Faculty/staff referrals to advising

Walk-in advising for all students

Purpose and required student preparation in advance

Walk-in advising for graduate students

Appointments

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

---

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

Thank you for your interest in developing your students's job search skills!
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: preparation and planned timing. Our desire is to have a plan to assist your students and have them arrive prepared having used our preparation resources in advance.

When groups of students are given assignments to visit Career Services without notice to us, we cannot always accomodate this. Large numbers of students tend to wait until the last minute before an assignment to visit, and if demand is too high, we cannot see them all.

By calling us well in advance, we can work together to best meet the needs of our students with our existing resources. Typically with large groups, we plan for their visits not to happen in a short timeframe and not to happen 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.

M-F walk-in advising at Career Services:

When:
Semester hours: fall (plus the week prior), spring, and summer terms: Noon-3:00 pm.
Break hours: semester breaks after commencement, and spring break: 1:00-3:00 pm.
Check office hours for occasional closings BEFORE you come in!.

Where: In-person, Smith Career Center, or by phone (we may need to return your call).

What if I can't visit in person? Can I call? Yes, you may call in for questions. We may need to return your call if advisors are with students at the time you call. However, for resume and other document reviews by phone, it is necessary to schedule an appointment, which can be a phone appointment.

Preparing a resume for a job/career fair: If you are preparing a resume for a job/career fair, please visit, at the latest, at least two days before the event. If you choose to wait until the days leading up to the event, you may encounter a long wait and/or a limit on the amount of time we can spend with you. Read and use our resume preparation guide and/or Career Planning Guide before you come in. The purpose of a resume review is not to give you a one-on-one tutorial on how to prepare your resume. It is to help you fine-tune your document for your individual situation. See more about required preparation below.

Wait time: First-come, first-served basis. You will find a waiting list before deadlines and job fairs; avoid last-minute visits. Length of your wait depends on student traffic.

Time with advisor: Length of time with advisor is at advisor discretion considering your topic, your needs, the extent of your advance preparation, and whether other students are waiting; 1 to 15 minutes is general range.

More help: We might recommend a scheduled appointment for more help.

Different or guaranteed time preferred? Please schedule an appointment.

Purpose and student preparation in advance:

YES: Questions with brief answers, and guidance on using our computer and 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, web or workshop resources to learn the basics.

NO: One-on-one tutorial on resume basics or letter writing.

YES: We have developed print and online resources for you to thoroughly read and use in advance, and we offer workshops. We are happy to provide reviews after you read:

• Resume guide
• Job search / cover letter writing guidelines
• Reference list instructions, or
• The Career Planning Guide (free to all students to read; pick up during office hours).

Students assigned by professors and instructors to come to walk-in advising must also use the preparation materials available to all students prior to drafting your resume and any other documents, and prior to speaking with an advisor.

Review of documents in hard copy or on laptop: This is at the discretion of the individual advisor. If you don’t bring a hard copy with you, e-mail a copy to yourself in advance that you can access and print via a computer in our Career Resource Center. Even if an advisor is willing to view your resume on your laptop monitor, the advisor is not available to sit with you while you make extensive edits to your document.

Walk-in advising for graduate students

Two options:

1. Graduate students may and do use M-F walk-in advising at Career Services.
2. Walk-in advising just for graduate students is offered:
   - Where: GLC [Graduate Life Center]
   - Room 46 = Study Room, first floor: GLC floor plan map/directions
   - Day/time: Wednesdays, 1:30-5:00 pm
   - Dates fall semester 2011: August 31 through December 7, 2011 (univ closed 11/23/11)
   - Dates spring semester 2012: TBA.

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

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 long, between hours of 8:30 am - noon and 1:30 - 4:00 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.

To schedule: Call 231-6241 or stop by our location during office hours.
We do not schedule appointments via e-mail.

Where: In-person at our location, or by phone for those not in the Blacksburg vicinity.

Topics: See things we can (and can't!) help you with so you'll know what to do before your appointment, and so you'll know the correct source to find help.

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 to, by college.

Career advising by major:

Departmental Career Advisors: Faculty and/or staff for and in your academic major department. Get advice and guidance, and learn about careers related to your 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. (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.
Chris Ramos, VT student, is your federal student ambassador to help VT students learn about federal internships & jobs. More about his partnership with Career Services. Chris will be assisting with the fall 2011 federal job & internship workshops.

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.