It is specifically designed to help with job hunting on your own, and not through Penn's On-Campus Recruiting Service . On-Campus Recruiting Orientation. As a liberal arts student, you have enormous flexibility over when you start your job search. College students want to work for hire well in advance of the actual starting date for the position. Thus, there is no formal or fixing hiring cycle.
Positions become available throughout the year.
For these types of jobs, you become a viable candidate when there isn't a great separation between the time you can start working and the time the position is available - near to, or after, graduation. Thus, for jobs in these fields, it is appropriate protocol NOT to begin your formal job search before second semester. While there are certainly exceptions to this, for the most part if you send formal cover letters and resumes to these employers during first semester, it is quite likely that you'll be asked to contact the employer again closer to your graduation. The attached checklist identifies activities commonly connected with job hunting. The suggested time frame is offered to help you structure your search throughout the year.