A Wesleyan education opens up more directions than it narrows down. That is its strength, and it also means the line from what you study to what you do is rarely a straight one. Career advising is where you work out which directions are worth following and how to get there.
An appointment is a working conversation rather than a one-time service. We help you make sense of what you are learning inside and outside the classroom, find and build experiences that test what you are drawn to, and decide what to do next. We start with what you need rather than a set sequence, and most of what makes advising worth your time comes from returning to it as things change.
You do not need a plan, a resume, or a question to make an appointment. Coming in to say you have no idea where to start is a good reason to come in.
Conversations stay between you and your advisor. Our team has been doing this work a long time, and you can keep coming back, through your undergraduate years, and for as long as you need after that.
Jump to: Appointment types · Who you will meet · What you can work on · Getting ready · After
Choosing an Appointment Type
Handshake asks you to choose a category before you book. The categories describe what you want to talk about, not what you have decided.
Resume Reviews & Quick Questions holds two twenty-minute appointments. Resume or Cover Letter Review is for a document you have already drafted, and it is usually with a Peer Career Advisor. Quick Questions is for everything short: getting oriented if you have never been here before, how to use Handshake, where openings in a field are posted, how to answer a question that came up in an interview, how to word an email to an alum.
Five categories are organized by interest area. Choose the one closest to what you want to talk about. You do not have to be studying the field, working in it, or committed to it.
- Arts, Humanities, Media, & Education
- Business & Finance
- Government, Law, & Social Impact
- Health Professions & Public Health
- Science Research, Engineering, & Technology
Interview prep and mock interviews are booked inside these categories too, under the field you are interviewing in. Appointment types vary a little from one category to the next, so open the one you are interested in to see everything it offers, including appointments specific to that field.
Career Advising & Exploration is for open-ended conversations: what you are drawn to, what you might try next, choosing between two directions, or anything career-related that does not fit elsewhere. If you are unsure which category to pick, pick this one. It sits near the bottom of the list in Handshake, and for a lot of students it is the right place to begin.
On-Campus Employment covers finding a job on campus, navigating the hiring and onboarding process, and getting support once you are working.
If your interests span two categories, choose either. Nothing you pick here locks you in.
Thirty minutes or Sixty?
Most career advising appointments are thirty or sixty minutes, and the difference is how much ground you need to cover rather than how far along you are.
Thirty minutes suits a focused question, a check-in on a search already underway, or feedback on a specific application. Sixty suits a first conversation about direction, planning a search from the beginning, working out how to approach alumni, or a longer look at graduate school plans and personal statements. Students who work with an advisor over time use both.
Who You Will Meet With
All of our career advisors work with students who are still exploring. We are also loosely organized around Wesleyan’s academic divisions, which gives each of us a set of fields we know well, employers we talk with regularly, and alumni we stay in touch with.
You are not assigned an advisor, and many students meet with more than one. If you are drawn to entertainment law or healthcare consulting, two of us will each have something different to offer. We also work with alumni navigating career transitions at any stage.
Peer Career Advisors are highly trained Wesleyan students who work with you on resumes and cover letters, questions about Handshake, and a first look at anything you have in progress. To meet with a PCA, book under Resume Reviews & Quick Questions on Handshake, or stop by the GCC and we will find you an open slot that day if we have one.
What You Can Work on with an Advisor
Finding direction. Sorting out what you are drawn to, what you are good at, and where those overlap with job market demands today and in the future. We can also talk through how an interest might connect to what classes you take and what you do over a summer, though your class dean and faculty advisor are the people to see about the curriculum itself.
Exploring possibilities. Fields you have not heard of, roles you did not know existed inside fields you have, and the ones that have emerged only recently. Advising is where you can range across industries, compare paths that look nothing alike, and figure out where your interests sit at the intersection of a few of them. We can also point you toward employer information sessions, career treks, and Wesleyan alumni whose paths might be worth a conversation.
Searching for jobs and internships. Where openings live in your field, how to find the ones that are never posted, and when the hiring cycle starts. A search in investment banking looks nothing like a search in museum work, and the calendars are months apart. Internships in particular have become intensely competitive across every sector, finance and consulting as much as theater, publishing, public interest, and the arts, and timing matters more than most students expect.
Landing experiences. Internships, full-time jobs, campus jobs, research positions, and graduate or professional school applications all take a dedicated search and strong application, and we can help you plan yours, from a target list to the follow-up. If a summer looks unaffordable on paper, we can also talk through funding.
Developing application materials. Resumes, cover letters, personal statements, CVs, and portfolios, whatever you are applying to. We will look at drafts as many times as you need. Start with the Resume Toolkit or or the cover letter and CV guides.
Preparing for interviews. A full mock interview when you want the whole experience, or a session on one piece of it: how to approach an interview if you have never done one, how to prepare for a behavioral or case interview, or refining the answer to a question that keeps tripping you up. Book these under your interest area, since conventions vary by industry.
Networking with alumni. Who to reach out to, what to say, and how to follow up. Wesleyan alumni are unusually willing to talk with students, and knowing how to ask is what opens that door. Our networking guide covers the mechanics.
Decisions, offers, and negotiation. Comparing options, thinking through fit, reading the full package rather than just the base salary, and negotiating before you accept. The window between an offer and a decision is often short, so book as soon as you have one on the table. If a deadline is close, stop by the GCC or email us and we will do our best to fit you in.
Getting Ready for your Appointment
You do not need to prepare anything, or arrive knowing what to ask.
If you do have something specific, bring it. A draft resume, a job posting you are considering, the three things you cannot decide between. If you would like your advisor to read something beforehand, email it ahead or send a link.
Appointments can be in person or virtual, and you choose when you book. We are on the first floor of Boger Hall at 41 Wyllys Avenue. If you need an accommodation, let us know ahead of time and we will make it work.
If you need to cancel, do it in Handshake or email us at careercenter@wesleyan.edu as early as you can so the time can go to another student.
After your Appointment
A first conversation usually turns up a few things to look into, and the follow-up is where the picture starts to fill in. Coming back once or twice, across a semester or a few years, is where advising does its best work.
Book again with the same advisor or with someone new, depending on what you are working on. You do not need a reason, and it is fine if you have not done what you said you would.
Advising continues after graduation. Alumni come back to us when they are applying to graduate or professional school, when a first job turns out to be the wrong fit or they are moving into a new field, or when they are considering a change years in.
Other Ways to Work with Us
- Meet with a Peer Career Advisor for feedback on a document or a quick question
- Search Handshake for jobs, internships, and events, and book appointments there too
- Attend an event or employer info session to build a skill, meet a recruiter, or hear from alumni
