Advising for students by Career and Professional Development

• Career and Professional Development (CPD) provides career-related advising appointments to Virginia Tech undergraduate and graduate students.
• CPD advising is open to alumni within two years after graduation.
• Alumni who are two years past graduation should see Alunmi Relations career resources.
• If you are unable to schedule an appointment through Handshake, or don't see the appointment option you need, please call us; our reception staff will work to assist you.

• Advising is offered by Zoom, phone, and in person.
• In-person appointments are held in the Smith Career Center.
• Do not come to Smith Career Center if you have any cold symptoms or are not feeling well. If you have scheduled an in-person appointment and are not feeling well or have cold symptoms, please call us and change your appointment to virtual, or reschedule.
• The Virginia Tech Ready site provides information about health and safety for the university community, including mask requirements.

• 30 minutes for most appointments.
• 15 minutes for mini-appointments (for resume reviews and quick questions). If you need more time, you are welcome to schedule a 30-minute advising appointment.
• 60 minutes for career-exploration follow-up (after initial 30-minute appointment).
• For graduate students, we also offer 60-minute appointments.
• Practice interviews are 30 minutes for undergraduate and master's level students, and 60 minutes for Ph.D. students.
• You'll see the options when you schedule an appointment in Handshake.

• Fifteen minutes goes by quickly! And your advisor has to be on time to speak to the next student after you.
• Mini-appointments are for quick resume reviews, quick cover letter reviews, and other very brief advising.
• There is not ample time to explain how to write a resume, so see our resume guide and reference list instructions in advance.
• Ditto for a cover letter, so see cover letter guidelines before you seek a review.
• Have your document ready to view when your appointment starts.
• Of course you are welcome to make another appointment for another review after you make edits.
• Some common questions that students ask are answered in our Career Q&A Today quick videos by our CPD advisors, and might help answer your questions, or be a good start before an appointment.

• Business hours: usually M-F, 8am-5pm. See office hours for changes/closings.
• Occasional once-a-week-evening hours for mini-appointments.
• Same-day appointments are not scheduled.
• If you have a pressing question, or office hours don't work for you, please call us; our reception staff will work to assist you.

• For better service to our students, and for safety, there is no drop-in advising offered by CPD at Smith Career Center.
• Drop-in does not provide an appointment, does not guarantee advising, and when offered in the past caused unsafe overcrowding.

• Call 540-231-6241 during office hours.
• Appointments are not scheduled via email.
• Students interested in health profession graduate programs, see Health Professions Advising.

• If you need to cancel your appointment, you must either call us 540-231-6241 or cancel online using Handshake.
• Please don't schedule casually and cancel at the last minute. An appointment is time given to and held for you, and therefore is not available to another student who needs assistance. Thank you for respecting your commitment.

• No-showing for an appointment leads to confusion; your advisor is likely to wonder if you are safe if you do not attend your appointment; and this applies to virtual appointments. Your advisor has prepared and is ready and waiting to speak with you. If you realize you cannot attend an appointment, contact us to cancel, as explained above.
• It's important for you to know that employers view students who no-show for appointments and interviews as unprofessional and as having stolen the interview timeslot from someone else. We sincerely do not want you to make mistakes of that kind. We want you to put your best self forward as you apply for jobs, internships, and graduate school. Employers and admissions staff expect professional, responsible conduct; if we did not tell you that, we would be remiss in our commitment to give you honest advice. If someone tells you it's okay to no-show, that person is not giving you good advice. You know this if you have had someone no-show on you. Practice being well-organized and plan for delays so you establish habits to be a reliable person who keeps your commitments!
  

• If the university announces a closing, advising appointments are cancelled during the closed hours.
• You may reschedule in Handshake, or call after the university re-opens.

CPD advising can cover these career topics and more:

• Self-assessment and exploring careers and majors
• Seeking experience during college, including internships and cooperative education
• Seeking post-graduation employments, including job search skills and stragegies
• Federal job & internship search
• Developing professionalism skills for success in the workplace.
• Planning for graduate or professional school
• Having a practice interview

If you are uncertain if we can assist you with your topic of concern, please call us. Our staff will help determine if you should talk with us or consult another office on campus.

We have information and resources for student populations:

• Graduate students
• International students
• Disability resources
• Student veterans
• Workplace diversity
• LGBTQ+

• Scheduling in Handshake will show your options. Whom you meet with could depend on your topic, your college, and whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student. 
• Possibilities include:
  • An advisor who serves as a liaison to your college. 
  • Additional advisors who meet with students in your college.
  • An advisor who specializes in a topic or program.
  • Graduate students might meet with our advisor who works specifically with graduate students, including those based on the greater Washington, D.C., area campuses of VT.
  • In 15-minute mini-appointments for undergrads (for resume reviews, class assignments, and brief conversations), you usually speak with a peer career advisor.
• We also have advisors who serve as liaisons to other VT populations and offices. If you would like to talk with an advisor who is a liaison to a population group, please call us to schedule by phone.
• If, for any reason, you would like to talk with a specific advisor and you can't see how to do that on Handshake, just call us to schedule by phone. For example, if you met an advisor who held a workshop, and can't find a way to schedule an appointment with that advisor on Handshake, give us a call.

If you are considering a profession that requires graduate or professional school, we are happy to advise you, and we encourge you to read:

• Considering graduate and professional school

Virginia Tech provides additional pre-professional advising:

• Health Professions Advising (HPA) for pre-medical, pre-dental, other health professions. HPA personnel are also part of our CPD staff.
• Pre-law advising
• School of Education provides pre-education advising for teaching and school counseling.
• Pre-veterinary advising available through:
  Health Professions Advising (HPA) in CPD, and
  Virginia-Maryland Coll. of Veterinary Medicine

Along with seeking CPD advising, also be aware:

• Many academic major departments and colleges provide career information, resources, and advising for their students. Look at your major and college websites.
• And see: Career and internship advisors who work in and for colleges and majors

Career Q&A Today are quick videos by our CPD advisors that might answer a question you have.

CPD is not authorized to advise on academic course requirements. Please take advantage of university resources provided for your academic advising needs:

• Your academic advisor in the department that offers your major.
• Transitional Advising for students in transition out of a major, or not accepted into a desired major.

• Referring students to advising
• Advising data