The University of Virginia offers many resources to jump-start students’ professional careers. At times, it can all feel overwhelming. The common choice overload issue push many students to keep procrastinating on their career prospects.
With the constant stream of emails flooding your inbox, it’s easy to think there are countless opportunities lying ahead, so you might decide to begin your internship hunt at a later time.
UVa provides a platform for its students to explore the job market through the Career Center located in Newcomb on central Grounds. In addition to a myriad of resources — like Handshake, an online networking tool; resume & cover letter workshops; and career counseling — the UVA Career Center offers three fantastic services: the Job Fair, the Internship Placement Program, and the Career Peer Educator Program.
The first job and internship fair of the spring 2018 semester took place Jan. 31st through Feb. 1st, and the next job and internship fair will take place on April 5th. However, a number of smaller career fairs will take place in the coming months.
The University hosted several recruiters interested in hiring students for internships and full-time jobs, including Oracle, Deutsche Bank, Microsoft, Bohler Engineering, Walker & Dunlop LLC, The Defense Intelligence Agency, Fund for the Public Interest, Teach for America, and PRA Health Sciences.
Olivia Rusnak, college recruiter from Oracle said, “We work with all fortune-500 companies. Oracle offers a complete cloud solution–software service, platform service, and infrastructure service–so we work with our customers to optimize their business skills.” She went over a variety of manufacturing, sales, and technology solutions that Oracle has successfully innovated for client firms like Best Buy.
When asked why Oracle chooses to recruit UVa students, Rusnak said, “Two reasons: first, several alumni from UVa have successfully come to work with us at Oracle over the years. Second, we look for people who work hard, only the best types of students. We have a list of 50 of the top schools in the country, and UVa is always on that list. The students here are so motivated; they have initiative.”
Rusnak then explained the sort of traits that Oracle is looking for in students. “We’re looking for a lot of new talents. Not just academic stuff, but outside academics. We want to make sure employees can bring ideas and innovations, think outside of the box. For example, if you study economics then its not enough just to do what they teach you in school. Use economics and apply your knowledge to new innovations.”
Skye Stansbury, asset manager at real-estate consulting firm Walker & Dunlop LLC, explained that her company recruits UVa students because “UVa grads are always willing to learn. They’re capable of being trained extremely fast and have a strong chance of [earning] early promotion opportunities.”
Students want to know that companies will treat them well, which is why UVA’s new Internship Placement Program (IPP) aims to match students with 300+ employers in Charlottesville. Applications for IPP are due by March 1st.
IPP works to demystify the process of networking, through which students are encouraged to navigate all 4 years of school.
One of the best ways to stop procrastinating is to simply get started and see how the University Career Office can help you find your path.
Students can work with career office professionals and peer educators to prepare for future job fairs. For more details, visit: https://career.virginia.edu/
