Center for Engineering Career Development Blog

It's almost time for a winter break!
We hope that the break is a time for rest, reflection, hobbies, personal projects, catching up with friends and family - and maybe a J-Term course or academic/professional projects sprinkled in.
Before final exams wrap up, our team wants you to know about our winter break office hours (we're open!), ideas for career-related activities you can participate in over the break, and early spring career events so you can save the dates now.Winter Break Office Hours & Appointments

The annual Virtual Engineering Career Fair is just around the corner! We've created this guide to help you prep for and navigate the event.
First, complete these 5 key steps BEFORE the fair:
Review and sign the annual Recruiting Policy Agreement. You'll learn about important policies for participating in events with employers.
Update your Handshake profile to be visible to Employers. This will allow you to register for 1:1 chats with employers. PLUS, employers will have an opportunity to search student profiles and reach out to YOU first.

Many students spend hours preparing for and navigating the career fair...but what do you do AFTER the fair is over? It's time to follow up with company reps and take action.Career Fair Follow Up
Within a week of the career fair (ideally 48 hours), send a thank you email to company representatives you met with at organizations of continued interest. Thank you notes demonstrate that a) you appreciated their time and b) you're interested and proactive. Keep messages short and personalize each one.

Every year our team hosts several career fairs, beginning with an annual Engineering-focused fair in September! Learn how to prep like a pro for any career fair with these 5 action steps.1. Find out who will be there.
Review the list of employers participating in the two-day Engineering Career Fair (on Wed., Sept 13 and Thurs., Sept. 14) through the career fair listing in Handshake. TIP: Narrow the field of who to talk to by sorting employers by your field of interest and the year and/or major they're recruiting.
2. Learn more about your top employers of interest.

During the week of August 14, Engineering Career Advisors are hosting "Get Ready for Fall Recruiting", a week of virtual events to help you prep for fall recruiting just BEFORE the academic year starts!

We hope you're having a great summer break and are looking forward to a new academic year starting in just a few weeks!
If you're planning on searching for a Summer 2024 internship or post-grad full-time job, the fall semester is a perfect time to start your search.
Carve out 10-15 minutes in your day to review the early fall career-related events below.
Save the date! Add events of interest to your calendar now.
If registration is open for an event already, register today.

If you're interested in programming or software engineering, you'll likely experience one or more technical interviews with any given employer. The technical interview helps employers evaluate a candidate's ability to use a technical skill in real time. If you anticipate a technical interview this semester, check out our top 5 tips for understanding and preparing for the interview.

We're a couple of months away from the end of the spring semester, and we know many of you are making plans for Summer 2023.
Our career advising team is here to support your search for summer experiences, whether that be an internship, research experience, or other opportunities, such as self-paced skill building courses or short-term projects (a great way to try something out without a summer-long commitment).
Read on to learn about upcoming events and programs, and apply for Summer 2023 experiences.

Interested in research opportunities at UVA and beyond? Read on to learn how you can apply for undergraduate research opportunities on Grounds (during the semester and summer) or across the country (summer).First, learn about ways to engage in undergraduate research with UVA Engineering and CS faculty members.

Whenever our career advisors meet with 1st and 2nd Years, students often want to know if employers hire 1st and 2nd Years as interns (and if not, how do other Engineers spend their summers). Let's review several summer programs designed specifically for you, along with additional ideas for how to spend your summers.Do employers hire 1st and 2nd Year Engineers?