Career Support
The Career Development Center offers services to both current students and alumni of Rhode Island College. We also have a number of online resources to help with your career search.
Our Counselors can assist with:
Job search strategies and skills development
How someone finds a job in one field may differ from how they find a job in another field. CDC staff work with students individually to strategize a search in his/her career field of interest, determine requisite "next steps," and develop the job search skills (e.g., networking and interviewing) and documents (e.g,. resumes and cover letters) needed to put that strategy into action.
Assisting with a job and/or internship search
Many RIC students know the value of pairing their education with hands-on experience in the form of internships. Some internships are linked to academic programs. Others are not. Some are paid. Others are not. Regardless, there is enormous value in pursing internship opportunities. Use Handshake, RIC’s online job posting system, as a starting place to identify internship opportunities.
Using Handshake
Handshake is RIC’s online job posting system. You can use it as a starting place to identify job and internship opportunities. We can help you to navigate this important resource.
Graduate school application assistance
For some students the next post-RIC stop is graduate school. CDC staff work with students planning to attend graduate school as they identify programs of interest, apply to them and choose which program to attend from among their acceptances. Many schools will make their decision to admit you based solely on the information gleaned from your application, transcript, references, and personal statement.
Self-assessment tools for career decision-making
Self-assessment is an exploration process through which a student examines his/her interests, skills, and values and how those connect with different career options. This process may include both individual sessions with a career counselor and use of an assessment instrument. It is an especially helpful process for students who are also trying to decide upon an academic major.
Typefocus
Many students jump-start the self-assessment process by accessing Typefocus, an online assessment instrument. It can tell you which one of 16 personality types you are and the careers associated with that personality type you would probably enjoy. Then you can meet with a counselor to discuss the results.
Big Interview
Big Interview is a full training course and a powerful practice tool. When preparing for a job interview, it's not enough to just read advice — you need to put that advice into practice! That's why Big Interview isn't just a training course, but a whole interview preparation system. You'll also get hands-on practice with mock interviews tailored to your specific industry, job, and experience level.
Vault
Vault is a 24/7 career library that allows you to research career fields, download complete industry guides, and search for internships. You can also engage in conversations with those in your shared career interests, review sample job search documents (resumes, cover letters, etc.), get job search advice and more! You can access Vault through your Handshake account.
