PennLink Resume Books
For PennDesign Students

RESUME BOOKS

Each year, Career Services collects PennDesign student resumes and places them into resume books which are distributed to employers interested in hiring School of Design students. For the past few years, we've been using our on-line PennLink system to easily collect and distribute the resume books.

To participate in this year's resume books, you'll have to have an active PennLink account, as well as a PDF file of your resume/design sheet ready to upload. *Please read the important tips below about successfully uploading your PDF file.*

If you would like to have your resume reviewed, check the calendar at left for a schedule of walk-in hours for resume review that we hold each spring in Meyerson. You can also come to our usual walk-in hours in our offices or make an appointment by calling (215) 898-7530.

To create a PennLink account:

1. Go to the Career Services homepage: http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/. On the right side of the screen, under "Quick Links," find the Student & Alumni Log In for PennLink. You can also find a link to PennLink on the left-hand side of all Career Services webpages for students in PennDesign

2. Once on our main PennLink page, to log in or register you simply need your PennKey and PennKey password.

3. When registering for the first time, enter your name, address and contact information. Your name must match the name that is on your resume and your job documents.

4. Enter the information about the degree you will receive. Make sure you enter your correct graduation date.

5. Be sure to click "YES" for "Allow my resume to be in Resume Books."

6. Click Submit

To upload your job materials:

1. Log into PennLink. At the top of the welcome screen, click "Documents."

2. Click "Add New."

3. Attach your resume (as a Word or PDF file). Give your document a reasonable title—remember, employers will be able to see this title. Under "document type," select "resume." (Please see below for information on creating resumes and design sheets)

4. Click "Submit"

You have now successfully entered your documents to the PennLink system!  Now you must submit them electronically to each specific resume book in order for employers to view them. Instructions on submitting to the resume books follow in the next section.

Hints for Uploading Your Resume:
The PennLink system uses PDF technology to upload and store resumes and cover letters. Typically the conversion process from Word to PDF is very good. However, if you find that your documents are not converting properly, check to make sure that your original margins are big enough (one inch or close to it is recommended) and that you have not used half size fonts (ie: 10.5 or 9.5 fonts). Tables are also not recommended. Let us know if you still have problems with formatting after checking these areas.

You can check how your resume will look to employers by clicking on the resume title after uploading it and then printing it out.

We have found that using the "Print to Adobe PDF" function works much better then the "Save As...PDF" function in most programs. If you are having trouble keeping the file size small, try the "Print to Adobe PDF" option.

Important Note About Design Sheets:

Some students may wish to include a design sheet with their resume. Please try to submit as simple a design sheet as possible. If an employer wishes to see more of your work, they will ask for further submissions.

To upload a design sheet:

• Your resume and design sheet MUST be combined into a single PDF document and uploaded into your "My Documents" section on PennLink as a resume. (Click here for instructions on how to combine multiple files into a single PDF)
  
• The PDF file MUST be under 2 MB in size. The system will reject anything larger.
  
• Though we understand that you wish to display your work in the most attractive manner possible, the more elaborate and colorful your design sheet is, the larger the file becomes. If you are having trouble creating a PDF under 2 MB in size, you may wish to consider making your design sheet in grayscale instead of color or reducing the number of images on the page.

PLACING YOUR RESUME INTO RESUME BOOKS:

Once you have uploaded a resume (and if needed, a design sheet) into PennLink, you can then place it in an online Resume Book.

1. Log into PennLink and click on "Documents."

2. Click on the "Opt In Resume Book" tab.

3. Click on "Select Resume Books".

4. From the pull down menu (called "Target Opt-In Resume Book"), you can select each book that you would like to submit to. For example: CITY PLANNING (SUMMER) or HISTORIC PRESERVATION (FULL TIME). You can submit to as many resume books as you like.

5. Click "Submit"

And that's it! After the submission deadline, employers will log in to PennLink, download the resume books and be in touch!

Questions? Send an email to Rosanne at rlurie@upenn.edu.