Student Perspective – Page 18

OCR: Organize, Communicate, & Reap the Rewards

Maximilian Lamb, WH & SEAS ’14

When I dove headfirst into the On Campus Recruiting season during this second semester of my junior year at Penn, I expected it to be completely different from my experience in securing an internship at a startup company last year. And believe me, it was. Always running around in a suit, constantly looking around the room and thinking, “I have to compete with these people?” and endless applications on PennLink definitely differentiated this year from the last. However, at a fundamental level I have finally realized that getting a job at a major investment bank or consulting firm versus a small startup is not as different as it might seem.

Common Skills for OCR and Startup Interviews
First, both recruiting processes require substantially developed skills and knowledge. These skills are the primary focus of the dreaded technical questions that require quick number-crunching and analytical thinking in any investment banking or consulting interview, as well as in engineering or science related fields such as computer science and biotechnology. But these skills are just as vital at a small company. Both large corporations and startups value hires that possess analytical skills, a quantitative background, creativity, a strong work ethic, and the list goes on and on. Industry knowledge is also crucial for every company I have ever considered for a summer internship in the past two years. In a large investment bank or consulting firm, knowledge of a specific industry not only demonstrates interest in the job that you are applying to, but it is essential to identifying future areas that will have a major impact. On the startup side, it is crucial to be aware of how a startup fits into the larger market, but this still requires overall industry knowledge.

Clear Communication is Key
Second, it is essential to be able to communicate the skills and knowledge in question. In client facing roles at IB and consulting firms, communicating clearly and effectively with a client is essential to the success of the entire firm. If you can’t accomplish this type of communication in an interview, an interviewer has no reason to trust that you will be able to do it in front of a customer or with other employees. The same goes for a startup, where communication with customers as well as fellow team members is essential to forming a cohesive and efficient organization.

Always Prepare to Reap the Rewards
After considering the similarity of these two superficially different recruiting processes, On Campus Recruiting didn’t seem so scary after all. Granted, for large top tier investment banks and consulting companies, the competition can be more numerous, definitely more visible, and more often found in business formal, but this should not lead to increased anxiety for either process. At the end of the day, the best way to land that perfect job is to organize what you know, communicate your prowess and knowledge confidently, and reap the rewards of an OCR well done.

The End of an Internship with a Biotech Startup

by Maximilian Lamb, WH & SEAS ’14

MaxLamb — Maximilian Lamb, WH & SEAS ’14

This summer, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work for a startup in San Francisco called Adamant Technologies. Adamant is a new company in the biotechnology space working on some very exciting medical diagnostic technology, and I was able to work closely with the CEO and founder, Samuel Khamis. It isn’t hard to look back and find many valuable lessons from those nine weeks.

Lesson #1: Skills for the Biotech Space
One of the first valuable insights that I took away from this experience is the type of skills needed in the biotech space. Obviously, strong technical knowledge is very beneficial. Some days, the CEO would need information on a particular type of manufacturing process or a specific material that he was thinking about using in a device; my fellow intern and I would have to comb through scientific literature to find this information. Insight number two is that research skills always come in handy. In addition to understanding the literature, it is also a skill in and of itself just to find the appropriate papers and information by knowing which resources to utilize. The last major “skill” that I used is simply being flexible. As an early stage startup, there were always many tasks that needed to be accomplished on the business and technology sides, and you have to be able to respond to unique situations.

Lesson #2: Context is Everything
Besides useful skills in the biotech industry, I learned multiple important lessons covering a wide range of topics, from starting a company to going to graduate school. One of the most important ones was to not listen to anyone’s advice. This gem was given to me by Naval Ravikant, the founder of AngelList, at an event where he was speaking to interns during my second week in San Francisco. In life, every situation comes down to context. Thus, it is extremely important to tailor that advice to a specific situation. Break down whatever piece of advice you are using and try and find the fundamental assumptions and beliefs behind that advice. If those assumptions and beliefs are valid, use them to your advantage, but make sure that you’re ultimately following the best path for your particular situation.

Lesson #3: Challenges with Starting a Company
In the age of the Internet, is seems like all you need to start a company is some coding knowledge and maybe a small amount of capital. However, a second lesson is that starting a startup is extremely difficult. This fact was brought to my attention by Mr. Ravikant during the same talk in which he delivered piece of advice #1, and the best way to experience the truth of it is to go work for a startup. There is so much more involved than just making a website, from deciding which people to hire to getting funding and even finding furniture for your office. It’s very rewarding to be able to build a company and pursue a vision, but be prepared to deal with a lot of challenges along the way.

Lesson #4: Graduate School

Another piece of advice that applies to the biotechnology industry is to be very, very good at a specific skill set. Sam and I discussed this at our last meeting as well. This piece of advice can be applied to a variety of situations, such as getting a job, but we were discussing it specifically in the context of grad school. If you can come into a lab with a valuable skill already developed, you’re much more likely to get accepted to the group. In terms of a career, it’s also much more valuable to have someone who is great at a skill that is very important and will provide immediate value to a company, rather than someone who is a jack of all trades who may need time and training to develop the necessary competences.

Final Lesson: Business vs. Tech Guy

Besides these lessons concerning life and startups in general, I also learned some lessons specifically pertaining to undergraduates interested in the biotechnology industry. The first lesson is to decide whether you want to be the business guy or the technology guy, because it can be very difficult to do both. If you want to be the technology expert, graduate school is usually in the cards; this entails a slew of advice, starting with making sure you like the team that you’ll be working with. If possible, try and arrange a visit that can act as a two-way interview. The team is looking at you and your specific skill set that should provide immediate value, but you’re also making sure that you will mesh with them. You also want to go to a lab where you can take a leadership role in order to gain experience and have the chance to develop your own projects.

If you want to be the business guy, the only piece of advice I have is to dive in and be passionate about the company you’re working for. Prior work experience, recommendations from previous employers, and contacts in addition to knowledge and a skill set seem to go a long way in the startup industry, and there’s only one way to gain these things.

Needless to say, I learned an incredible amount last summer, and I can’t thank everyone at Adamant Technologies as well as everyone else I interacted with in the Bay area enough for the experience. This summer has made me extremely excited and optimistic for the future, even though I’m only slightly closer to knowing what I want to do. I know that discovering where my passions lie will surely prove that the rewards aren’t in the destination, but rather in the journey.

Guest Perspective: Pause Before you Jump (into your post graduate plans) – Advice for Seniors

By Song-I Yang (C’10)

With OCR in full swing and students scurrying around in business suits all over campus, you can’t help but feel a wash of anxiety as you face the unknown future. Maybe you don’t really know what to do with your life and, the question ‘Where do you see yourself in five years?’ draws blanks, and the last thing you want to do is write up halfhearted cover letters to companies you feel like you should apply for just because half the world seems to be doing the same. Sound familiar?

I was in your position not too long ago. Three years ago, to be exact.

Continue reading “Guest Perspective: Pause Before you Jump (into your post graduate plans) – Advice for Seniors”

International Internships – Pack your enthusiasm but leave your expectations at home: My experience with a Botswana human rights NGO

Julia Wolfe (C’12)

This past summer I spent two months in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, interning at a human rights non-profit through Penn’s International Internship Program (which provided funding and housing there). Before my departure I had idealistic visions of doing work that would positively affect people’s lives and be extremely helpful to the organization. However, I think that amidst my excitement I didn’t anticipate all the personal challenges that an internship can present, especially one in a developing country.

When I was there the organization was in dire need of funding and very short of staff. I was told this was a slow period for them, so I was not given as much work as I’d expected to have. What they did give me to do (mainly revising reports) was fascinating because I had no previous knowledge of Botswana or the southern African region, or of its politics, history and current human rights issues. The organization also hosted a week of events about the conflict in Zimbabwe, which required significant planning and then reporting about it afterward. Besides the light workload, other challenges I faced included the poor quality of communication among employees and the very basic technology and lack of resources in the office.

Although the internship did not live up to my lofty expectations, it was a fantastic learning experience. It gave me practice in taking my own initiative with projects and dealing with co-workers whose communication was sometimes quite frustrating–problems I know I’ll encounter again in my working life. I was told by one of the Penn-in-Botswana directors that my experience there was typical of office life in Botswana, so I’m glad I had an “authentic” experience. (And of course our weekend trips to go on safaris made my time there even better!) If you’re thinking of interning abroad in a place very different from the U.S., I would advise that it’s great to have high goals, but also be realistic about the challenges you will probably face. Don’t get discouraged if things don’t work out as you’d hoped, and know that whatever kind of experience you have will be worthwhile and teach you a lot–you will probably learn more than you’d ever anticipated!