Welcome!
The Vandy in Exploration Career Community is dedicated to providing you with the fundamental knowledge and skills you need to navigate the competitive job market with confidence and to empowering you to align your passions with meaningful careers. Join our community to access resources and events, to tap into a unique network of alumni and employers, and to find opportunities in any industry. Get ready to unlock a world of opportunities as you embark on your path to a rewarding career!
Stay in the Know: Career Exploration Opportunities
Want to receive a biweekly newsletter with events, resources, and opportunities tailored to your interest in exploring different career paths? Make sure you鈥檙e signed up through Handshake!
How to Subscribe:
Log in to .
Click your initials in the top right corner and select My Career Interests.
Scroll to the Vandy In Communities section and select Exploration (and any other communities you're interested in).
That鈥檚 it! You鈥檒l start receiving curated updates straight to your inbox.
Handshake Profile Completion: Handshake will provide you with personalized job recommendations based on the information you enter on your profile. This allows you to discover jobs and internships that are relevant to you! Employers are also more likely to proactively reach out to you with job opportunities and event invitations if your profile is complete. .
Vandy in Exploration Toolkit
Recruiting timelines, career paths, quick start resources, and more.
Individual Coaching Sessions
Sign up for an individual coaching session with our Exploration Career Coach, James Hoon. Individual coaching sessions will focus on broader career/major exploration, internship/job searching, networking & LinkedIn profiles, and more. If you would like feedback on your resume/cover letter, please attend one of the Career Center鈥檚 drop-in sessions. Please sign up for a coaching session using Handshake under 鈥淰andy in Exploration鈥�.
- ?: Features 100 major profiles with information on common career paths, types of employers that hire in the field, and strategies to maximize opportunities. Scroll to the bottom of each profile for links to professional associations, occupational outlook information, and job search resources.
- : Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, CareerOneStop allows you to explore your skills, interests, and desired work values using quick, easy-to-use self-assessment tools. They also feature hundreds of videos that go into detail about the ins & outs (tasks, work settings, education needed) of different occupations. CareerOneStop also features several articles on how to plan your job search, the importance of networking, interview etiquette, and more!
- : A career exploration platform designed around informing students about what different careers entail as well as how to put your best foot forward to secure your dream internship/job. Vault also publishes rankings of the best opportunities/companies within different industries. Provided by the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries, you will need to create an account using your 国产原创 credentials to access this resource.
- : Vault is excited to provide undergrad and grad students with a resource that helps them apply to, interview with, and select the right internship programs for them. This resource includes the best of Vault's internship advice, rankings, reviews, and research鈥攁ll in one place. It includes rankings and reviews of the best internship programs by role and industry, resume and cover letter tips, and expert advice for networking, interviewing, and turning internships into full-time offers. Vault's new Intern Resource Center has everything students need to ensure their success throughout the internship process.
- : Interested in learning who the top companies are for your industry? Check out some of the listings on Vault鈥檚 Career Ranking page. There are also rankings for best internships/jobs based on employee wellbeing, diversity, and professional growth.
- : Vault鈥檚 career guides offer industry insights into what it takes to land your dream job in your chosen profession. If you鈥檙e still exploring your options and you want to know what different industries look like, this is a great opportunity for you!
- : Helps job seekers access the 70% of jobs that are never published on public job boards. Recognizing that who you know is critical and many job seekers have limited networks, CareerShift鈥檚 mission is to level the job playing field and provide equitable access to job opportunities. CareerShift breaks the cycle of waiting for employers to contact you and puts you in control of your job search. CareerShift provides a powerful set of job search, organization, and management tools to enable job seekers to find the companies, jobs, and contacts that will advance their careers. When creating an account, you will need to put 国产原创 into the Group or School Identifier box to get access to this resource for free!
Your resume is an expression of how you want to present yourself to employers, therefore, it can look however you would like it. With that being said, however, keep the industry that you are applying for in mind as you are developing your resume (you can have more creative liberty in an arts & media-related resume versus a business resume). Listed below are some example resumes that follow a more traditional format.
- & Resume Example (PDFs)
A cover letter is another professional document that typically accompanies a resume when applying for internships/jobs. This is another way to showcase your skills and share how they will benefit you in the role you are applying for. These will need to be tailored for each position that you are applying for.
- : For this template, you will need to replace/answer the sections in red. There are example answers for how to go about answering these attached as comments to each question.
Recruitment Timeline
While certain industries have specific recruiting timelines* (e.g., consulting, finance & investment banking), most industries use a method of hiring known as 鈥渏ust-in-time recruiting.鈥� This method of recruiting means that most jobs are posted when they are needed/made available. Because of this, you will see internship/job opportunities being posted throughout the academic year.
*If you are interested in one of these time-bound industries, please set up a meeting with the Career Coach for that community as soon as possible to ensure that you are on the right track!
Gain Experience
Finding Internships
When it comes to finding internships, there are two main ways to approach the search. One is through using resources like Handshake, LinkedIn, and other job search websites. The other is by tapping into your network to see what jobs they might know of that haven鈥檛 been made public. It is important to balance both of these methods for a successful job search!
If you want assistance in navigating these job search websites or how to start building out your network, sign up for an individualized coaching session!
Beyond Internships
To paraphrase Scottish poet Robert Burns: No matter how thoughtfully something is planned, those plans can still fall apart. We recognize the stress that comes with planning out your summer if your internship goals fall through. Because of this, we have developed a way of designing your summer called Beyond Internships.
Beyond Internships is the intentional layering of experiences throughout the summer that you can include in a resume, cover letter, and talk about in an interview. Take advantage of the time you have and build out a program that fits your interests and future career goals. At the end of the day, employers want to see how you take initiative and spend your time. Purposeful planning of these experiences will prove just as valuable as an internship. Below, you will find some of the pieces we recommend building your summer experience from! If you have any questions on what these experiences are, feel free to schedule a coaching appointment or swing by our drop-in hours.