Career Exploration

Featured Jobs and Internships of the Week – Nov. 2, 2016

Each week the Career Services team will highlight new or unusual opportunities in the Handshake and UCAN* systems for undergraduates, graduate students and alumni. Here are our picks for this week:

Handshake Jobs & Internships:

UCAN Internships:

*UCAN is an internship-only site that is shared by 20 member schools, including Princeton. To use UCAN in addition to HireTigers, you’ll need to register for a new account. Instructions on using UCAN are available here.

Featured Jobs and Internships of the Week – Oct. 26, 2016

Each week the Career Services team will highlight new or unusual opportunities in the Handshake and UCAN* systems for undergraduates, graduate students and alumni. Here are our picks for this week:

Handshake Jobs & Internships:

UCAN Internships:

*UCAN is an internship-only site that is shared by 20 member schools, including Princeton. To use UCAN in addition to HireTigers, you’ll need to register for a new account. Instructions on using UCAN are available here.

Princeternship stories: Jessica Quinter ’18, Maryland Disability Law Center

This post was written by Jessica Quinter ’18 after her Princeternship. For more information on the Princeternship program, visit our site.  

Though I did a fair amount of research before attending my Princeternship, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I kind of assumed it would be an average day in the life of any lawyer; some paperwork, some case research, maybe a few phone calls with clients. But the eye-opening, incredible experience I had exceeded any and all of my expectations.

The first thing I was struck by upon arriving at Maryland Disability Law Center (MDLC) was the warmth and friendliness of the atmosphere. It takes a certain kind of person to work there, someone dedicated and kind to the nth degree, and that sentiment was palpable. I was first able to speak with a few other professionals working at MDLC, whose jobs were somewhat different from my host (the Managing Attorney). I was allowed to listen in on intake calls, which was an incredibly valuable experience. It gave me a real understanding of the value of the work that MDLC does. I saw how vital and how heartbreaking it all was. I was also able to speak with another person, who worked specifically on promoting inclusion in after-school programs for disabled children. In everyone I spoke with, the definite common denominator was his or her passion and kindness. No one better embodied that than my host, Mrs. Leslie Margolis ’82.

Mrs. Margolis focuses in special education. I was able to attend a meeting with Mrs. Margolis with a parent she was representing (for her child) and the school special education staff, about the child’s school placement. Emotions ran high, and it was rather heartbreaking to watch this child be debated upon. But more than anything, I was struck by how completely dedicated Mrs. Margolis was to advocating for the parent and child, and promoting the student’s best interests above all other possible considerations. It was really illuminating to me, in illustrating just how vital the work of Mrs. Margolis and the MDLC as a whole is. These children, and also disabled adults, though I didn’t see much about that specifically, sometimes have no one to advocate for them. They may fall to the wayside, or suffer abuse. Parents, or other caregivers, may not know where to turn. Some private firms may sometimes seem to hold ulterior motives. Others cannot afford a private attorney, but just surpass the threshold to qualify for pro bono. The help of the MDLC, then, is incredibly important, and that was very clearly demonstrated to me.

My day shadowing Mrs. Margolis at MLDC was honestly one of the best experiences I’ve had. It opened my eyes to a kind of law practice that I hadn’t really considered before, which I now see as very rewarding, worthwhile, and important. For myself, I’ve always wanted to go to law school, but been wary of simply joining a private firm. I’ve always been passionate about social justice and civil liberties. I’ve worked as the political intern at the Human Rights Campaign in the Government Affairs Department, which I loved. I’ve always imagined that a path like that would be best for me; being able to lobby for policy for issues I am so passionate about. And perhaps I will still end up somewhere like that, I would still love to. But my day at MDLC showed me another possible path—being a lawyer doesn’t necessarily have to entail private corporate work. There are places like MDLC, where passionate lawyers can also advocate for social justice. Mrs. Margolis also informed me that she was able to do policy work as well, which I hadn’t know or considered. My Princeternship opened my mind to another realm of possible careers in a way that I hadn’t expected.

Shadowing Mrs. Margolis was also incredibly rewarding in that she gave me so much valuable advice. She told me a lot about her own career path, and was incredibly open and receptive to any questions I had. She gave me a lot of meaningful advice, in a way that was very relatable. I really enjoyed my experience shadowing Mrs. Margolis at MDLC, and I would recommend to any student to do the program. Thank you so much, Mrs. Margolis, for the incredible experience!!

Featured Jobs and Internships of the Week – Oct. 19, 2016

Each week the Career Services team will highlight new or unusual opportunities in the Handshake and UCAN* systems for undergraduates, graduate students and alumni. Here are our picks for this week:

Handshake Jobs & Internships:

UCAN Internships:

*UCAN is an internship-only site that is shared by 20 member schools, including Princeton. To use UCAN in addition to HireTigers, you’ll need to register for a new account. Instructions on using UCAN are available here.

Apply for a Princeternship

Looking for a great way to spend a few days of winter break? Want to meet alumni and get an inside look at career fields that interest you? Apply for a Princeternship, which matches undergraduate students with alumni for job shadowing and project experience over one to five days. Applications for the winter Princeternship sessions open Oct. 11 and will close Nov. 8. Undergraduate students of all years can apply in Handshake.

Princeternships provide a “day in the life” in the workplace, with students often participating in board, client or patient meetings; office tours; seminars; case studies and projects. During a winter Princeternship, students have the opportunity to:

  • Explore a career field of interest, without the commitment of an internship

  • Gain first-hand knowledge of a real work environment and on-the-job etiquette

  • Uncover possible internships and options for future careers

  • Connect directly with an alum host, who can serve as an excellent resource for career, job and internship advice

  • Learn about the job application process by submitting a resume and interviewing for a position

There are more than 70 positions available with 38 different organizations during this session, including opportunities in arts and entertainment, communications, business, consulting, entrepreneurship, education, government, healthcare, law, nonprofit and STEM. To learn more about the program and get a firsthand look at past experiences through student blogs, visit our Princeternship page.

Questions? Come to our walk-in hours or email Rachel Jimenez, associate director, internships & experiential education.

Class of 2016: Searching for meaningful work

Written by Eva Kubu, director, Career Services at Princeton University

In my last blog post I shared some back-to-school-themed tips on how you can reboot your job search this fall. This week, let’s focus on the deeper questions concerning what really matters most to you and why. Remember: When you’re searching for opportunities, you are not just looking for any job—you are looking for a job that will be the right fit for you!

Recently, I read an article written by Eric Barker about a very important topic for job seekers: Finding meaningful work. Barker summarized scientific research regarding the factors that lead to long-term career satisfaction and fulfillment. Essentially, this process begins with self-reflection and determining which opportunities will align well with your core values, strengths and interests. Here’s some advice based on the article about what you should consider when looking for work that will be personally fulfilling:

Money or reward? Salary is an important factor to consider, but money may not be what makes a job truly rewarding. In fact, Harvard Business Review cites the number one career regret people have is taking a job solely for the money. In terms of your job search, if you are singularly focused on looking at high-paying opportunities, you may be overlooking other potential rewards. Alumna Kate Grant *94, CEO of the Fistula Foundation, spoke about this topic in a recent interview with us.

Status or personal brand? Once on the job, studies show that we do not get a sense of meaning or purpose from the status associated with working at a prestigious organization or having a lofty job title. What does seem to matter most to us is being respected, appreciated and admired for our work and our personal brand. In his book, “How to Find Fulfilling Work, ” author Roman Krznaric asserts, “While most of us wish to enjoy a dose of social status, the feeling that we are respected by others for what we do and how we do it is one of the keys to having a meaningful career.” When searching for opportunities, consider whether you are applying mostly to large, well-known organizations or are drawn only to job titles that seem impressive. If so, you might be overlooking great opportunities that could be more valuable in helping you establish a personal brand and gain experience

Impact and making a difference. Barker cites research showing that the people who report the highest levels of job satisfaction are those who feel like their work helps society. Service has always been a central theme at Princeton and there are many examples of alumni who pursue careers in service. There are many avenues you can explore to uncover meaningful opportunities where you can have an impact and make a difference. Begin by researching how a particular role or the organization itself contributes to the social good or community.

Using your talents or strengths. In his book, “Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment” alumnus Martin Seligman ’64 asserts that people who use their “signature strengths” are happier at work. A recent Gallup poll cited in the article also found that people who use their strengths are more likely to report feeling more energetic, happy, respected and like they were learning something interesting on the job. Identifying and understanding how your core talents relate to specific opportunities is an essential part of finding meaningful work. As you search for opportunities, pay close attention to the job description for clues as to whether you’ll have the opportunity to use your signature strengths, and if they’ll be valued in the organization.

Pursuing your passion. There are probably many different types of jobs that you may find meaningful and rewarding. Don’t know if you have a true passion yet? Don’t worry about it. Passion isn’t something that you are born with or something that just hits you like a lightning bolt—it is generally something that you discover through experiences and self-reflection. In his recent LinkedIn blog, “Just. Do. You.” Paul Riley, a member of the Class of 2015, shares his perspective on why breaking through other’s expectations and our own limiting beliefs helps us find our passions and the courage and conviction to go after them.

Want to invest time in self-reflection that will help you gain traction in your search for meaningful work? Alumnus Doug Stuart ’14 recently shared how our Career & Life Vision workshop inspired him to redirect his job search and successfully pursue his passion. If you didn’t have a chance to attend this workshop while you were in school, I invite you to check out our event calendar for a full schedule of upcoming programs. For more inspiration, check out these recent interviews with alumni who share their career and life lessons.

Even if there really isn’t a fairy job mother who can magically connect you to your perfect job, if you devote time every day to self-reflection and actively searching, you will be well on your way to finding fulfilling work!

Princeternship stories: Yusuke Tsuzuki ’19, YingHua International School

tsuzukiMy Princeternship host, Ms. Kristin Epstein ’96, was a kind, engaging and wonderful host, and I had an extraordinary experience at YingHua International School.  YingHua is unlike any other school, in that it has a dual language curriculum, and its unique atmosphere enabled me to look at education from a different perspective. Students are taught only in Chinese before 1st grade, and gradually increase their proportion of English classes. Many of the students don’t speak Chinese at home, yet most upperclassmen speak it fluently. I wish they could’ve taken my CHI303 final for me. If you’re interested in language and education, YingHua is the perfect place to see how the two fields can come together in practice.

The benefits of this Princeternship were countless. First, shadowing the executive director allows you to get behind the scenes of school life and know how both individual teachers and board members need to respond to various needs. On the first and third day we attended a teacher-parent conference. There you can see how diverse the perspectives of parents are, in terms of testing, feedback, education goals, and much more. The fact that Yinghua is a private school makes it more interesting, because parental feedback directly means customer feedback, unlike in public schools. It was personally interesting for me because I’m interested in the public/private aspect of education, whether or not and to what extent educational institutions should be privatized.

Second, the Chinese New Year comes around during the intersession Princeternship, and I got to see the students perform at the Princeton Senior Center! This means that you not only get to enjoy watching the students perform traditional plays and sing traditional New Year songs, but you can also see how effective the dual curriculum is. The upper-grade students speak so fluently, it’s just amazing.

Last but not the least, Princeternship gives you the opportunity to listen to the stories of Princeton alumni: how their Princeton life was, what led to their current job, and what they think is important in life. My host actually started out as a BSE engineer–which was surprising considering the fact that she now runs an international school–and she chose not to get an MBA, even though it might have been useful. Each of her life decisions shows you there is no “mainstream” way of finding your career.

I would recommend this Princeternship at YingHua International School to anyone who is interested in education or language (especially Chinese), and perhaps policy-making concerning the two areas.  I want to thank Ms. Epstein again for being an awesome host, and Demi Zhang ’19 as well, who participated with me as a fellow Princetern.

Princeternship stories: Eric Chen ’19, Epic

When I arrived at Epic, I met with Gina Davis ’10, who helped coordinate the Princeternship, to see a product demo of Epic software. The software suite that Epic produces is truly massive. Driven by the mission of one medical record for every patient, Epic produces software so that everything a hospital does—from routine checkups to emergency room visits to prescriptions—can be housed in one electronic record. Right now, an impressive 57 percent of patients in the U.S. are covered by Epic software, a number which shows how working at Epic really does impact millions of lives everyday.
IMG_20160104_163426655When I first met my host Todd Dale ‘09, a technical services engineer and technical coordinator, he was on a conference call supporting a hospital’s installation of Epic software. I quickly learned that because of the nature of healthcare software, technical support is critically important. For one, system downtime can have a very negative impact on hospitals. It doesn’t matter if the power goes out or natural disaster strikes, Todd works with hospitals to ensure that their particular installation of Epic software will have as close to 100 percent uptime as possible. In this call, I saw Epic’s core tenet of doing right by the customer. Todd and his team work one-on-one with hospitals to make sure that Epic software works for the customer as well as possible.

Even though Todd’s main job is technical services for hospitals, the open and flexible culture at Epic allows him to wear many different hats every day. For Todd, this means that he is also the lead developer of an internal staffing tool for team managers at the company—a tool that he started out of his own need.

At one design meeting, Todd was pitching a new website design to improve workflows for managers using his tool. I’m not too familiar with developing in teams, so it was great to see Todd balancing his own vision for features with the opinions and demands of others in the room.

As we were bouncing between meetings, I got a chance to see some more of Epic’s campus, which reflects the general workplace culture of innovation, creativity and fun. Todd works in the jungle-themed building, but we passed through a Scandinavian building, New York City-themed areas, as well as an Indiana Jones hallway, where we had our picture taken. 

As my day of shadowing Todd revealed, there is an infinite number of jobs that can be done at any point in time, so there is no reason to limit your work to your job title because, oftentimes, your best work will be a product of pursuing what no one else thought to do.

A huge thank you to Gina and Doug for taking time out of their day to help me, and especially to Todd who graciously let me shadow him and introduced me to the expansive and fascinating world of Epic and healthcare software.

Princeternship stories: Alexandra Eakes ’17, Ganchi Plastic Surgery

Alexandra Eakes '17 and Parham A. Ganchi '87My Princeternship was with Ganchi Plastic Surgery for two days.

On the first day, I visited patients with Dr.Parham Ganchi ’87, listening in on his consultations with new patients and his follow-up visits with post-operative patients. I also observed quick procedures, such as Botox and filler injections. On the second day, I observed three surgeries: a rhinoplasty revision, gynecomastia surgery and a breast augmentation revision. The surgeries took up the entirety of the workday. Dr. Ganchi talked to me during the procedures, explaining what he was doing every step of the way and answering any other questions I had. I was also able to observe and speak with the anesthesiologist, surgical technicians, and nurses about their work at the practice.

This Princeternship exposed me to an entirely new field of medicine that I had not yet explored. I was able to see the various steps of a cosmetic plastic surgery procedure, from the beginning planning stage to the end results months post-operation. In addition to learning about the many different procedures, I learned how the surgeon collaborates with patients to reach their desired outcomes, and also how the surgeon must consider the motivation behind a procedure to determine if it is truly in the patient’s best interest. And though Dr. Ganchi specialized in cosmetic plastic surgery, he went out of his way to show me show me the variety of procedures and subspecialties that plastic surgery encompasses. He was also very generous with his experience and advice, discussing with me many other aspects of pursing medicine, such as undergraduate courses, family planning, and private practice.

My experience has contributed greatly to my further interest in medicine and has opened my eyes to a new potential career path. I’ve learned that private practice medicine is definitely something I am interested in pursuing as I enjoyed the intimate setting of Dr. Ganchi’s practice. My experience left me with many things to think about and consider, like the type of lifestyle I would like to have, as I continue my education toward my career.

I definitely recommend this Princeternship to anyone interested in medicine or health. I learned so much in only two days in a great environment with fantastic people. Thank you to Dr. Ganchi and everyone at his practice for being so kind and generous with their time and knowledge. They definitely made my Princeternship everything I had hoped it would be and more.

Featured Jobs and Internships of the Week – April 13, 2016

Each week the Career Services team will highlight new or unusual opportunities in the Handshake and UCAN* systems. Here are our picks for this week:

Handshake Jobs:

Handshake Internships:

UCAN Internships:

*UCAN is an internship-only site that is shared by 20 member schools, including Princeton. To use UCAN in addition to HireTigers, you’ll need to register for a new account. Instructions on using UCAN are available here.