From Behind The Firewall: Helen Cheung

In the age of email, it's easy to send and receive electronically without ever being able to put a face to that email address. For example, the TA from your Friday recitation, among others.

For every Penn undergrad, one such figure is helenc@exchange.upenn.edu, also known as Helen Cheung, the illustrious author of Career Services emails galore. Ms. Cheung took a moment off from resume advice and internship searching to answer a few questions for UTB. So even if the job search has you down, you can take pleasure in our ultra exclusive interview.

First of all, what's on your resume? I tailor my resume to the recipient. My “career services” resume includes a masters degree in counseling, accomplishments during my stints at three career centers, work experience in nonprofit and business consulting, and related skills and activities.

What is the most ridiculous job posting you have ever sent out? I’m not sure. We have received some fun job postings before, like “Elephant Trainer,” but I didn’t send them out.

How do you tell kids that they just aren't going to make it as a [insert dream profession here]? I don’t tell anyone they aren’t going to make it, because most careers can be achieved with enough time, passion, and hard work. I do encourage people to research a dream job idea fully to learn what it takes to get it; and to really go after what they want.

Would you rather be a nameless face or a faceless name? Faceless name. But that’s probably not the right answer.

As the Penn e-mail queen: BlackBerry, iPhone, or computer only? Computer. The old school desktop PC.

Who is the one person at Penn you'd most like to meet? The mascot, though I already met the Quaker when he stumbled into our career fair last Fall.

If you could have any other job in the world, what would it be? Running shoes maker.

Finally, what advice would you give to our readers who are currently lacking employment? Don’t lower your standards but do think broadly, specifically, and flexibly about the jobs you want. And come to Career Services if you want to chat.