Faculty/staff referrals to advising

Walk-in advising for all students at Smith Career Center

Additional walk-in advising for graduate students at the GLC

Purpose and required student preparation in advance

Appointments

Career advising in YOUR MAJOR department: Departmental Career Advisors [DCAs]

Specialty advising | help we can (& can't!) provide you!

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M-F walk-in advising at Career Services, Smith Career Center:

FALL semester (plus the week prior), SPRING semester, SUMMER I & II	Noon-3:00 pm
BREAKS: Thanksgiving Break, Spring Break, between semesters	1:00-3:00 pm
Virginia Tech academic calendars provide academic semester/term dates.
We sometimes CLOSE or CHANGE HOURS: see office hours BEFORE you come in.
Traffic is very heavy before career fairs. Plan ahead. Last-minute visit at your own risk.

Can I call in?	Yes, you may call in for questions. We may need to return your call if advisors are with students at the time you call. Resume and other document reviews by phone need to be scheduled as phone appointments: schedule an appointment.
Wait time:	First-come, first-served. You may find a longer wait before deadlines and job fairs; avoid last-minute visits.
Time with advisor:	At advisor discretion considering your topic, needs, your preparation, number of students waiting; generally 1-15 mins.
More help:	We might recommend a scheduled appointment for more help.
Prefer set time or more time:	Please schedule an appointment.
Bring a HARD COPY for resume or other document review	Bring a HARD COPY for any document review (resume, cover letter, graduate school essay, etc.). Traffic volume limits our time. You are welcome to stay in our Career Resource Center and edit your document on your laptop, but advisors are not available to sit with you while you make your edits. (If you have no access to a printer, you may print a copy at Career Services.)
Resume reviews prior to a job/career fair: - First, read and use our resume preparation guide and/or Career Planning Guide. - [Walk-in is to help you fine-tune and individualize, not to give basic resume how-to.] - Visit at least several days prior to your fair; there are two to four fairs in some weeks. - Bring a hard copy of your resume. - If you choose to wait until the last minute to visit, you may encounter a long wait, a very short time we can spend with you, and possibility that not all students can be seen. More about required preparation below.

 

Purpose and student preparation in advance:

YES:	Questions with brief answers; guidance on using our online & print resources.
YES:	Helping you fine-tune your resume, cover letters, and other documents, and addressing questions about your individual situation, after you use our print, online or workshop resources to learn the basics. (Walk-in is not intended as a one-on-one tutorial on resume basics or letter writing.)
USE:	We have developed print and online resources for you to read and use in advance. We are happy to provide reviews after you read: Resume guide Job search / cover letter writing guidelines Reference list instructions, or Career Planning Guide (free to all students; pick up during office hours). We also offer workshops.
Students with class/other ASSIGNMENTS to come to walk-in advising also should use these preparation materials prior to drafting your resume and any other documents, and prior to speaking with an advisor.

 

Walk-in advising for graduate students

Options:
1.	Graduate students may and do use M-F walk-in advising at Career Services.
2.	Walk-in advising just for grad students at the GLC [Graduate Life Center] - Where: GLC lobby, first floor: GLC floor plan map/directions - 2012-2013 day/time: Wednesdays, 2:00-5:00 pm - FALL semester 2012: Aug. 29 through Dec. 5, 2012    (not during Thanksgiving break; univ closes at noon Wed. 11/21/12) - SPRING semester 2013: Jan. 23 through May 8, 2013.    (not during Spring Break Wed. 3/13/13) - NOT held at GLC in summer; use summer walk-in advising at Career Services

If walk-in advising times do not work for your schedule, you may schedule an appointment.

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Advising appointments, in person or by phone:

When:	Academic year and summer (see office hours for dates we are closed). Made in advance; no same-day appointments scheduled. Typically 30 minutes, between 8:30 am - noon and 1:30 - 4:30 pm. Specific times based on advisor availability.
	Mock (a.k.a. practice) interviews are scheduled for 60 minutes, and are not scheduled by phone or in person. See Practice interviews for complete details. Faculty/staff assigning a class for practice interviews, see how to.
Where:	In-person at our location, or by phone for those unable to come in.
Topics:	See things we can (and can't!) help you with so you'll know what to do before your appointment, and the correct source to find help.
To schedule:	During office hours call 231-6241 or stop by our location. We are not able to schedule appointments via e-mail.
Need to cancel?	Please give us (and other students) the courtesy of a phone call to our office so we can offer that time to other students and do other work. No-showing for appointments is viewed as highly discourteous and is rarely excusable. We know you wouldn't want someone to no-show on you either.

 

Specialty advising  |   Help we can (and can't!) provide you

 

Undecided / unsure about major; exploring career options for majors:

Before your appointment, see exploring careers and majors. In your appointment we can work with you to determine what will best help.

Want to take our class for exploring careers?

Great! See exploring careers class.

We cannot advise you on academic course requirements!

DO contact your academic advisor or the department offering the major for course advising.

Course selection when between majors:

If you are between majors and are confused about courses to take, you are welcome to seek advising through the University Academic Advising Center.

In Career Services, we can help you with the process of developing your career goals; but we are not able to advise you on specific courses to take to meet academic requirements.

Course requirements for a specific major and transferring into a major:

1. Read that academic department's web site.
2. Find and read the checksheet for that major and any other sources of requirements.
3. Read and follow any rules that department may have for transferring into the major.
4. In accordance with those rules, schedule academic advising in that major department.

"What if" scenarios: Courses needed if in a different major:

In Hokie SPA order a "What-if DARS."
University Registrar: Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS).
In the "What-if DARS," select the anticipated major, your anticipated graduation date and on the question of whether to use "planned courses," select "no."
Read the results very carefully (do not just skim) using the University Registrar's Organization of a DARS Report, and seek advising in the academic department housing the major in accordance with the policy of that department. Academic departments list/links, by college.

Career advising by undergraduate major:

Departmental Career Advisors: Faculty and/or staff for and in your academic department for your undergraduate major. The CAREER ADVISOR in your major might be different from, or the same as, your ACADEMIC ADVISOR in your major. Get advice and guidance, and learn about careers related to your undergraduate major.

Looking for experience during college, such as internships or co-op positions:

Excellent! Read about ways to get experience, two of which are internships and co-op; but also note the many other ways. (Most VT grads obtained experience before graduation, but many wish they had gotten more!) In an appointment, we can help steer you to best sources to meet your goals, and help you make sure your goals are on track.

To enroll in Career Services' Undergraduate Cooperative Education & Internship Program (CEIP):

Read program requirements & eligibility. CEIP orientations are held several times each semester and are required for program participation. There are co-op & internship advisors by major in both Career Services and your academic major department and you may consult both.

Job search for post-graduation job:

Our job search guide gets you started on basics so your appointment time can be spent most effectively. In an appointment we can help you fine-tune your documents and job search strategies. Job search for graduate students covers the academic job search, industry job search, events, more.

On-Campus Interviewing (OCI) and Hokies4Hire:

See about OCI & H4H to learn how to use these services and get answers to frequently asked questions and sources of help. If you encounter a glitch or confusion in using H4H, please contact our employer relations staff at hireahokie@vt.edu; we do not want you to miss any opportunities!

Planning for graduate or professional school:

See planning for graduate and professional school; this will help you get started before your appointment, and make you aware of events for exploration, application and test practice & prep that you will want to use to the fullest. In an appointment we can help you fine-tune your documents and plans.

Pre-professional School Advisors: Virginia Tech faculty and staff who advise on preparing for professional school admission.

Health professions | planning for graduate education for a health career:

The Office of Health Professions Advising (OHPA) at Virginia Tech is located in Career Services and assists students and alumni planning for health professional careers requiring graduate or professional education. Information sessions and other events will help you prepare.

Federal jobs & internships advising:

By appointment at Career Services.

See federal job search process and resources for you.

International careers advising:

Visiting Professor in the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning, Mr. G. William (Bill) Anderson, has had an extensive international career, and has offered to Career Services to be an advising resource for students. Mr. Anderson continues to travel internationally for assignments; therefore contact him in advance to request a time that he could meet with you. His contact information is found on the UAP department faculty and staff list.

Alumni career and networking contacts:

Hokie Nation Network: Sponsored by the Virginia Tech Alumni Association. Enables students and graduates to network for career information and job search.

 

Faculty and staff who wish to refer students to Career Services:

Thank you for your interest in developing your students's job search skills! Our desire is to have a plan to assist your students and have them arrive prepared having used our resources in advance. Please see: - Referring classes or groups to Career Services and - Student preparation required for resume/cover letter critiques. - Referring students for practice (mock) interviews.

Two necessities for referrals of groups/classes: preparation and planned timing. Without this, most students tend to wait until a deadline, too many visit at once, and they cannot all be seen.

Call us well in advance so we can work together to best meet the needs of our students with existing resources. With large groups, we plan visits not to happen in a short timeframe and not at peak times prior to career fairs. We look forward to your call in advance to work with your group.

For practice interview assignments for classes: students should not sign up for individual mock interviews. Faculty and staff: please use interview Stream or call us.