime, even if you’re across the world. We can Skype, schedule phone meetings or email to ensure you have the support you need. If you’re in Philly, schedule an in-person meeting with us. Hope you have a wonderful, safe and productive summer!

Career Tips for International Students

GlobeInternational students enrolled at Penn seek internships and jobs in their home countries, in the United States, in global organizations’ locations around the world, and in other countries. Searching for an internship or job involves many of the same tasks anywhere (identifying one’s strengths and goals, exploring career fields, preparing resumes and cover letters, networking, researching companies, applying, interviewing, and more), but two particular issues make the process different for international students seeking positions in the United States: language skills and immigration issues.

Through my experiences at several universities working with international students who are undergraduates and graduate students in many different disciplines, I’ve found that the best way for international students to address these two challenges is to take responsibility for what they can control and to learn as much as possible about what they cannot control.

You do have control over your language proficiency. If English is not your first language, practice. Practice more. Practice every chance you get. Practice with people whose first language IS English. Listen to English being spoken—on TV, online, in movies and plays, during lectures (in your own classes and through guest lectures on other topics you find interesting). Find every opportunity you can to speak English. Visit the Graduate Student Center’s website to learn about their resources. When you are with friends from your home country, agree to speak English together all the time or at designated times. (For example, ask your friends to promise to speak only English this evening until 10:00 p.m. If anyone breaks the rule, that person must buy ice cream for everyone else in the group.) Practice makes sense. If you were planning to compete in a sport—let’s say tennis, would you spend most of your time practicing volleyball?

You do not have control over immigration policies in the United States, but you DO have control over how well you understand them. Take the time to visit ISSS to learn about your visa options regarding work during and after your time at Penn. Review the online resources about immigration. Attend workshops about OPT and CPT. Read our blog regularly to glean advice for international students from career advisors, students, and alumni. Pay attention to calendars at Penn so that you can attend helpful career events such as alumni panels (former international students) and the annual fall lecture on “Immigration Made Easy,” presented by immigration attorneys. The more you understand about work visas in the United States, the better prepared you will be to respond to potential employers’ questions. There were many special Career Services workshops for international students at Penn last year; how many did you attend?

Tomorrow is the first day of summer, and fall seems many weeks away. But summer is a great opportunity to dedicate some time to your career preparation. Update your resume. Draft your cover letter. Be able to identify what type(s) of work you’re seeking and be able to explain why. Think of good examples you can use to prove you have the skills needed for the position(s) you plan to seek. Practice your English skills. Acquaint yourself with the visa issues you need to understand.

International students at Penn bring incredible strengths with them: tenacity and drive, global perspectives, unique experiences, enthusiasm, daringness and bravery, intercultural competence, an awareness of more than one way of doing things. Use these skills to tackle the challenges of language proficiency and immigration issues. And go eat some ice cream on the first day of summer!Ice Cream

Summer Checklist

by Patricia Rose, Director of Career Services

The semester is almost over; all that remains are final exams and papers and projects.  Regardless of what you are doing this summer (career-related internship, research, travel, beginning a permanent job, getting ready to start graduate school), think about these suggestions.  They can serve as your to do list.

  1.  Read a book.  So many students, even those with scholarly interests, confess that they don’t have time to read during the academic year.  Take advantage of whatever down time you have to read a book, or two or three, purely for pleasure.
  2. Try something new: a new sport, a new game (chess? backgammon?), a new volunteer activity, a new performance (opera? Reggae?), even a new food you have never eaten.  The point is to challenge yourself in ways large and small.  You may surprise yourself with your newly-found skills or interests.
  3. Try to broaden your career network by meeting people who are actively pursuing fields of interest to you.  You may be spending the summer in a new location, one that has more professionals in a particular field (marine biologists, publicists, producers) than does Philadelphia.  Take advantage of wherever you are by reaching out to Penn alums or other professionals who have a wealth of wisdom to share.  But remember, the onus is on you to make the initial contact.
  4. Do something fun every day, for yourself.
  5. Do something for someone else every day.  This could be as simple as giving up your seat on the bus, or offering directions to someone who is lost.  Kindness counts.
  6. Sleep!  Many of you are sleep-deprived.  Try to catch up.
  7. Think!  Turn off your electronics.  Escape the ever-present screens.  Give yourself permission – and time – to appreciate your own thoughts, your own reflections.
  8. Thank someone: a parent, a spouse or partner, who has helped you get through the year.  Let this person know you appreciate what they do.

Summer is a great time to re-assess, to re-charge, to re-commit to what is important to you.  Unfortunately, it goes by too fast.  Make the most of it, stay safe, and enjoy yourself.

After the Exhale: Making the Most of Your Winter Break

By Sharon Fleshman

Winter break is drawing near.  Hold on… you’re almost there! In a couple of weeks, if not sooner, you’ll have handed in that last paper or exam and the busyness of the fall semester will be over.  And then you will have a moment to sit and simply breathe.  Inhale. Exhale.

Though I offer suggestions on how you can use some of your downtime for career planning, I hope that one of your priorities is to get some rest. Therefore, the following tips should be seen as less like a “checklist” to complete and more like a “menu”, where you choose what is most useful for you to accomplish during your time off.

Reflect: 
Think about your experiences at Penn so far. What have been some of your most energizing projects? Such projects may have taken place in the context of an internship, student club or a class.  Write a quick summary of each project, what you accomplished, and what you enjoyed. Are there any common elements that you see from these projects that point to skills, values, and strengths?   Reflecting on these matters is not only helpful for improving your resumes, cover letters and interviews, but will also allow you to identify careers that may suit you going forward. Career Services has self-assessment resources that can help facilitate this process.

Research:
Winter break is a great time to research careers, industries, employers and job/internship opportunities.  Make sure to peruse the Career Services website for online resources. You may decide to begin with resources on web pages which are more specific to your school or career interest. We also have general Career Exploration resources available. Online versions of newspapers, trade publications and other periodicals are other good sources for industry research. Websites for professional associations and chambers of commerce can also provide helpful career, industry and employer information.

Reach out:
Don’t forget that you already have quite a network which includes family, friends, alumni, current supervisors, and professors.  Don’t be hesitant about reaching out to your network for insight and consider how you can help others in your network as well.  Helpful resources for this include the Penn Alumni Career Network, LinkedIn and professional associations related to your field of interest.

In addition to networking and information interviewing, you can make connections with others while getting direct exposure to a career.  For instance, volunteering is an excellent way to accomplish this with hands-on involvement. Perhaps you can assist someone in a field of interest in a short-term project. Another means of exposure is shadowing, which allows you to accompany someone in a career of interest during the course of a work day.

Regroup:
As you assess your career goals and progress you’ve made so far, you may decide that you need to make some adjustments. To do this, consider an approach with “flexible focus” by determining what is most important concerning your career plans and where you can be more flexible. For instance, you may be committed to a particular industry but may decide to expand your geographical options. Invite family, friends, and mentors to strategize with you.

Once you have revisited your goals, it is time to document your plan of action with concrete, timely and measurable steps. Such a goal could sound something like, “I will conduct informational interviews with at least two people each month after break.”

Finally, the most important tip of all: RELAX!