The Center for Career Development is committed to empowering all students to pursue personally meaningful careers. We work with students of all backgrounds, identities and interests.
The resources outlined below are not meant to be exhaustive, and are intended to supplement your exploration.
In addition to reviewing these, we recommend you meet with a career adviser. You do not have to have anything figured out before an advising appointment. Advisers can help you talk through your questions, figure out what interests you and how to start putting together a personalized plan.
Career Resources
Career advising: We offer in person and virtual one-on-one advising for undergraduate and graduate students. Students of all years, interests and stages of their career development can make an appointment. Learn more about what you can expect during a career advising appointment.
Career assessments: Discover your interests and possible career paths you can explore during your time at Princeton.
Career Compass: Learn about different career paths and read advice and reflections from Princeton alumni about their experiences (including alumni interested in speaking with international students).
Guides: Review our guides on common topics including resumes and cover letters, networking, interviewing and more.
Campus Resources
Davis International Center: Offers specialized support for international students and scholars, offering assistance with questions about your immigration status and practical adjustment to the United States.
International Center (IC) Student leaders: Students who assist fellow international students in their cultural and practical adjustment to the U.S. and to Princeton University
Access, Diversity and Inclusion Team at the Graduate School: Supports students to achieve their full potential through mentorship, programming and partnership with academic departments.
Common Advising Topics
- Getting started with your career development
- Understanding the connections between internship/job searches and work authorizations/visas
- Identifying and articulating the strengths you already possess
- Choosing majors
- Exploring careers inside and outside academia
- Figuring out summer and post-graduate plans
- Identifying employers with a commitment to diversity and inclusion
- Creating and reviewing CVs, resumes and cover letters
- Job search strategies outside the U.S.
FAQs
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Career development begins as early as your first days on campus, and a critical step in this journey is understanding your interests, values and strengths.
It will help you make decisions around topics like potential concentrations, co-curricular activities, summer experiences and career possibilities, ensuring you make the most of your Princeton experience.
It's an ongoing process, and is different for every student. We are here to support you every step of the way.
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Wherever you are right now, you are not behind. Everyone has a unique path and timeline. It's also normal for your interests and goals to change and evolve over time as you learn and grow.
The top three things you can do to get started are:
- Undergraduates can take the CareerExplorer assessment and graduate students can review the myIDP (for sciences and engineering) or ImaginePhD (for humanities and social sciences) to get a better understanding of your interests and options.
- Meet with a career adviser to help you reflect on your interests. You can make an appointment to just talk through your interests and possible options, you do not need to have anything prepared to meet with an adviser.
- Browse different career fields in Career Compass to start to learn about different career paths and read advice from undergraduate and graduate alumni.
- Undergraduates can take the CareerExplorer assessment and graduate students can review the myIDP (for sciences and engineering) or ImaginePhD (for humanities and social sciences) to get a better understanding of your interests and options.
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We offer in person and virtual one-on-one advising to help students reflect on their values and strengths, pursue opportunities that match their unique interests and design personalized plans to achieve their goals. You can schedule an appointment using Handshake.
Advising sessions are casual conversations. Whether you have a topic in mind or if you’re not sure where to start, meeting with an adviser is a good next step.
You do not have to have anything figured out before an advising appointment. Advisers can help you talk through your questions, figure out what interests you and how to start putting together a personalized plan.
Common topics include:
- Career exploration
- Networking (how to talk with alumni about their careers, how to prepare for a career fair, etc.)
- Internship, job and fellowship search strategies
- Interview preparation
- Resume, cover letter, CV, and personal statement reviews
- Planning for graduate school and preparing applications
Students of all class years are encouraged to meet with a career adviser. Learn about our team of advisers.
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Building experience helps you develop skills, and also to clarify what your interests are and what you may want to try next.
Common ways to build experience during the academic years and summer include:
- Classwork
- Co-curriculars (including student groups and leadership opportunities)
- Internship
- Summer jobs
- Research
- Teaching
- Volunteerism
- Independent study
As you gain experience, you may notice your interests changing. You won't enjoy all experiences, and it's normal to find that something you once wanted to do is no longer a path you want to pursue.
You can meet with a career adviser to reflect on your interests and start to put a personalized plan together.
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Connecting with others is one of the best ways to learn what the day-to-day looks like in different career paths. This is often called "networking."
Networking has many benefits, and we encourage you to start connecting with others as early as possible during your time at Princeton.
Your Princeton experience offers frequent opportunities to naturally engage in networking — sometimes without even realizing it — including:
- Professors’ office hours
- Events on campus
- Career fairs, employer events and professional conferences
- Summer internships or volunteer opportunities with your manager and coworkers
- Student organizations and volunteer opportunities
- City Treks and Princeternships
We have guides with tips and resources to help you every step of the way.
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Recruiting is when an employer seeks out prospective hires for open positions with their organization. This process involves sourcing, interviewing, hiring, and onboarding of strong candidates.
We offer a Campus Recruiting Program, and many other ways to meet employers interested in recruiting Princeton students for jobs and internships.
Recruiting is just one of the many options for students. The Center for Career Development also helps students pursue internships and jobs in other ways. You can meet with a career adviser to learn more about these options.
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One of the ways some employers demonstrate their commitment to diversity is by developing programs to cultivate diverse applicants.
They take many forms, and range from structured internships to workshops and programs intended to prepare students for internships and career options in their organizations.
Employers with these programs typically feature them – including how to get involved – on their hiring pages, and you can find employer information sessions and related internships/jobs related to these programs in Handshake.
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There are two questions employers commonly ask on a job application:
- "Are you authorized to work in the United States?"
- "Will you now or in the future require work authorization?"
The answer to the first question is generally yes — in most situations, F-1 holders are eligible for CPT and OPT and J-1 holders may be authorized to work under the terms of their exchange program. The answer to the second question is a little more nuanced and dependent on a number of factors. We encourage you to talk to a Davis International Center adviser or one of our career advisers for guidance on how to answer these questions.
It's generally not in your best interest to lead off a conversation with an employer with a question like "Do you sponsor?" because there's nowhere to go in the conversation if they respond no.
Give yourself the opportunity of having the conversation, because ultimately an employer is looking for the right fit for their organization, and there may be steps the organization is willing to take if you are that right fit.
It is important that you understand the work authorization process and can explain it to employers. Many employers are not familiar with the details, so your explanation may help convince them to move forward.
For example, if you are an international undergraduate student in a discipline that offers internship Milestone Credit, and you can therefore apply for CPT, you can explain to the employer the hiring process is essentially the same as it is for a domestic student because the work authorization is processed through the University.
For graduate students, it is important to check if your department offers summer internship courses that qualify for CPT approval. Speak with your department program administrator or check the information offered by Davis international Center.
There are characteristics international students can position as advantages in hiring, such as being multilingual, having a global perspective, and willing to take risks and immerse yourself in a new environment.
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The Davis International Center is the best first point of contact for specific questions about immigration status, visas and practical adjustment to the United States.