Career – Page 10 – Penn & Beyond

You have a job. Now what?!

by Robert Gannone

Now that you have a job, you may be thinking of how to advance your career in the years to come. One of best opportunities to advance your career path is to connect with other people in your profession. Joining a professional association is an ideal way to connect with professionals, who have shared interests. A professional association’s goal is to further a particular field and to enhance the careers and knowledge of individuals engaged in that profession.

As you have heard before, networking is one of the best ways to hear about new companies or open positions. More importantly, it’s simply a great way to expand your career horizons. By being engaged in a professional association, you can meet with others in your field and share your ideas about your profession and its direction. Some professional associations also offer certifications or licenses. These can also help to advance your career because they are earned from a professional organization and given to a person who has been designated as qualified to perform a job or task.

There are many professional associations in industries as varied as healthcare, academia, public administration, and urban planning. Whatever your field or your area of interest, professional associations offer a way to keep in touch with policy developments and an opportunity to network with others who share your interests. They typically also offer annual expos and meetings. Professional associations can have a national, local, or state focus. For example, associations ranging from local to national include such organizations as the Engineers’ Club of Philadelphia, the Texas Music Teachers Association, and the National Black MBA Association.

To find a listing of professional associations in your career or field of interest, visit one of the following sites:

http://www.weddles.com/associations/

http://www.associationsdirectory.org.

http://www.asaecenter.org/

You can also search for professional licenses by industry by going to the following website:

http://acinet.org/certifications_new/cert_search_industry.aspx

Tweet Your Way to a Job

by Shannon C. Kelly

Are you on Twitter? If you are, you may have an advantage over your fellow job seekers, or at least the UK’s Lancaster University Management School said so in a recent article. The 140 character limit that distinguishes Twitter from other social networks has tapped into individuals’ talent for being succinct in their writing. How does this factor into your job search? The bullet points on your resume, introductions at networking events, or answering questions quickly and concisely in an interview are a few examples of moments where you need to be brief.

Social media platforms like Twitter are great tools to utilize if traditional avenues are falling a bit short in your job search. They can also be useful in not only building your professional skills, but showcasing them.

If you’re on Twitter, follow us for career advice – @PennCareerServ.

The articles that inspired this blog post can be found at:

http://thenextweb.com/uk/2010/07/01/twitter-users-more-likely-to-get-job-interviews/

http://www.myjobgroup.co.uk/media-centre/press-releases/twitter-users-top-of-the-pile-for-job-interviews.shtml

Hello, my name is…

By Claire Klieger

Summer is a time when lots of you will be traveling, attending parties and have countless opportunities to meet people on planes, trains or automobiles or even your local grocery store. And anytime you have a chance to meet someone is a potential opportunity to network. Over the years, I’ve heard many stories from students who said they made their first contact with an organization randomly, by meeting someone in airport or elevator. These chance encounters can sometimes lead to interviews and even possible job offers if the conversation goes well.

As the Boy Scouts say, always be prepared! Develop a short spiel, sometimes called an elevator pitch, about yourself and your interests—“Hi, my name is Claire and I’m a junior at the University of Pennsylvania studying Anthropology. I’m really interested in….because….” That said, often the best way to network is to ask questions. Most people really like talking about themselves so it may be easier to tailor your personal anecdotes once you know a little bit more about someone else.

Let the conversation flow naturally. No one wants to feel put upon with requests from strangers. Think of it more as a chance to get know someone new and if the conversation goes well, ask for a card or contact information so that you can follow up with them later.

Of course, you also need to be open to having these sorts of encounters which means doing more unplugging from your ipod, ipad or smart phone. So, the next time you’re on a plane and you hear the dreaded announcement of “please turn off all electronic devices…,” instead of pulling out a book, perhaps try striking up a conversation with your neighbor. You never know who you might meet or what you might learn.

For additional networking tips and resources, check out our Networking video and Making Contacts page.

Want to watch this video on your mobile device? Click here!

Lazy Summer Afternoons in the Career Services Library

by Mylène Kerschner

Have a little downtime this summer? A break between summer school classes or an afternoon off from your internship? It’s easy in the summer to seize those free moments and just kick back completely – turn on your music and head for Rittenhouse or Clark Park to relax and think of nothing. You’ve certainly earned it after your coursework this academic year! But maybe one day if it looks like a thunderstorm is threatening or, say, it’s 90 degrees and you can see the heat rising from the street, you should come in to the Career Services library and explore the books we have available to read in our comfortable air conditioning.

While we have lots of books divided by industry (from accounting & finance to education & teaching to scientific research), we also have a whole section on how to decide your career path if the mere thought of selecting from one of those other categories makes you a little nauseous.

Here are just a few of those offerings, all with great tips:

careerguideforcreative — Career Guide for Creative and Unconventional People

whatshouldido — What Should I Do with My Life?

Summer is a great time to set aside an afternoon for a little self-reflection. Come on in, get out of the heat and check out the Career Services library. We’re here Monday through Friday, 9 – 5. (And you can still listen to your music in here – with headphones!)

Curiosity & Careers: How Informational Interviewing Can Build Your Network

By Sharon Fleshman

Wherever you are in the career planning process, it never hurts to chat with people in careers that have piqued your curiosity. Informational interviewing is a great way to build your network, gather helpful insight on a career, and receive advice on moving into that career. Assuming that they don’t have major time constraints, most people are glad to talk about the work they do and offer their own perspective on what it takes to be successful in their field. Why not schedule some interviews during the summer? Here are some tips to get you started:

1) Be open to the many opportunities to engage people.

You may want to start with Penn alumni, who are generally happy to help. The Penn Alumni Career Network (PACNet) was designed expressly for the purpose of facilitating informational interviews. The alumni advisors have volunteered to speak with Penn students and other Penn alumni, so don’t be shy about contacting them. You can also identify alumni with careers of interest by way of LinkedIn alumni groups and Penn Regional Alumni clubs.

Don’t feel like you are limited to alumni. It is often tempting to overlook those closest to you, such as family, friends of the family, and relatives of friends. If you have a summer internship, check with your supervisor to see if you can sit down with managers and other employees who are working in other areas that interest you. Peruse the website of an organization that you respect and see if you can locate staff biographies and identify those doing work that you could see yourself doing in the future; if any Penn alumni are working there, all the better.

Once you develop a list of potential contacts, send an e-mail message introducing yourself and stating how you became aware of the person’s work. Mention that you have developed an interest in the contact’s career field and that you would like to talk with him/her for 30 minutes to glean insight and advice. Informational interviews can be conducted by phone or in person, depending on what is most convenient.

2) Prepare well.

Once the informational interview is scheduled, make sure to read up on basic information about the career field as well as the organization at which your contact works. Good preparation is key to asking thoughtful and focused questions that spark informative and engaging conversation and leave a great impression. Helpful sample questions are available on the Career Services website and career counselors are available to help with preparation. Though you will not be going to a job interview, professionalism is still important. If you are meeting your contact in person, be clear on what attire is appropriate and where the contact’s office is located. If you are talking over the phone, you should be in a quiet place during the interview. Be sure to send a thank you note after the interview, and keep in touch periodically.

3) Respect the boundaries.

It is crucial to remember that an informational interview is neither a job interview nor the venue to ask for one. The purpose of an informational interview is to gather information and advice as well as more networking contacts. That being said, a contact who is very impressed with you may choose to offer additional job search assistance at his or her discretion.

4) Enjoy!

Informational interviewing allows for an intentional conversation where there is relatively little pressure to convince someone that you are totally committed to a given career or the best fit for a job. The process offers a great opportunity for you to learn from another’s experiences and get clarity regarding your own career goals. It can be one of the more enjoyable aspects of networking, even for those who typically see networking as a daunting task.