By Kate Szumanski
Supporting students as they create career and professional development goals and work to accomplish them guides the work of the Professional Development team in the Office for Undergraduate Students. We work closely with the University Career Center to offer our students opportunities to explore careers, experience the world of work and grow into confident young professionals. I’m happy to share our Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 semester programming highlights with you.
Through professional development in the College, we meet students wherever they are—first-year students exploring potential majors and interests, sophomores developing their skills, juniors creating a plan for more in-depth career discovery and seniors planning their next steps.
Our Undergraduate Peer Career Coaching Program launched last year, and I’m thrilled to share that more and more of our students are taking advantage of the opportunity to meet with a well-trained peer coach. I encourage students to log into Handshake and schedule an appointment at a convenient time to meet with one of our peer coaches who provide resume writing, cover letter writing and other meaningful support.
What Students are Saying About CLAS Peer Career Coaching
“I really enjoyed meeting with my CLAS Peer Career Coach. My coach is a student and thus understands very well what other students are going through. They helped me find a few resources to find these jobs, such as Handshake, LinkedIn and Indeed.”
“[My coach] was very caring and invited me to reach out if I had any concerns or was in need of further assistance.”
Connecting Students to Opportunities: Welcome to Career Connections! Career Connections is the bridge that links Villanova students with high-quality career education content. “Connections” was built to empower the community to choose, prepare and attain personally rewarding careers. Check out Career Connections.
The Power of Handshake Students are encouraged to log in to their Handshake account to make an appointment with a peer career coach and to access internship and job postings, industry 101 guides and recorded career-focused webinars. Handshake is a powerful tool that allows students to learn about upcoming employer events, alumni mentoring and networking events, professional skill-building workshops and more. It is a “must” for every student who is thinking about internships and jobs.
Students Can Direct Message Villanova Alumni in Any Industry or Location More than 12,000 alumni working in a variety of industries and geographical locations—who want to support students on their internship and career journeys—are part of Nova Network. This online platform unites all Villanovans and encourages meaningful connection. Students can filter alumni by company name, career level, college major and more. They can even direct message alumni to connect for a phone call or video chat. Students also can join our BRIDGE Society group on Nova Network to connect with alumni and even find an alumni mentor.
Check Out Our Fall 2024 Professional Development Courses One of the best ways CLAS students can explore career opportunities and prepare for the workplace is by enrolling in a one-credit Arts and Sciences Professional Development (ASPD) course. Our courses range greatly across several disciplines, including courses on Professional Development, Personal Finance, Professional Writing, Data Analysis and Understanding Financial Reporting. Some of the courses are devoted to exploring and pursuing careers in specific industries, including management consulting, financial services, creative and performing arts, sustainability and more. Students can search the master course schedule online to find a section that works best for them.
Upcoming Networking, Mentoring and Career-Related Events
8/28: CLAS to Careers: How to Write a Professional Résumé
9/9: CLAS to Careers: How to Write a Professional Résumé
9/23: CLAS to Careers: How to Write a Professional Résumé
10/21: CLAS to Careers: How to Write a Professional Résumé
11/11: CLAS to Careers: How to Write a Professional Résumé
12/2: CLAS to Careers: How to Write a Professional Résumé
8/30: CLAS to Careers: Maximizing Handshake for Career Success
9/13: CLAS to Careers: Maximizing Handshake for Career Success
10/4: CLAS to Careers: Maximizing Handshake for Career Success
9/20: CLAS to Careers: Internships 101
10/18: CLAS to Careers: Internships 101
11/15: CLAS to Careers: Internships 101
9/6: Learn All About the BRIDGE Society and How YOU Can Get Involved!
9/27: Learn All About the BRIDGE Society and How YOU Can Get Involved!
What is the BRIDGE Society?
The BRIDGE Society is a student-led organization designed to help liberal arts and sciences students meet Villanova alumni and other Villanova champions who can support students on their college-to-career journey. Does your student have questions about entering a certain career field? If so, encourage them to participate in one of our upcoming mentoring and networking events where they can ask questions and connect with a Villanova alumni mentor.
You also are invited to participate in our events by serving as a mentor. Feel free to email Kate Szumanski to learn more, or simply register at the links below.
- 9/17/24: Finance and Financial Services
- 10/8/24: Law, Government, and Politics
- 11/12/24: Science, Tech, and Healthcare
- 2/18/25: Communications, Media, Public Relations
- 3/18/25: Consulting
- 4/8/25: Education, Psychology, and Non-Profit
Go-to Resources for Student Internship and Job Seekers You’ve already learned about Handshake and the Nova Network, but do you know about some of the other career development resources that the University Career Center offers to students? Focus2, Interstride (for international students), What Can I Do With This Major? are just a few of the online resources our students can access through—you’ve guessed it!—Handshake. In addition, the University makes LinkedIn Learning available to all students. Through this tool, students can access thousands of career and professional development courses in a range of subjects.
Is a Health Profession in My Future? Villanova’s Health Professions Advising (HPA) Program offers students opportunities to learn more about the many health-related professions that exist and how best to prepare for them. Our advisors meet with students to discuss their short- and long-term goals, academic courses they need to take and much more.
