Career advising
Explore majors and career resources
We want you to love your job as much as we love ours. And we really love our jobs. We encourage you to set up a time to visit VCU Career Services as soon as you arrive at VCU.
As a VCU student, you have access to a variety of career resources — including individual career advising, events, job search resources and guides, and full- and part-time job listings posted specifically for VCU talent — to help you navigate every step of your personal career and professional development.
Advising Policies: Please show up to your advising appointment at least five minutes prior to the start of the appointment. If you arrive late, we cannot guarantee that we can see you that day and you may need to reschedule. If needed, please cancel appointments with 24 hours' notice when possible. After first and second no-shows to appointments, you will get an email from the advisor reminding you of our policies. After 3 no-shows you will get a phone call from the advisor warning you that you're in danger of losing access to scheduling appointments. After 5 no-shows in one semester, your access to scheduling appointments is turned off and you will no longer be able to meet with advisors.
Major-specific career advising
Are you a student in the College of Engineering or School of Business? Find out about your options for career advising on the following sites:
Learning objectives
Through engaging with VCU Career Services, students and alumni will be able to...
- Determine their values, skills, and interests and connect them to academic and career choice.
- Understand how to establish and manage their professional relationships effectively.
- Communicate the value of their experiences in relation to role, employer, community, and/or industry needs
- Develop and assess a strategic approach to goal-setting for their career and professional opportunities.
- Apply career development techniques to pursue their professional options.
Career development cycle
Not sure where to start? Explore our career development cycle:
Discover
What do you want to be?
A key to charting a successful future is to fully invest in and contribute to your career goals. The first stage is to discover you. Start by exploring your interests, skills, abilities and values to see how they can relate to your potential career.
- Explore your skills, values and interests through self-reflection and assessments
- Research industry and job market needs through an informational interview or career resources
- Assess your personality and interests as they relate to career choices by taking an assessment such as the Strong Interest Inventory or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
- Develop your long- and short-term goals with your career advisor
- Define success for your personal career
- What areas of study do I like?
- What careers seem interesting to me?
- What effects might this career have on my life?
- Am I choosing this career to please someone else or is it truly my choice?
- What have I always been able to do well?
- Career Genogram
- Industry Research on Social Media Platforms
- Interests Assessments
- Super's Rainbow and Life Role Pie Chart
- LinkedIn Activity
- Mad Lib Mini Biography
- Exercise: Note to Self Activity
- Roadtrip Nation
- SMART Goal Setting Worksheet
- Salary Research
- Transferable Skills
- Values Sort Activity
- Undeclared & Discovery Student Checklist
Reflect
Why do you want to be a … ?
Context is key. It is important to gather information first to discover potential career paths. However, to be successful, you can’t discover in a vacuum. You must reflect on what you have gathered to see how your career choices will fit within the context of family pressure, economic changes and industry shifts, as well as your personal aspirations.
- Interview someone in an industry you’re interested in about their career
- Explore LinkedIn and other networking tools to learn how others got to where you want to go
- Research the industry by reading articles and blogs to learn about current trends
- Glassdoor
- LinkedIn Learning
- My Next Move
- Occupational Outlook Handbook
- O*Net OnLine
- VCU Libraries career guides
- Vault
- Find out where you’ll need to live to be successful in your career
- Why is what I know relevant and needed in this industry?
- Who is someone I admire? What strengths do they have? What have they accomplished?
- What accomplishments or achievements do I have or am I working toward? How will these help me start my career?
- Am I willing to move to a new city, state or country to achieve success?
Focus
You are unique. No one like you exists. How will you show the audience why you are a better investment than your competitors — other graduates and job seekers? Developing your own personal brand allows you to showcase your talents, skills and abilities to a potential employer.
Think about your life as a consumer. What brands catch your attention? What are they known for? Employers and graduate programs are looking for that same brand identity from you.
- Develop a strong resume or CV
- Create tailored cover letters or personal statements
- Develop your personal “elevator pitch”
- Create business cards
- Start or contribute to a blog related to the career you are pursuing
- Who is my audience?
- How can I show the best of myself in 30 seconds or less? What’s the pitch?
- How can I think outside of the box to present myself to employers?
- Who in my class appears to be most likely to get their first-choice job?
- What can I offer an employer that would make them want to hire me?
- Am I using the language an employer would use when I talk about myself?
Connect
Apply what you’ve learned
If you are in a new job or internship, you have committed your skills and work to a new organization, its mission and goals. Use this opportunity to discover new areas to enrich your talents and experiences. Now is the time to set up new goals to further your professional experiences and career path.
- How can I connect with more people in my organization and industry?
- How can I create an opportunity to add value to the organization?
- What does the professional development process look like in this field?
Enrich
What’s next?
The opportunity to enrich your career does not end once you graduate from college or land an internship or full-time job. Career enrichment is a lifelong phase requiring continuous reflection, evaluation and action. Enrichment means keeping up with current trends in your industry and building the skills needed to remain relevant throughout your career.
- Update your LinkedIn profile and use it to keep track of your new professional contacts
- Find industry and professional groups to learn about trends in the industry
- Identify a mentor in your organization or industry to help you learn more about it
- Put your best foot forward by asking questions to understand expectations and norms within your organization
- Learn new skills that will benefit you professionally
- Build and maintain your professional network so you can learn about new opportunities
- Stay updated on the current trends in your industry
- Consider furthering your education
- What do I want out of my next job, and how will I get there?
- What skills or experiences am I missing?
- How can I learn what I need to know to move ahead in my career?
- How have the people I admire gotten ahead in their careers?