Tag: internships

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!

CareerCast: Finding an Internship in the Public Sector

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

Career Services is pleased to present the third episode of our “Finding an Internship” videos from CareerCast: The Penn Career Services podcast.

Current Penn students Jaclyn Chen and Angie Luo interviewed their peers in a wide range of industries to find out how they approached getting an internship. In this episode, they talk to students who ventured into the public sector. Enjoy.


Want to watch on your mobile device?  Click here!

CareerCast: Finding a Communications Internship

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

The next industry in our “finding an internship” video series is communications.

Not only have these students had a wide array of internships, they all have something unique to offer about how they found their internships. For the communications industry especially, internships can pop up anywhere – start your search early – and at any time, so be persistent.  We sure learned a lot – who knew you could make real contacts freshman year, or get rejected and then receive an offer?  Take a listen, and perhaps their experiences will spark your search.  Good luck!


Want to watch on your mobile device? Click here!

Recruiters reveal their deal breakers

I am old enough that most of my friends have become bosses in their jobs.  So, they make decisions about who will work for them.  Recently, I got to learn more about what they consider to be deal breakers in a job application. Here are four of them:

– Deal breaker: Resumes longer than one page. This is a bigger issue for the corporate employers than the nonprofit employers.  To be safe, keep your resume to one page at least until you turn 30.  If you need help choosing what to include on the resume, meet with a career counselor in Career Services.  Exception: resumes for positions in the federal government are often 2-3 pages long because they require more detail.

– Deal breaker: Not showing understanding of what the job entails. Apparently, employers can spot generic cover letters in 10 seconds and eliminate a quarter of applications this way.  How to get your application to the “interview” pile?  Write to the employer about the job and how you will use your skills and experiences in the position.
– Deal breaker: Apologizing for not being able to do the job. I come across phrases like this a lot in cover letter critiques: “While I don’t have a lot of experience in the field, I ….”  Since you’ve only got a page to cover a lot of ground, focus on what you have done and what you can do.

– Deal breaker: Not dressing up for an interview. It seems obvious that we should wear a suit to a job interview, yet Penn grads have reportedly shown up for an interview at a nonprofit organization dressed in khakis and polo shirt. It did not make a good impression with the interviewer, who had already interviewed three suited-up candidates that morning. Lesson learned: Score some easy points by dressing the part.

I hope that by sharing these insiders’ tips, you will avoid some common job search mistakes.  Good luck!

Ethics in the Job or Internship Search

Barbara Hewitt

We all know that the job and internship market is competitive, and as an applicant you want to make yourself stand out from the scores of other job seekers our there. You strive to put your best foot forward to increase the odds that an employer will select you for an interview. This competitive environment is heightened even more during on-campus recruiting, when lots of students, all in one place, are vying for the same interview slots. The pressure can be intense and it can be tempting to step over the ethical line and do things you shouldn’t to give yourself an edge.

Don’t do it! You are only as good as your reputation, and if you do things that are unethical in the job search you will come to regret it. The professional world is very small – people in the same industry often know one other (and talk to each other!), so burning bridges with one employer can ultimately have more far-reaching effects than you could ever imagine. (A couple of years ago, I spoke with a student who had a job offer withdrawn from an employer in London who found out that he was still interviewing with a different employer in New York, even though the student had indicated he had withdrawn all his applications. Even on different continents, things you might think an employer would never learn about can come back to haunt you!)

Here are just a few of the ethical issues that might arise in your job or internship search:

Honesty:

While you want to present yourself as positively as possible on your resume and in interviews, it is imperative that you are honest. Sometimes this is very clear cut. Flat out lying about your GPA, positions you’ve held, or specific accomplishments is clearly wrong. While such lies may not be caught by every employer you send your resume to, sooner or later someone will follow-up, asking for an official transcript, reference, or simply probing questions that you won’t be able to adequately answer. Keep in mind that the Career Services Office spot-checks transcripts and resumes, and if we find that a student has lied on his or her resume or altered a transcript, we immediately refer the case to the Student Conduct Office at Penn. Academic integrity is expected at Penn, and violations of it are treated very seriously. The consequences of such actions can be severe, including possible suspension or expulsion from the University.

While most students do not outright lie on their resumes, it is tempting to overstate accomplishments or your role in activities. Perhaps you were a contributing member of a team (but not really the “leader”), but state on your resume that you did indeed lead the team. Perhaps you overstated the size of a budget you handled for a student club, or the responsibilities you were given as a summer intern. As the recruiter questions you about the things listed on your resume, it will quickly become apparent that you did not, in fact, do all the things claimed. Once doubts are raised about one area of your resume, doubts will surface about all your other stated accomplishments. I once talked to a recruiter (an alum of Penn) who removed a student from consideration for a position because the student indicated that she was the president of an organization at Penn, while in fact the alum knew that the organization had co-presidents. Don’t let a similar situation occur because you have exaggerated something on your resume or in an interview.

Accepting an Offer

It is wrong to accept a job or internship offer, and then continue to interview for other opportunities in the hopes that something “better” (in your eyes) might come along. You would be outraged if you accepted an offer from an employer and then received a call a few weeks later to rescind it because the employer had “found a better candidate.” It is no different for employers. If you accept a position, you are expected to show up on the first day. Reneging on an offer seriously damages not only your personal reputation, but that of Penn as an institution. We have had employers in the past who have stopped recruiting at Penn because of students reneging on offers.

In an ideal world, you would have as much time as you need to consider an offer and finish all other interviews of interest to you. However, in the real world, things don’t always work out as smoothly as you would like. Most employers won’t wait indefinitely for you to respond to an offer and often will pressure you to respond quickly. (Please see our employer offer policy for on-campus recruiting.) Some employers may even ask if you would accept an offer before they officially extend it to you. In such circumstances, you may be tempted to accept the offer quickly due to the pressure, but you should ONLY do so if you are indeed committed to working at the organization. If not, politely ask if they could extend the deadline for you for a reasonable amount of time. If they won’t, you may be forced to make a decision before you would like….but you should not accept with the idea of reneging later if you receive another offer. Think carefully about what is at stake and whether you really want to work for such an aggressive employer. (When I received my very first job offer out of graduate school, the employer asked me to make a decision on the spot. I didn’t feel that I would want to work for such a manager and, although difficult, turned down the opportunity. Fortunately, a few days later, I received another offer from a place where I was much more enthusiastic about working.)

Holding Multiple Offers

As a job seeker, you may find yourself in a situation in which you have received offers from several employers. In this case, you should decline the offers you don’t plan to accept as soon as possible. The employers will appreciate your quick response so that they can move forward with their search and extend the offer to another candidate (perhaps even another Penn student!).

It would be unrealistic to expect all ethical dilemmas in the job search to be clear cut or easily resolved. The fact is, many situations are complex. The Career Services staff is here to discuss issues that might arise in the search with you. Come in and talk with us.