Tag: games

Take My Word For It

by Julie Vick


 

Readers of this blog know that Career Services staff blog that unlikely and different experiences can actually inform your job search, and I really mean DIFFERENT.   Some of the topics on which we have posts are TV watching, dirty diapers, Dr. Who, your cat, and lunch; if you take a moment to read those posts you WILL find that those experience can be meaningful for some aspect of your search.

One of MY passions is playing Scrabble, both in person and online.  I love words and really enjoy figuring out the best word I can make with as many of my seven letters as possible.  I compare doing that to writing a strong resume or CV and a cover letter.  But I can’t put my word on the board just anywhere; it has to connect to a word already played.  Just so, my resume and cover letter must show a connection to the job to which I’m applying.  As I may have to tweak the word to find it a place on the board, so I need to tailor my job hunting materials to each specific job.  And the third strategy I employ is to try to place high-scoring letters on triple- or double-letter spaces and/or make sure the word falls on a triple- or double-word space.  That is somewhat similar to getting some useful information about the job or employer before you finish the written materials which might let you say in the letter, “Your colleague suggested I apply for the job because my experience and abilities are a good match for it.”  SO, to review: the excitement of making a good word AND playing it well is akin to writing strong and targeted application materials that get you a phone interview.  It’s not enough to put together a good word from the seven letters in your tile tray; you also need to make a connection.

There are many low moments with Scrabble too.  When I have a tray with three “I’s”, two “U’s” and two “N’s” on it, I have to decide whether or not to turn in some of those “I’s” and other letters.  I’ll get new letters but lose a turn to play.   (If I have a lot of “I’s” plus other low-scoring letters, I usually trade some of them in.  Unfortunately, over the next few turns they seem to find me again.)  It’s the same with job hunting.  If you find that your strategy isn’t resulting in some interviews perhaps you need to rethink it; maybe you need to talk with some Penn alumni/ae in the field that interests you so that your letters sound more knowledgeable.  Perhaps your resume doesn’t provide enough detail — or provides too much detail – and needs significant REVISION.

About every 10-15 games I play what’s called a “bingo,” that is, I manage to use all seven letters that are on my tray in a play.  A bingo earns you 50 extra points in addition to the points for the word.  The ultimate job search bingo would be an offer but it could also be an interview or even discovery of an opportunity that’s great for you.  I’m always on the lookout for a bingo even though for me with Scrabble I know they happen only occasionally.  You need to do the same…Take my WORD for it.

 

“Careers” for Alumni

by Beth Olson

Many of us—of any age—recall playing the board game Careers in one of its many versions. The goal is to obtain points in three areas—fame, fortune, and happiness. Players determine their own proportions of each for their individual “success formulas” at the beginning of the game.

In our real-life careers, these proportions are constantly changing as our priorities shift. To complicate matters, our very definitions of these goals also change. My current definition of “happiness” may bear some resemblance to what it did when I was fresh out of college, but it is also quite different now. All of which means that identifying desired career fields and searching for job opportunities within them is an ongoing and changing process throughout our lives—whether we are 24 or 48.

Game buffs might already know this, but this board game included an innovation unusual for its time. The game Careers—as in real life—has more than one objective. (See Larry Levy’s article from Counter magazine.) As we proceed down our individual post-graduation roads, our lives become more complicated and diverge from any preconceived “norm.” As our objectives change and multiply, who we are and how we describe ourselves also changes.

Not only do we change, but the landscape changes around us. There is not a single path or right answer to our pressing career and job-search questions. When we seek our next job, we must reacquaint ourselves with the expectations of our hoped-for employers, and we must reacquaint ourselves with the job-search process itself.

If you are a recent graduate seeking a second job in your current career field, you know what it took to find your first job. You are already familiar with the steps that may lead to job-search success: how to network, with whom, where, how to introduce yourself, resume formats, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles, interview protocol.

Alumni who are looking for a job in a different field will need to research all these steps. How are jobs advertised in this field? Are they advertised or shared by word of mouth? What are the strongest professional associations in this field? What is the industry “lingo” for the skills needed in this new profession? How should you format your resume?

And alumni who are returning to the job market after many years will find that the job-search process itself has changed. Resumes in our fast-paced world should be focused and streamlined. Social media play a major role in the game now, and online profiles may be as important as resumes. Employers will often not respond to your online application (due to the sheer volume of online applications). Being focused on what you want next is at least (if not more) important than what you’ve done.

Career Services has many resources and suggestions for students in their initial job searches, and much of this information is applicable to alumni. Review the information on our website at: http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/alumni/. This page includes articles on

Remember that you’re the expert on explaining who you are. If you’re staying in your current field, you’re an expert on that field as well and have access to information, people, and resources specific to your field (and perhaps more applicable than the broad range of general resources at the Career Center).

Networking is still the name of the game, and you are better situated to do this now than when you were a new graduate or just entering the workforce. As a graduate of Penn, you have the benefit of access to other Penn alumni—a great way to learn about different career fields, meet people, and explore options.

Some job-search skills are the same for anyone—students, alumni with experience, alumni reentering the job market. Critical strategies for all include thoroughly researching and understanding the career field of interest to you; networking with people in that industry; being able to articulate what you want in a focused and concise statement; creating tailored documents (resumes and cover letters). There are strategy resources at http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/undergrad/findingjobs.html and job postings at http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/pennlink_jobseekers.html.

Just like students who don’t yet know what they want to do, alumni in transition who haven’t identified a career field and are still determining what they want to do next should focus on career exploration. Check out the tips at http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/discovery/ and begin your research to determine what type of job/career field you’re seeking.

Regardless of where you are at in your career game and what your “success formula” is, Career Services has resources to help you in your job-search process.