Office of Career Services Home Page Undergraduates Start Page Graduate Students Start Page Alumni & Alumnae Start Page Employers Start Page Faculty Start Page Parents & Visitors Start Page

Services for Students

Students use our services for a variety of reasons, including assistance with choosing a major and/or career; finding internships and other experiential opportunities; preparing for graduate and professional school; learning job search strategies; and writing resumes, cover letters, and other types of business correspondence.

Although the Office of Career Services does not directly place students in jobs, we teach students the career planning and job search skills they will need throughout life. We do all we can to encourage students to use our services throughout their years at Princeton University and be active participants in their own career development. The following is a summary of services offered by Career Services. If you have further questions about the career development process and would like to speak with our staff, please contact us at (609) 258-3325.

Career Counseling
Students may work with a career counselor to clarify interests and skills, explore majors and career options, evaluate graduate and professional schools, and develop job search strategies. We are a resource for the "undecided" as well as the "very focused." Appointments are arranged via telephone or by coming to our office in person. We also offer two hours of walk-in appointments every weekday during the school year. Walk-ins are set times for students to ask a career counselor quick questions, and do not have to be scheduled in advance.

Career Assessment
Career assessment is one way of beginning to identify and clarify interests, values, and personality. Information gathered from assessments can be used to begin exploring academic majors and career options. Assessments offered by the Office of Career Services are the Strong Interest Inventory, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, SkillScan and the SIGI Plus computer guidance system. Students must first meet with a counselor to discuss career assessments before completing any (with the exception of SIGI).

Workshops & Career Programs
Regular workshops are offered throughout the academic year, including topics such as how to find an internship, career decision making, resume writing, preparing for interviews, and getting into graduate or professional school. Career Conversations are alumni panels hosted several times each semester, focusing on an array of careers available to Princeton students.

Job Search Assistance
Career counselors consult with students and alumni individually to help develop career goals and job search strategies, according to the unique interests and needs of the individual. Workshops and programs are also offered throughout the year to provide job seekers with the tools they need to secure employment, such as resume writing workshops and career panels. In addition, students may have their resumes and cover letters reviewed by a counselor during walk-ins or appointments, or drop off materials for written feedback.

Career Services offers preparation for interviews through videotaped a mock interview, which assists students with learning strategies for effective communication and presentation of skills. Career Services has partnerships with Experience and MonsterTrak to bring students and alumni hundreds of job listings, available online for ease of access.

Internships
Thousands of internship listings are available through searchable databases and the Career Services library. Regular workshops on internship and summer job search strategies are offered throughout the academic year. Counselors are able to assist students with clarifying interests and identifying experiential opportunities to satisfy those interests while developing skills for the future.

Alumni Careers Network
The ACN is an on-line searchable database of Princeton alumni who have volunteered to provide career-related advice to Princeton students and fellow alumni. With over 4,500 volunteers worldwide, the ACN is a vast resource to tap when considering a career path or networking with professionals.

On-Campus Recruiting
Employers from private, public, and nonprofit organizations come to campus in the fall and spring to interview candidates for permanent and summer opportunities. Career Services utilizes an on-line recruiting management program, called TigerTracks, that enables students to research interview opportunities, submit resumes and cover letters, learn of interview selection, and schedule interview appointment times all via the web. In addition, students may use TigerTracks to fill out a student profile and receive targeted mailings from our office based upon their areas of interest.

Graduate, Law, & Business School Advising
Counselors offer support and advising to assist students with the graduate school process, from identifying fields of interest to offering critiques of personal statements and application materials. Career Services coordinates the visits of several prominent law, business, and graduate schools to campus each year.

Recommendation Service (Credentials)
Students may establish and maintain a confidential credentials file for letters of recommendation for graduate and professional school, fellowships, and scholarships. Copies of letters are sent out on behalf of applicants, upon request. A student may elect to waive the right to view the contents of the file. Files may be opened at any time during one's academic life at Princeton. Upon graduation, there is a fee for this service.

Fairs: Jobs - Internships - Graduate School
Career Services hosts its annual General Interest Career Fair in October, featuring employers from corporate, government and nonprofit settings, and more than 1,000 students. Along with the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, we co-sponsor the annual fall Engineering & Technology Career Fair. Careers in the Public Good, held in the spring, brings a diverse range of non-profit organizations to campus. An Internship Fair is hosted annually in the spring. The Graduate & Professional School Fair is held annually in the fall.

Career Library
Students are welcome to access hundreds of books, periodicals, newsletters, and videotapes providing career profiles and occupational information, company profiles and contact addresses, information about graduate and professional school preparation, job search strategies, internship listings, resumes guides, and interviewing preparation.

Career News Listservs
CareerNews and CareerNews-grad are special e-mail distribution lists delivering up-to-date information about Career Services programs and services, exclusively for Princeton undergraduate and graduate students.