Career Conversation with Julie Hung (’98)

With the wide array of majors and opportunities that HumEc provides, honing interests and skills into a specific career can be a challenging task. This week, I gained alumni insight from Julie Hung, a Human Development and Family Studies major. After graduating from Cornell in 1998, she pursued a career in finance, and today she has shared her experience applying her HumEc education to her career journey. 

“The benefits of being in Human Ecology is the broad skills you develop from the coursework that prepares you for different career paths. I went into Cornell as a freshman pre-med but then graduated with a job at JPMorgan. The courses I took as a Human Ecology student allowed me to develop analytical, communication, project management skills.  I was able to go from reading scientific studies and breaking down what the numbers were telling me to being able to write pages explaining why something happened and extrapolating what could happen in the future.  The financial world requires you to be comfortable with numbers and being able to tell a story, make inferences and be forward thinking based on the information you have on hand so investors can make decisions. And Human Ecology prepares you well for that. In addition, these skills are transferable between disciplines because doctors and lawyers need to do the same thing. That’s the great thing about a Human Ecology degree.”

When asked about what advice she would give to students navigating their career paths, Ms. Hung said:

“Network. Talk to anyone and everyone to get an idea of what is out there.  I’ll give you finance as an example. Most companies that come onto campus are the big ones- Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citigroup. And usually the big departments like Investment Banking, Sales and trading. Think about what you are interested in (numbers, fast paced environment, quiet environment, writing etc) and start to network with people (Human Ecology alumni network is a great place to start!) and talk to people about what they do, what skills do they use, what do they like or don’t like etc. There are a ton of companies that don’t go into campus but they still look for recruits.  One way to find out open positions is to network. Build a profile on LinkedIn. Connect to alums and reach out that way.  Look at our experiences, our resumes to see what skills we use at work.”

Tips for Mastering Your Next Virtual Interview

As COVID-19 restrictions ease and organizations return to in-person work, we find that most interviews continue to remain virtual. Students

Image of person speaking into headset for a virtual interview

appreciate this modality, as it affords flexibility and eliminates travel and housing expenses. Additionally, students now have access to opportunities located anywhere in the world. Whether you are interviewing for internships, full-time jobs, or graduate school, there are universal practices you can use to stand out during the virtual interview process!

1. Set Up Your Interview Space

Here are a few changes you can make to your interview environment to create a strong, lasting impression:

Have a clean, simple background
You don’t have to rearrange your room to achieve this. We recommend finding a space that is free of distractions, for example, a blank wall or bookshelf. Another option is to choose a simple, virtual background. Courtney, a senior career assistant, removes her framed picture behind her desk when she has an interview. Jessica, a career assistant with a very busy room, books an individual study room in Mann library for her interviews.

Create optimal lighting
We advise that you light yourself from the front to avoid being backlit. If you have a desk lamp, position it towards your face. Additionally, research has found that recruiters favor cool light, a light that emits a modern, cleaner, and brighter look, over warm light (Harvard Business Review). If you don’t have a lamp, sitting near a window could emulate this optimal lighting scenario.

Eliminate distractions
Turn off all TVs, put your cell phone on do not disturb, and close any nearby windows. Make sure to tell anyone you live with about your interview to minimize background noise and disruptions.

2.Test Your Technology

Prior to your interview
It is important that your interview location has a good internet connection. If your Wi-Fi is unreliable, consider doing your interview from a different location (i.e, study room in a library) or using a hotspot/ethernet cable.

Additionally, confirm that your camera and microphone work properly. For instance, Zoom allows you to test your video and audio in settings.

Moreover, some organizations could use a video platform that you are unfamiliar with. We encourage that you familiarize yourself with the platform prior to your interview by downloading the program and practicing with its features.

3. Preparation

Pace, gestures, and facial expressions
The optimal speaking rate is neither too slow nor too fast. You want your interviewer to keep up with what you are saying, but you don’t want to bore them. Taking time to pause before important points will help you better connect with your interviewer and emulate confidence.

A Harvard Business Review study found that successful candidates used hand gestures for exciting and important points. When sharing a personal story, you can move your hands closer to your heart. Moreover, keep an open posture by not crossing your arms.

Finally, it is important that you look into your webcam and not at your reflection. This allows you to make eye contact with your interviewer, a key step for building trust. We recommend that you turn on speaker view so that you are not tempted to look at yourself while speaking.

Research and rehearse
Although it may be tempting to have your notes in front of you, you want to appear prepared and ready to answer any questions without scrolling around on your computer. Research the company beforehand and have thoughtful questions prepared to ask your interviewer.

Additionally, you should practice your responses to common interview questions. For instance, most organizations will ask “why here?” or “tell me about yourself.” By practicing in advance of your interview, you can avoid rambling and sounding unprepared.

Finally, virtual interviews are more monotonous than in-person interviews. You can keep the conversation lively by showing genuine interest, asking engaging questions, and finding common interests with your interviewer.

Dress appropriately
It is still important to dress professionally. Dress as you would if you were interviewing in-person. Studies reveal that people feel more competent, trustworthy, and authoritative when they are dressed in formal business clothing.

Overall, engaging in these practices can help you ace your next virtual interview!

 

Need practice? Stop by the Human Ecology Career Exploration Center in 1203 MVR to schedule a practice interview with a career assistant!

The Ugly Side of Hiring

A gold scale
Photo by Elena Mozhvilo

As much as we would like to believe that the job market is equitable, it’s not. As much as we would like to believe that hiring managers are unbiased, it’s not. As much as we would like to believe that the USA is based on a meritocracy, it’s not. 

 

In the society we live in, nearly everyone eventually enters the job market to make an income that can sustain themselves. Unfortunately, this process is not kind to everyone, nor does it treat people of different demographics equally. This blog post is intended to highlight some of the subconscious inequalities that plague the job market today, the possible reasons behind the unfairness, and why you should always send in an application even if you feel underqualified. 

 

1. Hiring managers have very little time to screen thousands of resumes, so they feel the need to make snap judgements. 

In 2018, a study by Ladders Inc. has shown that on average, hiring managers only look at resumes for 7.4 seconds [1]. This leaves a ton of room for error and bias, and goes even beyond skimming. As such, many recruiters use snap judgements to decide what pile a resume should end up in. The smallest detail can be enough to put them off, such as a second page, a missed bullet point, or a spelling error, but also subconscious filters. 

 

2. Sometimes, hiring managers are looking for someone with a particular skill/skillset.

I have had this told to me using the analogy of an orchestra: If only the tuba player is retiring that year and the orchestra is hosting auditions, it does not matter if you are the best trumpet player in the world who has also cured cancer and saved the world from mutually assured destruction, because the orchestra does not need a trumpet player. However, the audition may have been generally sent out to all musicians. Similarly, in the job market and hiring process, only a few positions may be open, with requirements or skills that are not always explicitly stated. Sometimes, these needs might not have been shared with whomever wrote the job description. It is not your fault that you did not have that particular skill. 

For this reason, when there is one, it is always worth it to pay close attention to the job description, because companies will have tried to be honest about exactly what skills they are looking for. Even then, such lists might be incomplete, or simply inaccurate, as plenty of people are hired without fully meeting the job description. When possible, this is also why it is important to attend information sessions and network within the company, because both could reveal insider information about what the company is lacking or what the company culture is like.

 

3. Unfortunately, racism and sexism are very much still alive in the hiring process, even though it is less overt than ever. 

Several audit studies have shown that hiring managers evaluate female and male candidates differently. While there is little to no relationship between call-back likelihood and GPA for male candidates, there is an inverse U relationship for women—i.e. Women of moderate GPAs (B-average) were most likely to be called back [2]. Women with low and high GPAs were both called back less often, at similar call-back rates. It appears that while likeability was the most important trait for women, competence and commitment were most important for men [2]. It was hypothesized that high-achieving women were perceived as uptight and thus, lacking likeability. Such inequalities are absolutely not your fault. 

There are also similar studies that have examined race. For example, a meta-analysis of several studies shows that on average, white people receive 36% more callbacks than black people [3]. People are judged most commonly through their name, which most people are born with. 

West campus of Cornell, as seen from the slope

4. Where you go to school matters. While Cornell is a prestigious institution, it is not a super-elite university. 

School prestige also plays a huge role in the resume screening process [4]. Rivera et al. have found that many investment banking and law firms classify schools into target and core schools. More students are recruited from the core, or super-elite schools, including Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Wharton Business School of Penn University, and more money is spent on the recruitment process there, for events like coffee chats and interview prep workshops. This practice stems from a belief that super-elite universities have already pre-screened their students heavily, and that students from “second-tier” schools are only there because they could not get into the super-elite schools. As well, there is the belief that a student from a super-elite institution will be more likely to become someone influential, and it would be good for the firm to network with these people and be associated with them. While students are also recruited from target schools like Cornell and the other Ivies, far less money is spent on recruitment and far less students are taken. Students from non-target or core schools have little to no chance at all, because all of the spots can typically be filled by students from these two types of schools. 

Unfortunately, the college admissions process is also unfair. More than ⅔ of students at Harvard come from the top income quintile (top 20%) [5]. By receiving prestigious entry-level jobs with high incomes, these students are given a leg up over students who were not hired. Thus, the hiring process is also a system that reproduces income inequality. 

 

5. A person’s history gives them different amounts of cultural and social capital, so people are at different stages of learning the “hidden curriculum”. 

Cultural capital is defined as knowledge, behaviour, and skills that a person can use to signal their social status and competence. It often manifests as familiarity with unspoken norms—ex. Knowledge that it is important to send a thank you email after an interview—and it is gained primarily through one’s social network, family, and environment, so the most useful kinds of cultural capital can differ by place. It can dramatically impact a hiring manager’s impression of you when unfortunately, some people were simply born into situations that allowed them to accrue the right kinds of cultural capital while others were not. For example, immigrants are often disadvantaged, having accrued cultural capital that allowed them to succeed in their previous country, but not their new one. 

Social capital is similar, but it is more about who you know, your network and connections. Certain connections are more valuable than others, as it has been found that people of lower economic status are more socially isolated [6]. Research has found that networks are more important than competence when it comes to job searching, and numbers range from ⅓ to 85% of jobs are the result of personal connections [7]. Regardless of the exact figure, connections appear to be highly useful. Learning cultural and social capital are as much a part of college as any academic learning, forming the hidden curriculum.

 

6. The person reviewing your application or interviewing you will have their own personal biases, but who reviews your application is left up to chance. 

Though it may be obvious, it is still worth noting that there is an element of pure chance in the hiring process. Hiring managers will resonate with different types of people, who are involved in different activities. It may just happen that a hiring manager has the same hometown as the candidate, the same extracurriculars, or perhaps they were in the same sorority in university. Under a system where hiring managers have only seconds to review resumes, these points of similarity can be pivotal for making a candidate memorable, and in an interview, they may be the spark that allows the interviewer to develop a connection with the candidate. 

Often, hiring managers look for candidates who are like them, who will fit in with company culture. Unfortunately, this usually means someone of similar demographics. Thus, it may be worth it to consider the demographics of the company that you are applying for, and how that might also boost or harm your chances. This also manifests itself with extracurricular activities, as there are certain barriers to engaging with them which have to do with a person’s demographics. For example, in the world of investment banking, some hiring managers  consider rowing more valuable than ping pong because it is perceived as being more athletically intensive, even though it is also less accessible due to being a very expensive sport [4]. Part of the reason why this bias developed could be because many people who work in investment banking were rowers themselves in high school, but not ping pong players.

 

Despite all of these inequities, however, it’s not all doom and gloom. I hope that that has not been your main takeaway! While it is true that there are many things wrong with the current US hiring system, I do not mean to discourage you from applying to jobs. In fact, I hope that this only shows that the system was not built to be fair, and rejections should not be personal attacks on your character. In fact, I think knowing about this unfairness shows that there is an element of luck to the process. While it is easier for everything to align for some demographics compared with others, you never know when they will, so it is still worth doing the best you can and giving it a try. 

You miss 100% of the shots you never take.

 

P.S. I think many of these same thoughts can be applied to both the Cornell club application processes and the internship application process! Keep your head held high, don’t sweat it. 

 

References

  1. O’Donnell, R. (2018). Eye tracking study shows recruiters look at resumes for 7 seconds. HR Drive. https://www.hrdive.com/news/eye-tracking-study-shows-recruiters-look-at-resumes-for-7-seconds/541582/#:~:text=revealed that the time recruiters,an average of 7.4 seconds.
  2. Quadlin, N. (2018). The Mark of a Woman’s Record: Gender and Academic Performance in Hiring. American Sociological Review, 83(2), 331–360. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122418762291
  3. Quillian, L., Pager, D., Hexel, O., & Midtbøen, A. H. (2017). Meta-analysis of field experiments shows no change in racial discrimination in hiring over time. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114(41), 10870–10875. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1706255114
  4. Rivera, L. A. (2011). Ivies, extracurriculars, and exclusion: Elite employers’ use of educational credentials. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 29(1), 71–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2010.12.001
  5. At Home with Harvard: Inequality in America | Harvard Magazine. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2020, from https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2020/06/at-home-with-harvard-inequality-in-america
  6. Algren MH, Ekholm O, Nielsen L, Ersbøll AK, Bak CK, Andersen PT. Social isolation, loneliness, socioeconomic status, and health-risk behaviour in deprived neighbourhoods in Denmark: A cross-sectional study. SSM Popul Health. 2020;10:100546. Published 2020 Jan 20. doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2020.100546
  7. McClear, S. (2019). How will you find your next job? Networking, probably. Ladders. https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/how-will-you-find-your-next-job-networking-probably

 

Disclaimer: Of course, all of these points should be taken with a grain of salt! Contact Angella Lee (al2354@cornell.edu) if you have problems with anything in this article. Several of these studies point out that experiences still vary by major, and most of these studies were US-based. We are happy to look into specific majors and industries upon request—book an appointment with us, and feel free to ask about our specific experiences.

Career Fair… So What Now?

So you went to the career fair. You felt overwhelmed and the entire experience made you more stressed for your future than you were before. You feel a bit lost. You’re not alone.

First and foremost, breathe. The job-search process is very stressful, and sometimes we forget
to take a second and just breathe. In order to think clearly, you have to relax yourself, creating a
calm state of mind. Make sure to practice methods for alleviating stress, such as taking walks,
meditation, or just hanging out with friends.

Another thing to remember is that you have more time than you think. People tend to rush to
find job experiences, making you feel compelled to rush as well. The environment we are in can
be very competitive, and it is important to remember that you must forge your own career path:
take your time to figure out what you want.

On Rejection
Rejection can be very difficult. However, it is best to never take these things personally. Doing
so will result in a lot of unneeded mental pressure and emotional strain; taking things like these
personally gets tiring. It is not your fault; it’s okay that this happened, it’s understanding that you
would be upset.
If this process ever becomes too stressful or strenuous, there are many resources on campus
available if you need someone to talk to. These resources include EARS, CAPS, or other
mental health professionals at Cornell Health.

 


Remedying Your Situation

Networking
Networks are such an important factor in a job search. 85% of hires are the result of networking!
Use your connections to find your dream position. Reaching out and finding your support
network can also be useful if you are in a time of need.

Set Goals
A system of goal-setting is integral to an effective job-search routine. By creating
specific objectives throughout your job search you ensure that you are consistently
working towards something and using your time productively. Use SMART (Specific,
Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound goals). This is done so that you focus
less on things that have yet to be defined, and focus more on what you can do to define
it. Do small things, worrying about big things like what job you want is not going to be
helpful, focus on resume perfection, honing skills, etc. Figure out who you are, what you
want, and what interests you first. Applying to something just for the name is not helpful

if it is not interesting to you. Talking to advisors and older, knowledgeable, and
trustworthy peers is very helpful as well!

Dear Aunt Martha: Staying Relevant with References

Image of a message bubble made of paper
Dear Aunt Martha,

Applying to jobs has been a long process, but I’m almost done with round one! I have one last barrier before being able to get my dream job: asking for references. I have past professors and employers in mind whom I named as references for a summer internship that I did two years ago, but I haven’t really been in contact with them for a while. Do I need to ask for their permission to name them as references on my latest applications?

Sincerely,

Anxious Applicant


Dear Anxious Applicant,

That’s wonderful to hear that you are near the end of the first round of your job search journey! Congratulations! And yes, you should absolutely ask your previous references a second time whether you can name them on your most recent applications– not doing so could be construed as disingenuous. You mentioned that you haven’t been in contact with your references in a while, and since I consider keeping in touch to be a valuable form of networking, I’ve broken down how to not only ask your previous references for assistance, but how to keep in contact with them as well!

How to ask again for a reference:

  1. Always start the email off by asking how the other person is doing before jumping into updating him or her about your life. Update your reference on what you have accomplished since the last time you spoke with him or her. For example, “Since last summer when you kindly agreed to write my letter of recommendation, I have since finished my internship as a research assistant at Weill Cornell and have started my job search for full time employment.”
  2. After your life update, ask if they would be willing to help you again by serving as a reference for this job.
  3. End your email by thanking him or her for their time and help.

How to keep in contact with references:

It may seem daunting to continue networking with your references, but it is standard procedure, and sometimes even expected! Simple updates such as “I’ve recently started my second semester of Senior year and am super excited to take classes in ________,” can be sufficient. Other more detailed updates that include a mutual connection are often a nice touch: “I’ve started a new project in my studio class that applies what you taught us in [class name]! It is centered on ______, and I’m really excited about this project because it has implications in __________.”

These short, simple updates, are an important step towards helping you establish a professional network. So don’t be afraid to start updating your references on your professional life because they will be a crucial source of support for your future career development process!

Warmest regards,

Aunt Martha

What Your Interviewer is REALLY Trying to Ask You

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Ever been thrown off by an interview question or unsure about what the interviewer is REALLY asking? Here are the top five trickiest questions broken down so that you can understand what your interviewer is really trying to ask.

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What is the Health Professions Advising Center (HPAC)?

 

The Cornell Health Professions Advising Center (HPAC) serves all pre-health students at Cornell University. The HPAC supports the academic and professional development of students interested in pursuing careers in medicine, dentistry, optometry, and podiatry, as well as health professions in pharmacy, chiropractic therapy, occupational therapy, nursing, physician assistant roles, and veterinary medicine.

The HPAC has created an Applicant Canvas Course for undergraduate students who plan to apply to medical/dental/podiatry/optometry programs. Students who plan to have a completed Cornell Letter Packet in 2023 and matriculate to medical/dental school in 2024 will be required to complete Modules 1 and 2 of the HPAC Applicant Canvas Course (Readiness and Writing) to qualify for a Comprehensive Advising Appointment. The HPAC Canvas Course is meant to ensure each pre-health student has successful, well-developed applications to the schools of their choice!

Learn more about the HPAC here: https://prehealthadvising.cornell.edu/introducing-the-health-professions-advising-center/ 

Join the HPAC Canvas Course here: https://canvas.cornell.edu/courses/46227

An Introduction to Case Interviews

It’s recruiting season! And if you’re applying to positions with management consulting firms you’re very likely to encounter a case interview. A case interview is a job interview in which the applicant is given a question, situation, problem or challenge and asked to resolve the situation. The case is often a business situation or a business case. Many times these cases are situations that the interviewer has encountered in real life.

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How to Prep for an Interview

two women sitting beside table and talking
photo credits to wocintechchat.com

Landed an interview but don’t know how to prepare? Well first off, congratulations for landing an interview! Now that you’ve polished your resume and cover letter, we can use those for starting points in how to rock you interview. We at the CEC have created a guide that you can fill out to prepare for your next interview.

The first page of the guide is all about you! The first step you can take is reviewing and knowing your resume and cover letter inside and out. Anything on those two documents is fair game to ask about in an interview. Take moments and stories from the experiences you wrote about in your resume and cover letter to and outline them using the STAR interview method. Review our blog post if you have any questions about what the STAR interview method is. You can use the same experience and stories for multiple questions, but it is good to prepare a variety of answers just in case.

The next step you can take is learning everything about the company. On the second sheet of paper, fill out everything you know about the company and the job you are applying for. Make sure to prepare questions beforehand!

Still have questions? Sign up for a mock interview or do a walk-in mock interview at our location in 162 MVR.

Access the Interview Chart Below

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Interview Template On Word

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Interview Template As PDF