Career Services, University of Pennsylvania

Career Plans Surveys
Survey Reports and Advice from your Peers

From Graduate Students in:

Annenberg School for Communication
Arts and Sciences
Engineering and Applied Science Doctoral Programs
Perelman School of Medicine
Wharton Doctoral Programs

Positions reported to Career Services by graduate students from our post-graduation career plans survey:

Data available for the following schools, as well:

School of Design
School of Engineering and Applied Science (Masters)
Graduate School of Education
School of Nursing
School of Social Policy and Practice

ATTENTION 2012 GRADUATES:
Please take a moment to complete this year's Career Plans Survey!

Advice from Your Peers

Selected comments from our 2010 Career Plans Surveys

Masters/Professional programs
Humanities/Social Sciences
Sciences/Engineering

Masters/Professional programs

"Figure out what you want to do then make a list of everyone you know who has contacts/expertise in that area. Then, talk to those people and try and get at least 2 more names of people to talk to, so on and so forth until you find a job opportunity."

"I went on over 20 informational interviews. I didn't know any of the people before I met them. The interviews started because a doctor I interned with at CHOP introduced me to a doctor at the Children's Hospital in Denver. That doctor told me about more people, those people told me about more people, etc. I would highly recommend informational interviewing. I got my job through meeting people and marketing myself. If I would have waited for something to come to me, I would likely still be looking."

"Most of my interviews came through the Penn Biotech Group, so I would advise students to use the professional groups on campus. Former members contact these groups when they have job openings. When an e-mail comes out about a job opening, it is usually accompanied by contact information of the former Penn student, contact them directly and let them know about your interest. In fact, one former member completely revised my resume prior to me submitting it, to help make it look like a consulting resume. That helped tremendously."

"I attended all the information sessions for management consulting firms that would openly consider non-MBA students, and I chatted with the individuals who came to present. I also joined the Penn Graduate Consulting Group and attended a case practice session. I actually intended to do a broader search that would have included various government jobs. However, the consulting process unfolded very quickly, and I was fortunate enough to get an offer."

Humanities/Social Sciences

"I cast a wide net and tried to have fun with it....Be you. The (search) committee knows and understands that the applicants internal cues are on overdrive. I did my best to acknowledge my nerves and move on. In my opinion, by the time one is on the interview, the people on the other side of the table are trying to gauge whether you will be someone they enjoy working with and whether you will be able to accomplish what is expected of you. They can't do that if you're not behaving like yourself. I also tried to take a positive attitude toward the process so that I could calm myself. I took it as an opportunity to get feedback from other experts about my research. As a result, I asked people questions about their own research and enthusiastically answered questions about my own.I engaged with people, listened to them and smiled with them. I ended up with two phenomenal offers."

"Doing job search with friends or other people who are looking for jobs was helpful. That way, we were able to encourage each other and make ourselves accountable."

"For tenure-track academic employment: NEVER despair. It only takes ONE interview to land a job. I sent out dozens of cover letters, found one interview, and still managed (somehow!) to get my foot in the door..."

"Look everywhere, and think broadly about what type of positions you want. I applied for positions in both museums and universities, and within those looked at different departments and types of positions. Look regularly, starting early - most tenure track jobs I applied to had December deadlines, so finding them early gave me time to prepare. However, some jobs I found posted their info extremely late (a week or two before their deadline!), so if you aren't always looking, you might miss something. ... Most of my searching was through societies which required membership but which had good online job postings. So I joined several organizations which relate to what I do, but which I would never have become a member otherwise. It really paid off, as I found my job through one such society. Try to apply to different departments in a range of schools - the market is really competitive right now, and you don't know what will really be a good fit until the interview!"

"I used a combination of methods. I started my job search in the summer of the year before graduation. I used Penn Career services to help me with my resume...I personalized my cover letters, did a lot of research on each of the companies I was interested in and spoke to people about the interview process. Advice:

1. Cast a broad net and use a variety of methods in your job search.
2. I found the online job postings much less useful than the networking.
3. Talk, talk, talk to people. Even if only to ask them about their jobs. Tell them you need 20 min of their time... then make sure you stay within those limits! And always be prepared: with background info, with a list of questions etc. Every impression counts.
4. In the end you have to take some action. Its very tempting to keep doing the surveys and tests and the "What Color is your Parachute" questions but ultimately you will learn most by doing. Even if you don't quite know what you want to do, you can change your mind later.
5. Its an exhausting process, so make sure you manage your time well. I would remove all obligations except necessary ones.
6. Get all the logistics (interview clothes, accessories etc) so that it's one less thing to worry about.
7. Plan, plan, plan. You need a year to find a good job. And also to build your resume. If you don't have significant leadership experience, get some volunteer experience at Penn. Or think about critical incidents. PhD students need to show transferable skills...you may want to talk to some MBA students about the kinds of skills employers are looking for and then think about your strategy to show experiences relating to those skills."

"My job search strategy was geared towards maximizing the strengths of my current CV. As I was an advanced graduate student with a great deal of teaching experience but very little research, I targeted my search to small, liberal arts colleges. I asked a number of my colleagues at LACs what they look for in cover letters, teaching statements and interviews. Finally, when I did land an interview, I did extensive research on the school, did a mock job talk with my department, and sketched out answers to questions I was likely to get during the interview process."

"Get on listserves to see job postings, and talk to faculty about openings they know of or contacts they have at other universities."

Sciences/Engineering

"As a result of my participation with the University of Pennsylvania's biomedical research society (EEJust), I learned about a postdoctoral fellowship opportunity at Emory University. I submitted a formal application to the postdoctoral fellowship program and was accepted. The best advice that I have to offer to current students is that they should push themselves to do as much as possible while in graduate school such that they will have strong C.V.s. Additionally, it is important to have a 5 year plan as this will help to direct decisions as to what step to take following graduate school."

"I... (became) interested in the FDA through a Career Services panel, where a woman working at FDA spoke. Hearing other people's stories was useful in determining what sort of job I wanted to pursue. Career fairs were also useful. For actually getting a job, though, it seems to be very word-of-mouth."

"I contacted professors whose work I was interested in and asked if they had postdoc positions that will become available in the next year. I also participated in a research fair at the NIH and NCI and was able to interview with many professors at once."

"I sought advice from faculty in my department about scientists in the field of my interest and contacted the recommended scientists directly."

"Figure out what you're really interested in working on, and make your talk really impressive. Also it helps if you propose a clear project when you contect potential labs, it shows them that you can think for yourself and are interested in them for a specific reason."

"I used the following timeline:

12 months before graduation: Begin looking for positions, make a list of top 20 places. Don't look for openings listed; choose based on academic/research interests.
11 months before graduation: Talk to advisors, narrow down list to 8-12 top choices.
10 months before graduation: Prepare your CV, and ask for 3-4 reference / faculty letters.
9 months before graduation: Write cover letters for each place, send letter & CV via e-mail. One week later - send hard copies via regular mail to each place as a follow-up/reminder. Two weeks later - send follow-up e-mail to places you haven't heard from.
8-6 months before graduation: Schedule/go on interviews with interested potential employers.
6-5 months before graduation: Make a final decision / accept an offer. This will give you plenty of time to finish up your degree requirements with a future postdoc already locked down."

"In my search, I used all my connections by notifying faculty and industry contacts that I was actively searching for employment. ...My biggest piece of advice is not to wait for a company to invite you in for an interview. If you are interested and you know someone on the inside, or know someone who is respected by the company, arrange an introductory meeting (not an interview). The goal is to get your foot in the door....In this way you if you impress the company enough, they will ask you back for a formal interview, and you move to the top of the pile."