Office of Career Services

Services We Offer

Cardinal Connection 

• CUA's online system through which campus positions (work-study), part-time jobs, summer jobs, internships, and full-time employment opportunities are posted for students and alumni.
• Registration takes place online. (One must be a currently enrolled CUA student or alumni.)
• Students looking for a part-time job or internship should also check out Career Services' Fall Career Fair or the Spring Career Fair. Other internship programs and resources can be found on our Web site.

Work-Study Jobs

• These on-campus jobs are for undergraduate and graduate students who have received a Federal Work-Study award as a part of their financial aid package. In addition to posting these positions to Cardinal Connection, Career Services maintains responsibility for distributing and processing Work-Study paperwork. New and returning Work-Study students pickup up their Work-Study Authorization Forms at the annual Campus Employment Fair (the first Wednesday of Fall Semester), or subsequently from the Career Services Office.
  Click here for detailed information about the Work-Study process.

Part-Time and Summer Jobs

• These positions are from a wide range of employers, mostly in the Washington, D.C. area. These include government, business, non-profits (associations, lobbying groups, think tanks), the media, social service, entertainment, and education. In addition to the Cardinal Connection listings, Career Services holds annual Fall and Spring Fairs. Organizations with summer jobs also attend the annual Spring Career Fair.
  For additional information on how to search for part-time and summer jobs click here.

Internships

• Career Services annually receives a wide range of internship opportunities in the D.C. area. These positions offer excellent experience in a wide range of organizations, including government, business, non-profits (associations, lobbying groups, think tanks), the media, social service, entertainment, and education. In addition to Cardinal Connection listings, Career Services holds annual Fall and Spring Career Fairs. The Spring Career Fair includes some paid summer internships. Career Services in-house resource library has excellent employer guides which may lead to non-posted internship opportunities. Our website also contains links to internships held by CUA students and other internship sources. For more information on how to search for internships click here.

Full-Time Employment Opportunities

• Opportunities are posted on Cardinal Connection. Students with disabilities may find www.business-disability.com helpful. Other sources of job listings can be found on the Career Services' website. The Fall and Spring Career Fairs and the Engineering Fair are other valuable sources of employment opportunities.

Credential File Service -- Interfolio

• Simplifies and speeds up process of getting references written and sent to graduate and professional schools or employers. The writer returns the completed letter to Interfolio, where it is stored in your personal file. Upon your request, the letters are photocopied and mailed to the places you designate. To set up a file, you need only to visit the Interfolio website.
• Since reference letters can take upwards of 1-2 months to be completed, it is recommended that those intending to begin graduate studies in the fall establish a file during the previous fall (i.e., the fall of your senior year), preferably before Thanksgiving.
• For complete information contact the Career Services Office.

Career Counseling

• Discussing or formulating career plans, exploring possible career interests. This entails an examination of your values, aspirations, experiences, strengths and needs. Often career counseling is combined with materials from the career resource library and discussions with alumni. This can include information regarding career outcomes of recently graduated undergraduate classes. Our counselors also assist alumni with career change decisions and procedures. Career Services provides further interesting reading about career exploration and decision-making. This can include information regarding career outcomes of recently graduated undergraduate classes. Our counselors also assist alumni with career change decisions and procedures. Career Services provides further interesting reading about career exploration and decision-making.

Self Directed Search (SDS) and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Appointments

• The SDS is a paper and pencil self-scoring assessment of one's skills and interests. Based on one's answers, it then relates it a person's career interests.
• The MBTI is a personality questionnaire. Based on one's answers, an individual is placed into one of 16 categories. This category helps narrow down & focus career options for the student.

Job Searching

• Discussing job preferences, strategies for identifying and approaching employers, networking, special sources of assistance. This can be for finding full-time, part-time, summer, or internship positions. A number of helpful readings from Career Services about job searching are also available:
• Looking for a Summer Job or Internship
• The Successful Job Search
• The Job Search To-Do List
• Finding a Job on Capitol Hill
• How to Find Your First Teaching Position in Academe
• Preparing for a Job Fair
• Deal with Salary Issues
• Handle a Job Offer
   
  Resume Critique

• Reviewing resume drafts for content, message, format, and appearance. Usually this entails a discussion of your career goals and qualifications, and how these are represented in the document. In times of quick need, resumes may be dropped off for a counselor's review and picked up with comments in two business days or students may come to the office during Walk-In hours.
• Career Services provides written guidance on resume writing.

Cover Letter Critique

• Schedule an individual appointment to discuss strategies of effectively presenting your candidacy through letters. It includes a critique of letter drafts and discussions of how to improve the documents. It can also include application letters, thank-you's, acceptance or refusal of positions. In times of quick need, resumes may be dropped off for a counselor's review and picked up with comments in two business days or students may come to the office during Walk-In hours.
• Career Services provides instructions on writing cover letters and other employer correspondence.

Interview Preparation / Mock Interviews

• Practice interviews that simulate the real interview, followed by a critique by the counselor. To form the basis of the interview, you provide a resume and job description twenty-four hours before your scheduled appointment. We also will meet with you to discuss any specific concerns or questions you have about interviewing.
• Written instructions on successful interviewing (general overview and behavioral interviewing) are also available.

Pre-Law Advising (non-Arts and Science students)

• For students not enrolled in the School of Arts and Sciences (Students in the School of Arts and Sciences have pre-law advising provided by a faculty member designated by the Dean's Office) and all alumni. This may include discussions of application procedures and strategies, "fit" between law school and your career goals and a critique of your law school application essays.
• In addition, CUA's Pre-Law Resource Library is held in Career Services for all students and alumni. See Career Services' web page on Applying to Law School. Links to handouts on a number of related topics follow: Careers for Lawyers, Timetable for Applying to Law School, Pre-Law Guide, Criteria that May be Considered by Law School Admissions Committees, Writing a Personal Statement for Law School.

Graduate School Decision-Making

• Entails assisting students and alumni in deciding if attending graduate or professional school is desirable, given their career goals and other life plans. This does not involve decisions about which are the best programs, that being the responsibility of faculty. This service does include assistance with the application process, timetable, and identifying financial aid sources. This information can also be found on Career Services' web page Applying to Graduate School.
• Handouts which you may access include: Applying to Graduate School, Graduate Financial Aid, External Sources of Financial Aid for Graduate Students, and Interviewing for Graduate School.