GRADUATE STUDENTS
The Career Management Team creates opportunities for graduate students to develop skills essential to their professional development and make connections in the professional community.
With this in mind, we offer tailored advising and guidance as well as online resources that use the latest technology to network, polish your resume, job search, prepare for an interview and more.
Career resources and services for graduate students are available through the Career Management department. Our one-on-one advising and resources are crafted and selected for you as experienced students and professionals. Whether you need to take a deep dive into a career development topic, or you are short on time, we have resources at the ready for you.
Workshops are one hour recorded webinars and checklists are quick one-pagers. In addition to these on-demand resources, grad students are encouraged to meet with a career counselor.
CAREER COACHING
Access a masters-level career counselor to provide personalized, one-on-one support for your professional needs. Appointments are available virtually or on campus. Coaching sessions will be held by Casey Hilferty, Associate Director, Career Management.
CASEY HILFERTY, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CAREER MANAGEMENT
About Casey:
Casey brings nearly 10 years of experience in higher education, including career and professional development. Prior to her role at Villanova, she served as Associate Director of Career Development at Gwynedd Mercy University. In this position, Casey worked with undergraduate, graduate and alumni populations in all phases of their careers, and gained significant experience in programming, event planning and industry advising.
She began her career at Lehigh University’s College of Business and Economics working with students on their professional development skills. Casey is currently a Higher Education & Student Affairs doctoral candidate at St. Cloud State University. She holds an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from Lehigh University and a B.A. in History from Moravian University.
HELPFUL CHECKLISTS
As a graduate student, you might be juggling multiple priorities while earning your advanced degree. If that sounds like you, see these checklists from Villanova’s Career Management team that highlight best practices in the following areas:
GradADVANCE
Immersion Programs
RESOURCES
Resume Workshop for Experienced Professionals
Has it been a while since you brushed up your resume? Learn how to think like a recruiter when updating it. Review the basic rules of resume writing, plus cover tips to customize it so each line stands out to the hiring manager. This recorded workshop, developed by Villanova’s Career Management team, will demonstrate practical suggestions to enhance your resume and review best practices for cover letter writing.
Virtual Resume Review Tool
With ResumeAI, you can receive immediate feedback on your resume writing and immediate coaching on improving. You can receive guidance on readability, credibility, ATS Fit and more. ResumeAI Feedback can also be used as a complement to human assessments from staff members and/or other mentors.
We recommend using ResumeAI to score your resume before coming in for an appointment. While ResumeAI is not a substitute for an in-person resume review, it will help you better understand what aspects of your resume may need attention and how to correctly format a resume.
CV: Curriculum Vitae
Check out Villanova’s checklist to ensure that your CV is the best it can be when applying to academic applications including jobs, grants and research fellowships.
Cover Letter Workshop
A well-written cover letter can make your application stand out from the crowd. Hear from Meredith Okenquist '96, Director of Career Management, on tips to write an effective cover letter. This cover letter workshop primarily covers a deep dive into resume writing; the cover letter best practices are toward the end at 41:15 minutes along.
Handshake is Villanova's go-to resources for jobs, internships and connecting with employers. It connects you to relevant opportunities based on your profile, interests and search activity.
Initial Log-In: When you log in for the first time, you will be prompted to create your profile and upload a resume into the system. Basic student profile information - including major(s), minor(s) and GPA - will automatically sync from your Villanova account.
- You can select My Profile at any time to add or edit profile information or documents.
- The Documents tab will allow you to add resumes, cover letters and other application materials as well as build your profile directly from your uploaded resume.
- Graduate student accounts on Handshake default to “first year/freshman” as your class year. This can be corrected in the My Profile section by using the edit button above the profile picture area.
- Special Note: Making your profile and a resume visible to "Community" will allow employers to search for and contact you based on your interests and additional profile information.
- Notification Preferences allow you to determine how you want Handshake to communicate important information to you – via push notifications, general notifications and/or email.
- Select Career Interests to specify your goals based on geographic location, career goals and industry & job preferences. Complete this section to receive more relevant opportunities and personalized recommendations!
Remember: The more you include in your profile and career interests, the better Handshake can populate your newsfeed with opportunities that matter to you. Keep it relevant and keep it updated!
Privacy: Upon initial login, you have the option to share your profile information with employers by selecting or de-selecting the checkbox under the “Yes, I want employers to be able to find and view my profile” area. As a note, Handshake will default to a fully private profile unless you select otherwise.
- You can change this setting at any time by visiting your Settings & Privacy. Choose the Account tab and find the checkbox to change your preference (Community, Employers or Private).
- You can elect to hide your GPA even if you have a public profile. Simply visit your Profile Settings, select the “Edit” icon (a small pencil) and locate your GPA within the Education field. You can then un-check the box that says "Hide from employers." Handshake will default to a public GPA for a public profile unless you select otherwise.
The Nova Network is Villanova’s social and professional network and home to nearly 20,000 alumni, students, faculty and staff. Grad students may search the community by company, city, or industry of interest and directly connect for a networking meeting.
Nova Network houses on-demand workshops and checklists on best practices on resume writing, LinkedIn, interviewing, offer negotiation and more. These are tailored to the experienced professional. Grad students may also choose from 45+ groups in industry, region or experiential communities to connect with Villanovans and stay current.
Leverage LinkedIn
Did you know 90 percent of recruiters regularly use LinkedIn? Is your profile standing out to them? In a recorded webinar delivered by Director of Career Management, Meredith Okenquist ‘96, she covers best practices for building or revising a standout profile. Designed for experienced students and professionals like you, tips were shared on how to make connections, engage in groups, be found by relevant employers, and network your way to continued success on LinkedIn.
Short on time? Our checklist on leveraging LinkedIn can help.
Networking Checklist
If you’re wondering where else to make connections, how to deepen professional relationships and eager to learn best practices for engaging in impactful networking conversations, Villanova has a practical checklist for you.
Are you anticipating a career transition? There are so many resources, search engines and sources of information out there. This presentation is delivered by the Director of Career Management, Meredith Okenquist ’96, who will help you navigate your way through the job search and share Villanova’s trusted and vetted resources with you to ensure you are preparing for continued career success through an ever-changing market. Industries thriving under current conditions will be discussed for consideration.
Handshake
This mobile career management platform intuitively connects you to relevant opportunities based on your profile, interests and search activity. Through Handshake, you can apply for positions, explore companies and connections and sign up for career fairs and workshops all in one place.
Trusted External Job Search Engine
Looking for jobs in a few different locations? Want to find contact information for people who work at employers of interest? Through Villanova, you have access to search internship and job listings as well as company and people profiles from all around the web in one place with CareerShift. With CareerShift, you can:
- Search, select and store job listings from all job boards and all company job postings.
- Get up-to-date contact information, including e-mail addresses, for millions of companies.
- Create personal marketing campaigns, including unlimited resumes and cover letters easily, and save them to access, print or e-mail.
We often recommend using CareerShift in conjunction with accessing the opportunities and resources available in Handshake. Check it out and talk with a career counselor about how you can incorporate this tool into your search. We have a helpful walkthrough video for you to view before using CareerShift.
Career Planning for PhD, Post PhD students and Postdoctoral Scholars
Ph.D. Candidates: Explore a partial list of popular resources if you are seeking to launch careers outside of academia.
Explore ImaginePhD, a free online career exploration and planning tool for PhD students and postdoctoral scholars in the humanities and social sciences.
Interviewing Workshop for Experienced Professionals
So, you’ve landed the interview? Great news! Now, learn how to land the position by brushing up on your interview skills. This presentation will cover the stages of the interview which start long before the phone screen. Learn how to properly research the employer, prepare to communicate your examples and evaluate transferrable skills and resources Villanova offers you for practicing these skills. Lastly, learn about critical follow-up steps that were once deemed optional.
Prepare and Practice Interviewing Online
The Villanova University Career Center is pleased to offer a training system that features a new and innovative way to help students prepare more effectively for job interviews.
Big Interview is an online system that combines training and practice to help improve interview techniques and build confidence. Check out this demonstration to get the most from the resource.
Through Big Interview, graduate students have at their disposal a variety of tools including:
- Challenging, virtual mock interviews for all experience levels and dozens of industries
- A database of thousands of interview questions with tips on how to answer them
- The ability to rate and share interview answers for feedback
- A comprehensive video training curriculum covering all aspects of landing a job
- A step-by-step interview Answer Builder for crafting answers to behavioral questions
Interviewing Checklist
Short on time? Check out this Interviewing Checklist for Experienced Professionals for quick and easy steps to prepare for your next interview!
The final phase of a job search can be both exciting and intimidating. Both you and your new employer want to land on an agreement that is mutually beneficial and sustainable. This presentation will cover negotiation considerations for compensation, benefits, sign-on bonuses and more. In this recorded webinar presented by Director of Career Management, Meredith Okenquist ’96, we take a deep dive into all the elements of a job offer that you can consider for a negotiation with your new employer.
ALREADY HAVE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE?
The Villanova Career Management team provides career counseling and coaching services to Villanova University graduate students and alumni. For all alumni of graduate programs, our Career Management team is the primary resource for providing coaching services, including up to three career coaching sessions available per academic year (June 1 – May 31). No-shows and cancellations by the student/alumni are included in the three sessions.
School of Business Graduate Students: Please note, the VSB Grad Professional Development Team is available to meet your coaching needs.