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Career Planning

Hokie Family Handbook

Duckpond at dawn, Blacksburg campus
Photo credit: Mary Desmond

Beyond Graduation

Career and Professional Development in the Smith Career Center assists all students at Virginia Tech, in all majors, from first-year through graduate level, throughout their journey of career exploration and professional development. Through our services, students learn job search skills, gain insight into employer expectations, and receive advising and support in their post-graduation job search.

As students discover their career options, our staff can help them with building an effective resumé, developing interview skills, articulating their unique strengths, researching employers, and conducting their job search with integrity, honesty, and professionalism. Virginia Tech students are welcome to visit us at the Smith Career Center to learn about career fairs and events, to develop career-related skills, and to take advantage of our one-on-one advising.

Career and Professional Development also provides information specifically for families to encourage your students in their career development.


Experiential Learning

All students are encouraged to seek experience during college that relates to, and helps them explore, their career goals. There are many ways to get experience, including field study, part-time jobs, summer jobs, mentorships, unpaid internships, paid internships, volunteering, service-learning, shadowing, para-professional opportunities, cooperative education, undergraduate research, co-curricular involvement, and leadership.


Graduate School

Deciding to attend graduate or professional school directly following the undergraduate degree goes hand-in-hand with exploring careers and making career planning decisions. We offer services and advising to help students research graduate programs, and learn about the application process and the demands and expectations of graduate and professional school.


Career Outfitters

Career Outfitters provides free-of-charge shopping for students to obtain new and gently used professional attire. All Virginia Tech students are welcome. No appointment needed. Just drop in during the shopping dates and hours posted on their website.