Meet with a Career Coach

The Center for Career Development is conducting appointments in-person, virtually, and over the phone. All appointments are scheduled through Handshake. Directions for utilizing Handshake to schedule your appointment are below.

Dedicated and professional Career Coaches are here to discuss your academic & career-related plans, and empower you to make decisions & move forward. Undergraduate, Master’s, Doctoral Students, Postdoctoral Scholars, and Alumni can utilize Career Coaching (30-minutes) and Practice Interviews (45-minutes). Based on the outcome of each appointment, future ones may be scheduled. Availability can be from the same day to a few days to two weeks from when the appointment is scheduled.

  • What Happens in Career Coaching?
    • A conversation and questions about what prompted you to contact the Center for Career Development, as well as what you are looking to accomplish in the appointment.
    • Based on what is discussed, some topics may be resolved in one appointment, while others are better suited for a follow-up conversation.
    • You may schedule appointments as often as needed, either for the same topic or for something different.
    • Center for Career Development staff members will respect your values, ideals, and perspectives while offering insight and information on your career-related thoughts or concerns.
  • Career Coaching Topics
    • Major exploration
    • Career exploration
    • Interviewing
    • Internship, co-op, or full-time job search
    • Graduate school
    • LinkedIn consultation
    • Written documents review (résumé, CV, cover letters, personal statements, teaching philosophy, etc.)
  • Prepare for Career Coaching
    • Visit our vast array of career resources online, as many preliminary topics are introduced on the website and can provide the foundation for the appointment.
    • Provide any necessary paperwork, questions, or information in advance to your Career Coach to help facilitate the conversation, especially if you have a specific topic.
    • Plan to get yourself ready for your appointment about 5 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. For phone appointments, make sure you are in a quiet space with good reception. For video appointments, make sure you are logged onto your computer and you are connected to the internet.
  • Connecting with your Career Coach
    When scheduling your appointment through Handshake, select the medium you wish to utilize.

    • In Person appointments will display the coach’s office location when signing up and will also be included in your confirmation email.
    • Virtual on Handshake appointments will take place on Handshake’s embedded video platform. Your confirmation email will include the direct link to access your appointment and will become live 5 minutes prior to your appointment time.
    • Phone appointments will be conducted utilizing the dial-in information on your coach’s WebEx meeting room. The coach will email you that information within 30 minutes of your scheduled start time.
  • Career Coaching for Alumni

    Alumni should contact the Center for Career Development at career@uconn.edu to understand what services are available and how those services can be accessed. The Center for Career Development can provide full services to Alumni who graduated within the previous three years. If you graduated more than three years ago, please also contact our office via career@uconn.edu to learn what services are available. All alumni may participate in Career Fairs and the online job posting system called Handshake. Using your school email address (or personal email address if you no longer use your UConn email), follow the directions to sign up for a new account. Within 2 business days from submission of the form you will receive access to your account. Should you run into any difficulty, please email careertechnology@uconn.edu with your full name, PeopleSoft number, personal email address, phone number and date of birth.

  • Request an Accommodation
    If you require an accommodation to participate in career coaching, please contact our office at career@uconn.edu or (860) 486-3013 at least 1 business day in advance of your appointment.

Schedule Your Appointment via Handshake

  • Directions for setting up an appointment using Handshake
    Log into your Handshake account using your NetID and Password (or email/password)
    • Once logged in, click on Career Center, top right of the page
    • In the next screen, click on the box labeled Appointments
    • In the Appointments screen, select Schedule New Appointment
    • Choose a Category: Pick the appropriate campus
    • Choose an Appointment Type
    • Scroll through the available appointment times
  • Cancellation and missed appointment policy
    • If you need to cancel, please do so through Handshake at least two hours in advance to allow other students the opportunity to take that time slot.
    • If you do not “show up” for your appointment per the policy guidelines, it will be considered a Missed Appointment and you will receive an automated e-mail notification from Handshake.
    • Multiple ‘missed appointments’ in the same semester will necessitate a conversation with the Associate Director, in order to continue accessing career coaching services.
    • Questions on how to schedule or cancel an appointment can be directed to career@uconn.edu.