Frequently Asked Questions for Parents and Families
Career Development Center

The University of New Haven has a full-service, comprehensive Career Development Center (CDC) that assists students with all aspects of their career development.

We work with students in finding the right major and career path, conduct educational programs to inform students about career types, job market conditions, and the various paths to success; additionally, we prepare students for their experiential opportunities through one-on-one coaching, resume/cover letter preparation, interviewing practice, and how to locate opportunities. The CDC also holds career fairs, networking events, on-campus interview/recruiting events, maintains alumni contacts, and helps prepare students for graduate school. The friendly, knowledgeable, and student-focused staff works closely with students to develop an individual career action plan that will lead to life-long career success. Through our Peer Career Advisors, a group of students trained to provide career assistance to their fellow students, career assistance is available in the residence halls, classrooms, library, and other locations around campus, including during evenings and weekends.

Yes. The Career Development Center has both people and resources to assist students in choosing a major or an academic course of study. Our experienced Career Advisors work individually with students to identify areas of interest and strength, and have conversations to begin focusing on academic programs that match. Your student can take FOCUS, a computer-assisted career guidance system that will suggest potential career areas to explore based on interests, abilities, personality, and values. It is always recommended that your student meet with a Career Advisor after taking FOCUS to discuss results and compose a plan for follow-up action. We also offer a one-credit course every Fall semester called "Discovering Majors and Careers" that guides students through the major selection process with weekly class meetings, career assessment activity, career exploration assignments, and conversations to illuminate major and career choices for each student. Recently we became the first university in the nation to utilize an algorithm-based candidate matching system that allows employers to connect with students with the major, skills, and qualifications they seek, creating significant engagement opportunities for students with our employer partners.

The Career Development Center partners with local, regional and national companies and organizations in for-profit, not-for-profit and governmental sectors to ensure that we are providing opportunities for students in every major. The primary focus of this relationship development is to build the on-campus recruiting program that directly connects employer partners with students for internship and job opportunities. Each year we host over 300 organizations on campus for recruiting purposes, post 1500+ jobs and internships, bring alumni back to campus to connect with students, and partner with faculty to develop contacts for students. We conduct a number of events designed to provide connections between students and employers including three major annual on-campus career fairs, employer information tables and sessions, on-campus interviewing, networking events, seminars, and professional development workshops, all free of charge for students.

Through our employer and alumni connections, on-campus recruiting programs, career fairs, and the hundreds of internship opportunities posted to our job posting site, Handshake, the Career Development Center can absolutely help students locate internship opportunities. Aside from our direct connections, we employ a variety of techniques to teach students how to locate positions in their majors as well as companies in which they are interested. Students also connect with internships through their academic departments, with support from the CDC.

The Career Development Center assists with resumes by offering students opportunities to attend a resume-writing workshop, to submit their resume online for review, and to meet with a Career Advisor to learn how to build a great resume from scratch. Additionally, we partner with faculty across campus to conduct in-class resume workshops and work with staff, student groups, Athletics, and other programs to integrate resume and career development into their programs. The CDC staff has experience reviewing resumes in all degree programs, and stays abreast of employer preferences and feedback regarding resumes to ensure our students are successfully conveying their experiences and skills to employers in a format that produces results.

The Career Development Center has several resources available to students to help them learn and master interviewing skills. Students meet with a Career Advisor to learn the strategies behind a successful interview and begin practicing those strategies right away. Our staff will review important interviewing questions and conduct a mock interview so students get immediate feedback on their performance. Additionally, we offer an online mock interview system where students record themselves answering questions and submit those videos for review by the CDC staff. Our Peer Career Advisors work with student clubs and organizations to provide interview training and workshops. Most importantly, through collaborations with several academic programs, students participate in professional mock interview events where employers and alumni come to campus to conduct mock interviews for students, providing a hands-on simulation with immediate feedback for students to practice this vital career management skill.

Yes. The Career Development Center helps students begin the application process for graduate school by providing information on how to research graduate and professional schools, exam preparation resources, personal statement reviews, and general application tips. The CDC, in collaboration with several departments on campus, hosts an annual Graduate School Week with a series of events, workshops, and information sessions to help students understand the graduate school, application process, write their personal statements, become acquainted with admissions requirements and exams, and learn how to finance graduate school. The CDC also collaborates with faculty advisors for pre-law and pre-med for specific student needs in applying to related professional programs. Faculty also serve as valuable resources for students to learn about graduate school and locate programs that match with student career and academic goals.

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