When students and alumni come to Amy Benedict for advice, she often asks them to think about flow—the state where their minds are fully engaged, and tasks feel natural, even when they are not easy.
Benedict, Penn GSE’s Director of Career and Professional Development, says that sense of flow offers important clues for job seekers. What skills and qualities are you using when you are in that flowing work state? How else could those skills be applied?
Benedict hosted a pair of special events on November 15 for National Professional Development Day, which included special drop-in hours with visiting Penn GSE alumni.
Building relationships, including with alumni, is important, Benedict said. The point isn’t just getting someone to offer you a job. Meeting more people working in your desired field can open you up to a broader array of career possibilities.
Your ideal position, Benedict will tell students, might be a job title you don’t know exists.
“I love hearing people’s stories, and teasing out from those stories what their strengths are, what their passions are, and helping them think about how they can use them to the best of their ability,” Benedict said.
Throughout the year, Benedict and a team from Penn Career Services regularly speak with students and alumni in person, by phone, or over Skype.
Benedict also recommends job seekers explore these resources: