Get a GRIP

J. Michael DeAngelis, Digital Resources Manager

Looking for a summer internship or research placement?  Interested in going abroad during your time at Penn?  Find out how you can do both through Penn Abroad’s Global Research & Internship Program (GRIP)!  We have 200 internship and research opportunities available in a variety of career fields and locations.  All placements come with guaranteed funding!

The deadline to apply is January 6th, but all students must attend an advising session held by Penn Abroad before the end of the semester.  You can read more about GRIP and available Summer 2019 placements, as well as sign up for your advising session, on the website or by emailing grip-abroad@upenn.edu.  Deadlines are approaching, so act soon!

Studying Abroad and Marketing its Impact on Your Professional Skills

Marianne Lipa, Associate Director

Studying abroad can be transformational academically, interpersonally, and professionally. From the professional standpoint, the experience is valuable and employers seek candidates who have flexibility and adaptability, communication, teamwork, cross-cultural, and analytical skills.  During your semester abroad, students cultivate and develop a broad foundation of transferable skills and attributes including self-awareness, intercultural communication, analysis from a variety of different perspectives, and independence.   The question becomes how do you market yourself with your abroad experience.  You can indicate on your resume any specific coursework that may be relevant to the position and extracurricular involvement (e.g. student groups on campus) associated with the semester abroad experience that enhanced your semester abroad within the academic and cultural realm.  If you have substantial international experience, you can include a section on the resume that focuses on the international/global aspects.  In both the cover letter and interview, you can explain in depth how studying abroad has prepared you further for success in the position and how the global perspective you developed shapes your analysis of economic, political, and social issues.

And remember you can also meet with a Career Services advisor to assist with navigating your international job search, domestic job search with international components, and how to best promote the impact of your study abroad experience as it relates to your professional skillset. Also please mark your calendars for our upcoming international opportunities career fair on November 11 in Houston Hall.  More details are available on our website at http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/careerfairs/IntlFairinfo.php

We look forward to seeing you at the fair and in the Career Services office!

Changes to On-Campus Internship Recruiting for 2016 – 2017 Academic Year

Career Services and Penn Abroad have announced changes to on-campus recruiting for internships for the 2016 – 2017 academic year.  In the past (and currently for this year) we have held internship recruiting for non-technical positions in February. (Computer Science and Engineering internship recruiting has occurred in the fall during the past few years, as it will this year.)  Recently, additional employers have begun their internship hiring much earlier in the year and we have found that we are increasingly out of sync with companies who have opted to interview for internships in the fall.

In order to maximize the number of summer internship opportunities for Penn students, next academic year we will begin on-campus recruiting for both technical and non-technical internships on October 31st, 2016, with resume submissions occurring earlier in October. We expect that there will be a large number of on-campus interviews conducted during the first three weeks of November 2016; many offers will be made by the end of fall semester. Generally, employers will expect decisions from students by the end of the semester. Employers may choose to interview in the spring if they wish, but we anticipate that the bulk of current OCR employers will choose to interview in the fall.

Please note that most employers who come to campus to participate in recruiting tend to be larger employers in business and technical areas.  Smaller employers, and those in areas such as government, communications, education or nonprofits, do not participate heavily in OCR so this change will not likely affect students seeking opportunities in those fields.

We wanted to let students know of these changes now as some of you are likely considering your study abroad plans for next year. We certainly encourage Penn students who are interested in studying abroad to do so as it is very often a life-changing experience.  Studying abroad affords students with unique, culturally immersive experiences and new perspectives while also developing important intercultural communication and language skills – critical competencies and skills valued by future employers who are aware of the ever changing global workplace.

Penn offers both fall and spring study abroad options. Please consider which semester might be preferable for your individual circumstances. If you are interested in finance, technical, or consulting positions, it may be helpful to be on campus in the fall to participate in OCR.  However, we will certainly work with and encourage employers to use phone and video interviewing as an alternate means to interview students who are not in the United States, whether in the fall or spring term. Many employers we have spoken to have indicated their willingness to do so.

Students who go abroad in the spring will also need to keep in mind that academic calendars differ around the world.  In other countries, the “spring” term may end in June or even July, making it difficult to be back in time to participate in the  internship training programs required by some employers. If  you go abroad in the spring, you should be mindful of your program dates.

Please note that there are many different ways to find summer internships and the timeline for hiring for different industries can vary widely.  Please feel free to make an appointment with a career advisor in Career Services to discuss your particular interests as you plan for next year.

If you are interested in studying abroad, start researching your study abroad options on the Penn Abroad website (http://global.upenn.edu/pennabroad/students/getting-started).  Also, mark your calendars and plan on attending the Study Abroad Fair on Thursday, November 5 to learn more about the exciting international opportunities available to Penn students through the Penn Abroad office. On the same day Career Services will be holding an International Opportunities Fair, with many of the participating organization offering international internships for students.

Go Abroad Young Man (or Woman): Working Abroad to Advance Your Career

By Kelly Cleary

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” -Mark Twain

You can always count on Mark Twain for a fine inspirational quote, and this one seemed to nicely sum up the advice I generally give to students who are mulling around the prospect of working abroad, or simply considering working in a different part of the country for their first job after school. For those of you who have met with me to talk about the possibility of traveling and/or doing a gap year abroad after graduation, you know I’m a big fan of pursuing this kind of adventure while you’re young and have the travel bug. To be honest, I don’t necessarily like using the term “gap” year, because this kind of experience shouldn’t really be a gap in the career development process—it has the potential to be a fundamental building block similar to most study abroad experiences. Students and recent grads who study and/or work abroad tend to experience tremendous personal and professional growth that can impact both their career interests and their qualifications as prospective employees in a very positive way.  As any international student can tell you, living abroad helps you become more confident and independent, and nearly forces you to be more flexible and creative. Living abroad also provides an excellent opportunity to gain a keener sense of cross-cultural understanding and better grasp of political, cultural, and economic issues in the global context– qualities that are essential for successful leadership in today’s political and economic climate.

My first job was a teaching internship in Italy while my boyfriend/future husband taught in Latin America and then landed an editing job in London (an organization called BUNAC helped him sort out the visa details for both experiences). Neither of us saved any money that year, but we had a great time and have no regrets about spending that year overseas. In fact, we both feel like those experiences had a huge positive influence on our future career paths. My teaching experience in Italy combined with my graduate degree in counseling helped me land a job in Belfast, Northern Ireland working for an Irish peace process program as a contractor for the Department of State, and I often draw on both of those experiences in my work at Penn.

For those of you who might be interested in heading abroad, here are a few opportunities and resources to get you started. First, mark your calendar for our International Opportunities Fair on Friday, November 5th. Then familiarize yourself with some of the resources on our International Opportunities page, especially GoinGlobal that includes an international job and internship database and country guides that include job search resources and tips for CV’s and visas.