summer – Page 3 – Penn & Beyond

Social Media This Summer

The semester officially ends in just a few more days, but we’re still going to be here at Career Services for you. As the manager of our social media efforts, I’ll still be tweeting, posting on Facebook and LinkedIn, and adding pins to Pinterest. This school year on our social media platforms I focused each week on different career paths or tips to help manage your search, like our Stress Busters focus this past week with finals. This summer is no different, as I’ll continue to have themes. Here’s a glimpse of some of our themes to look forward to this summer:

May 7th to May 11th – Alumni Resources & Staying in Touch. This theme is to celebrate Alumni Weekend and all the commencement ceremonies, where our current students will officially become alumni of Penn. Learn about resources you can utilize after you officially leave campus and how you can stay in touch with your fellow Quakers.

May 21st to May 25th – Summer Professional Development. A big part to any career, and any stage in that career, is professional development. Summer classes start here at Penn on the 21st, so we’re going to look at how to manage an internship and summer classes. We’ll also highlight popular conferences, how to network at conferences and other ways to take advantage of the slower pace many industries experience from May through August.

July 2nd to July 6th – Federal Careers. In celebration of the Fourth of July and our nation’s independence, we’re going to showcase the diverse paths that support our country. We’ll include tips for applying to federal careers, the various programs to take advantage of and what skills you’ll need to succeed.

These are just a few of the themes for Summer 2012, so stay tuned to our social media platforms to see what else I’ll have in store for you!

Summer Checklist

by Patricia Rose, Director of Career Services

The semester is almost over; all that remains are final exams and papers and projects. Regardless of what you are doing this summer (career-related internship, research, travel, beginning a permanent job, getting ready to start graduate school), think about these suggestions. They can serve as your to do list.

Read a book. So many students, even those with scholarly interests, confess that they don’t have time to read during the academic year. Take advantage of whatever down time you have to read a book, or two or three, purely for pleasure.
Try something new: a new sport, a new game (chess? backgammon?), a new volunteer activity, a new performance (opera? Reggae?), even a new food you have never eaten. The point is to challenge yourself in ways large and small. You may surprise yourself with your newly-found skills or interests.
Try to broaden your career network by meeting people who are actively pursuing fields of interest to you. You may be spending the summer in a new location, one that has more professionals in a particular field (marine biologists, publicists, producers) than does Philadelphia. Take advantage of wherever you are by reaching out to Penn alums or other professionals who have a wealth of wisdom to share. But remember, the onus is on you to make the initial contact.
Do something fun every day, for yourself.
Do something for someone else every day. This could be as simple as giving up your seat on the bus, or offering directions to someone who is lost. Kindness counts.
Sleep! Many of you are sleep-deprived. Try to catch up.
Think! Turn off your electronics. Escape the ever-present screens. Give yourself permission – and time – to appreciate your own thoughts, your own reflections.
Thank someone: a parent, a spouse or partner, who has helped you get through the year. Let this person know you appreciate what they do.

Summer is a great time to re-assess, to re-charge, to re-commit to what is important to you. Unfortunately, it goes by too fast. Make the most of it, stay safe, and enjoy yourself.

Summertime: Feelin’ Groovy

by Anne Lucas

Ah—summertime! For many of us school is out, and it’s time for fun. That said, I realize that we’re all pursuing different paths this summer. What does summertime mean to you? Perhaps you are working practically 24/7, aiming to succeed in an internship that might result in an attractive job offer. Or maybe you finance a substantial part of your educational expenses so you are working two or three jobs, stashing away money to pay your tuition bill.

Some of you are seeing the world–vacationing, studying, or doing good works. Others of you still wish that you had found a summer job that provides good experience and/or decent wages. (It may not be too late!) Whatever your circumstances, I hope you’ll devote some time to some important activities that I believe summer is intended for—rejuvenation and reflection.

We all have our preferred methods for recharging our batteries and making some space in our brains to daydream. For me, there’s nothing like a long, solitary walk—preferably on a beach—to help me reflect on where I’ve been and plan where I’d like to be going. Letting our minds wander a bit is not a waste of time—quite the contrary. I believe that electronics-free, mind-wandering time is essential to helping us discover where our passions and dreams lie—and possibly begin to brainstorm as to how to achieve those dreams.

How many times do we hear employers insist that they seek candidates with a passion for their particular field? How often do we hear that dreaded interview question, “Tell me about yourself?” Yet how can we identify our passions or know ourselves well enough to share our insights with others unless we make and take the time for quiet self-discovery? I submit that in order to get to know ourselves better—and thus be able to communicate our interests and strengths and reasoning to prospective employers—we need to slow down and give ourselves time to ponder.

What could be a better time for this slow down than summer!?! There’s still time in the Summer of 2011 to prepare for your upcoming job or internship search during the next academic year. July is almost over, but August lies ahead of us. I hope you’ll carve out some time from whatever you’re doing to find a place that soothes your soul where you can breathe deeply, open your heart and mind to the possibilities, and dream. When you’re back on campus this fall, make an appointment to meet with a career counselor at Penn, and let us help you translate your passions, skills, and dreams into a fulfilling career.

Happy R & R! See you in September!

Summer Hours at Career Services

Happy summer!

Well, just about anyway! As everyone wraps up with finals and graduating students prepare to make their way down Locust Walk for the commencement procession, we wanted to remind you that Career Services is open throughout the summer!

Summer hours for both the main office and the Career Services library are Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm. Extended library hours will resume with the start of classes in September.

Stop in or call us to make an appointment with an appropriate counselor!

If you’re a graduating senior or you’ve just complete a Masters or PhD, be sure you visit the undergraduate or graduate home pages and fill out our Career Plans Survey! You can take a look at the results from previous surveys here – a great resource if you’re still on the job market!

Additionally, this blog will continue to post fresh content all summer long every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Keep us bookmarked or subscribe to our RSS feed so you never miss an entry!

We wish you the best of luck during finals and hope that you have a wonderful summer! Just remember that we’re here if you need us!

In David’s “Humble Opinion”

Our very own David Ross, Associate Director for Wharton Undergraduate career counseling, was recently invited to be a guest blogger of the IMHO: In My Humble Opinion column at the Eye of the Intern blog, part of Internships.com.

Head over there today and enjoy David’s thoughts about using your summer internship to explore alternative career paths.

Read David’s blog at Eye of the Intern.