OCR – Page 3 – Penn & Beyond

The Holiday Onslaught Begins: Parallels between OCR & Christmas hype

By Claire Klieger

Walking into Wawa today and hearing “Silver Bells” reminds me that yet again, it’s time to launch into the holiday season, whether I’m “beginning to feel a lot like Christmas” or not. I mean, don’t get me wrong; I like Christmas as much as the next Yule-tider, but can’t we take our time and celebrate one holiday at time?

SantaTurkeyFaceOff — Courtesy of Laughter is Good for the Soul

This year I even started to see holiday decorations for sale in stores before Halloween. As I was thinking about this, it struck me that there are actually some parallels between the early onset of Christmas mania and the OCR phenomenon on Penn’s campus. So, here they are:

It happens before I’m necessarily ready for it. We all know it—each year those songs come on during your grocery store or CVS runs earlier and earlier and OCR can feel the same way. Whether you’re talking full time positions or summer internships, OCR starts the first week of classes before you’ve even had a chance to catch your breath. And for seniors, especially, how many of you are really ready to start your post-graduation job search the second you step foot back on campus? It can be a little overwhelming.

It’s not for everyone. On-campus recruiting is great and offers lots of really wonderful opportunities for students in a convenient package but just like figgy pudding, fruit cake or the Justin Bieber Christmas album, it may not appeal to everyone. Employers from only a few industries participate in this style of recruiting and so for students not interested in banking, consulting, consumer products, retail or tech, then OCR is not for you, which is just fine.

It’s everywhere. The sea of suits that appear on campus in September and October are a little like light-up animatronic reindeer lawn ornaments or huge inflatable snow globes lining the neighborhoods of American suburbia—impossible to ignore. This can also make you feel like everyone must be interviewing and getting their job offers in the fall but that’s not the case. For students in the College, only 30% of the class of 2010 received their job offers by the end of December.

Sometimes the best deals happen last minute. I’m not sure how this idea gets planted and spreads but there is a fairly pervasive notion among Penn students that if you don’t have a job by a certain date (often winter break) or if you don’t get a job through OCR, you won’t be left with anything “good,” interesting, or otherwise prestigious. The truth is that there are many really interesting things out there and just like that great holiday gift that you scored on clearance the day before Christmas Eve, often some of the coolest positions get posted closer to or even after graduation.

So sit back, relax, and roast those chestnuts over an open fire at your own pace. Even in this economy, jobs are out there and neat opportunities will be there for you to apply to whenever you happen to get into the spirit of the job hunting season. When you’re ready to deck the halls with your resume, we’ll be here to help you make your list, check it twice, and find employers who are not naughty, but nice. Oh wait, I mean gobble, gobble!

O.C.R. = Overly Confusing Recruiting?!?

It’s that time of year again, when Career Services welcomes recruiters to campus to conduct exclusive interviews with Penn students.

We understand that On Campus Recruiting can be a difficult process. The anticipation of getting an interview, figuring out the best things to say during an interview, wondering about second rounds and offers – these things can all be stressful, but what we sincerely hope is that OCR itself is not confusing.

We’ve been getting a lot of questions about the basics of On Campus Recruiting, so now seems like a good time to point out that almost all the information you need can be found on our website.

First and foremost, you should watch the On Campus Recruiting Orientation video. This narrated Power Point will take you step by step through the process of OCR, from logging in to uploading your resume to accepting and scheduling interviews. This is a NOT TO BE MISSED video! Think of it as the must see movie of the season!

If you have a very specific questions, the first place to check is the On Campus Recruiting FAQ page, where you can also search for questions by topic.

The OCR section of our website should be a “one stop shop” for your all of your recruiting needs. Besides the orientation and FAQ, you’ll find printable forms from Add-Ons, our Cancellation Policy, Recruiting and Offer Policies and more.

You can also check out this video where graduating students offer advice on navigating the OCR process:

On Campus Recruiting Advice from Graduating Students from Penn Career Services on Vimeo.

Still have questions? Stop by and see one of the career counselors for your school during walk-ins or call us to make an appointment! Good luck!

Happy New Year! We Are Open Again!

By Barbara Hewitt

Happy 2011! Career Services has reopened after the holiday break and we are available to help you! Feel free to call the office to schedule an appointment (via phone or in person if you are back on campus). Counselors are also available via email.

Also, note that on-campus recruiting for internships has officially begun! Many resume collections for spring internship recruiting opened today – January 3. No worries though if you still want to enjoy your break. The first resume deadline for summer on-campus recruiting is not until January 16th, so you can always apply when you get back to campus.

On-campus recruiting for internships tends to focus on juniors and other students graduating in 2012 as many employers prefer to hire students in their penultimate year so they can extend a full-time offer at the end of the summer if all goes well. However, some employers will consider students graduating later and sophomores are certainly welcome to participate in OCR if they wish.

Log into PennLink to see which employers are recruiting, as well as read job descriptions, research specific application deadlines for each position, and apply to those that interest you.

If you have questions about how OCR works, please check out the online OCR Orientation. It takes about 30 minutes to view, but should answer most of your questions about the process.

The Rules DO Apply To You!

by Rosette Pyne

Guess What? The Rules Do Apply to YOU!

There are lots of rules in college…academic, safety, legal, procedural, financial, etc. They are in place for everyone – not just for a few, not just for everyone but you! You are part of the everyone – yes you are, believe it or not. I know you want to feel special and you are special – you were admitted to an unbelievably prestigious Ivy League school, you have the red and blue in your blood forever. But, the rules apply to you too!

Presently in Career Services, we have on campus recruiting interviews taking place. Last year more than 12,000 interviews were conducted on campus. WOW, that’s a lot of interviews! But, there could have been many more. How, you ask? Well if students didn’t cancel at the very last minute other students could have taken their place. Oh I know, you’re thinking to yourself, “but I had xyz reason”…sure, sure. Believe me when I say we have heard them all. It’s kind of like the dog ate my homework, my computer crashed, my roommate didn’t give me the message… you get the idea. With employers conducting ½ hour interviews in 48 recruiting rooms each day, there are many students coming and going. Perhaps you think you won’t be missed, who will really care, and I just can’t make it no big deal. Guess what folks? It is a big deal. Selection for an interview means you have been screened by the employer who may have looked at as many as 400 resumes to pick you. You are invited and of your own freewill you sign up for an interview. Then the day of interview arrives, but you don’t. This is not about those students who are legitimately ill or have an emergency; unfortunately that does happen. This is about students who forget about it, lose interest, or have a conflict.

What should you do? Cancel as soon as you know you are not going to participate in the interview – don’t wait until two hours before your interview to call in and don’t brush it off by not showing up. You must call 215-898-4068. Do not call other Career Services numbers.

Our policy is clear on late cancellations and no shows. Familiarize yourself with the process and procedures. You can find them here. If you are doing on campus interviews, the RULES DO APPLY TO YOU!

Another Chance for an OCR Interview

Barbara Hewitt

On-campus recruiting for full-time opportunities is in full swing and the newly renovated OCR suite is humming with activity. Hopefully many Penn students planning to graduate this year have been invited to interview with employers of interest to them. However, I’m confident there are also many students who have been disappointed by not receiving as many interview invitations as they had hoped. After devoting time and effort to networking with employers and submitting applications on PennLink, this can be a frustrating experience.

Penn is fortunate to attract many students who excel academically, in campus leadership positions, and in the broader community. Most employers who recruit at Penn (especially the larger, well-known ones) receive applications from many more students than they could possibly interview. We also all know that reviewing resumes is an imperfect tool for selecting which candidates might make the best “fit” for a particular organization. For these reasons, we strongly encourage students to take advantage of the recruiter add-on interview process, which allows students to be added to an interview schedule in the event that the interviewer has late cancellations on his or her schedule. (While employers tend not to have very many openings during the first few days of recruiting, it is much more common as the recruiting season progresses and students begin to accept offers with other employers.) If you are reasonably well-qualified for a position (based on the position description) it makes sense to try to get an “add-on” interview. You may really impress the recruiter in person and be offered the perfect job! I have had many conversations with students over the years who have landed jobs through this process, and just last May a recruiter from an investment bank told us she hired three Penn students who had been late additions to her schedule through the add-on process.

Some of you may feel like it is not worth your time and effort to apply for add-on interviews if you weren’t selected for an interview initially. After all, who wants to be rejected twice? I urge you to reconsider this attitude. You might have been the next person they would have picked if they had more slots available. You never know what could happen… When I was searching for my first job out of graduate school, I treated myself to a two week trip to Africa right after graduation (and also while I was job searching). When I arrived home on a Saturday I was thrilled to have a call for an interview and promptly returned it at 9:05 am on Monday. Unfortunately, in my absence the employer indicated that he had been forced to make a decision on another candidate who had a competing offer, so they no longer would be interviewing me. I was disappointed and assumed I must not have been what they had been seeking in a candidate after all since they hadn’t waited for me to return. Lo and behold, a few days later, they called to tell me that the candidate had turned down the offer and re-invited me to interview. Two weeks later I started my new job with them. Moral of the story….there are many good candidates and you should take advantage of every opportunity to get in front of an employer to make your case about why you should be the one they hire.

Hopefully I’ve convinced you to apply for add-on interviews…so here’s how you do it. First, fill out a “Recruiter Add-On Interview Request Form” (available from the main OCR web page) for each position that interests you, attach it to your resume, and deposit it in the “Recruiter Add-On Interview Request Box” outside of Career Services, Suite 20, McNeil Building. Collection hours are 9:15 am – 2:00 pm one working day before the interview date. Your add-on request(s) will be given to the recruiter(s) when they check in to OCR the following morning. The recruiter(s) will review the resumes at their convenience and will inform the OCR receptionist should they wish to interview you. However, we request that you not call to check on the status of your add-on request. The OCR receptionist will contact students whose requests have been accepted. Students whose requests are not accepted will not be contacted.

Good luck with it!