1) Activate your Handshake account
- On Handshake, students can:
- Find internships and jobs that fit students' academic and career interests
- Register for career fairs and workshop
- Make an appointment with a JMU Career Advisor
- To activate your Handshake account, click on the (1) button or visit jmu.joinhandshake.com
2) Schedule a career advising appointment at least once a year
- Meet with a Career Advisor to receive 1-on-1 attention and a personalized action plan to
- Choose the best-fitting career path(s)
- Create resume, cover letter, Handshake and LinkedIn profile
- Search for jobs, internships, or graduate schools
- To schedule an appointment, click on the (2) button or visit jmu.joinhandshake.com/appointments
3) Attend University Career Fairs every semester
- Career fairs are the best settings for all students (across all majors and class years) to practice introducing themselves, their backgrounds, and skills
- With practice, students will be more comfortable and effective with networking
- At each career fair, spend 30 minutes talking to 5 organizations
- To view info about career fairs at JMU, click on the (3) button or visit jmu.edu/career/careerfairs
4) Connect classes to potential career paths
- Coursework is a student’s best asset for any internships, jobs, or graduate programs they seek
- To highlight coursework, students must articulate the knowledge, skills, or perspectives they gain from specific courses and relate it to their career ideas
- To learn more about career options for each major at JMU, check out our "Career Guide" by clicking on the (4) button
5) Pursue internships, work-related, and volunteer experiences
- These experiences allow students to apply academic knowledge, try out occupations, and develop a professional network - these experiences will improve students’ candidacy for whichever career paths they pursue
- Handshake is a great place to start your internship search
- To get started: Utilize student resources, find jobs/internships for your major, or make a career advising appointment
University Career Center
