Tools & Resources
The Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD) offers a wide array of in-person career services for degree-seeking students to help prepare them for Life after Mary Washington. We offer the same services to alumni of the University. Our office strives to reinforce to our students and graduates the importance of the ten core competencies and how they will contribute positively to their lives and careers.
Some highlights of what the CCPD provides include:
- Individual and group career coaching for all years and all majors
- Pre-law and pre-health coaching
- Two Career and Internship Fairs per year
- Regular events to promote professional preparation
- Weekly drop-in hours staffed by Peer Career Consultants for quick questions or document reviews
Network MaryWash
Network MaryWash is a system that enables students and alumni to quickly and easily connect for internship, career, and other advice. Ask a question online, and our system will find the alumni best equipped to answer, so you’ll receive responses from those with the most relevant experience.
Focus 2
Focus-2 is an easy-to-use online career self-assessment system that can help you explore your values, interests, personality, and skills and their relation to possible majors/programs and careers. With access via the web, you can explore career options for all the majors/programs offered at UMW, using self-guided, interactive exercises.
All information can be saved as you go for quick and easy retrieval, and all results can be combined in a personal portfolio. You can print out all your results yourself. We also recommend you meet with a career coach to further explain your results and discuss career planning.
Handshake
Handshake is an online recruiting platform for higher education students and alumni that partners with universities and employers to streamline and simplify the recruiting process. The employers on Handshake are working directly with universities to recruit students. The University of Mary Washington has chosen to partner with Handshake because it is an excellent platform for students to find everything from their first internship to the job that launches them in to their dream career.
The membership on Handshake is made up of over 14 million students and alumni from over 800 universities.
Big Interview
Big Interview is a FREE interview training system that features a new and innovative way to help you prepare more effectively for a job interview. Training and practice are combined to help improve your interview technique and build your confidence. You can access a video curriculum and question library to learn how to craft your answers and then record your responses to review yourself or share with others for feedback.
Forage
Forage offers web-based simulations of work assignments for employers across a range of industries. This tool is designed to give students realistic job previews and facilitate access to employers seeking their talent.
Virginia Talent + Opportunity Partnership Courses
The Virginia Talent + Opportunity Partnership (V-TOP) offers courses to help students develop workplace readiness skills and prepare for successful internships. Invest in your professional development by taking their free, online, self-paced courses to get workforce-ready.
My Next Move
My Next Move is a tool designed to help you learn what careers and industries best align with your interests and talents. This site, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, offers informational videos, job descriptions, skill profiles, salary data and economic projections of the demand for jobs.
CareerOneStop Interest Assessment
The Interest Assessment matches your interests to careers. You answer 30 short questions by saying how much interest you have in different activities. Those answers create your Interest Profile. Then you see a list of careers that are good matches for your specific Interest Profile.
Resume Writing Tips and Samples
As you write or update your resume, it is important to remember a few things:
- A one-page resume is the general recommendation for college students.
- Organize your information in reverse chronological order within each section of your resume.
- Avoid templates, especially those with shading, boxes, and lots of underlining, which are hard for Automated Tracking Systems (ATS) to read.
- Avoid headers and footers, which are also hard for ATS to read.
- Be sure to proofread your resume so that it is consistent in terms of formatting and font, and does not contain typos or grammatical errors.
- By sophomore year in college, most, if not all, of your high school content should be removed from your resume.
- The Career Center coaches are here to work with you as you craft or update your resume. You can set up an appointment for a resume review via Handshake. You can also drop in for a quick resume review with a Peer Career Consultant (hours vary by semester; fall 2024 hours are Wednesday, 10:00am to 1:00pm, and Thursday, 9:00am to 11:00am).
- Below you will find some sample resumes. We recommend that you look at several, as you may find formatting elements from a couple that you wish to incorporate into your own document.
- If you have any questions, feel free to contact the Career Center at ccpd@umw.edu
