Families
Welcome!
The Center for Professional Development (CPD) supports all Dartmouth undergrads in exploring career interests, identifying strengths & opportunities, applying for jobs and internships, preparing for interviews, and learning about the professional world. We help prepare students to enter the workplace career-ready.
Family members play an important role in the life of a Dartmouth student. As a family member, you can provide invaluable support as your student prepares to enter the professional world. The links below will allow you to read more about how our office helps all students, and how you can support their growth.
- 1-on-1 Career Coaching Appointments
The CPD has four coaches who meet with students five days a week. They can review resumes and cover letters, help with job and internship searches, provide LinkedIn profile and networking guidance, conduct mock interviews, support career exploration and self-assessment, and much more. - Workshops
The CPD offers workshops throughout the year, open to all students on topics such as resumes, LinkedIn, networking, interviewing, and building a workplace reputation. - Recruiting Program and Employer Events
Every quarter, Dartmouth partners with a range of employers who want to target Dartmouth candidates. These employers host information sessions, coffee chats, participate in our employer fairs, and conduct job and internship interviews through our office. - Career Readiness, and Other Assessments
The National Association of Colleges and Employers, through a task force of college career services and HR/staffing professionals, has identified eight core competencies associated with career readiness. We have created a customized resource for students to assess their development in each of these areas, with suggested next steps. We also provide other tools to help students identify their unique strengths, values, and career-related personality traits. - Entry-level and Internship Job Postings
The CPD’s all-in-one career platform, Handshake, provides thousands of active job and internship postings. Students can search for new opportunities using a variety of filters. Students can save their searches, follow specific employers, and receive email alerts as new opportunities arise that match their interests. - Resources
The CPD has created over 50 comprehensive resources to help Dartmouth students prepare for their careers. These resources are published on our website and are organized by topic under Explore Career Paths, Build Career Skills, Find Identity and Affinity Resources, and Find Funding Opportunities. - Dartmouth Alumni on LinkedIn
Students can access the Dartmouth College school page on LinkedIn to identify potential contacts and network with over 60,000 alumni. Students can search alumni and filter by location, major, organization, skill set and graduation date. - Dartmouth Connect
An online tool connecting undergraduates to over 4,000 Dartmouth alumni. Here, students can find alumni from a wide variety of class years, employment sectors, and career stages and connect with them for helpful career conversations.
You Can Support Your Dartmouth Student in Many Ways:
- Encourage your student to complete and periodically update their profile in the CPD’s career platform, Handshake.
This will enable your student to receive automatic notifications of upcoming events, deadlines and opportunities that match their interests. It will also enable direct messaging with peers, alumni and with employer representatives from a variety of employers. - Encourage them to get involved on campus.
They can join student organizations and get involved in a wide range of activities, including service learning, volunteer positions, research, study abroad, and leadership opportunities. These experiences help develop transferable skills they can demonstrate to potential employers. - Encourage your student to reflect and explore.
These are important aspects of student development. It is common for students to change majors and/or career plans as they develop new interests and learn more about their skills, strengths, and values. Listen non-judgmentally to your student’s thoughts and feelings about classes, activities, and career development. Your encouragement and reassurance will help. - Suggest that your student use Handshake to schedule a private 30-minute appointment with one of our CPD career coaches.
Our coaches can provide guidance on many topics, including career exploration, identifying internship and job opportunities, resume and interview preparation, networking, and more. - Remind your student that BALANCE is the key to success.
Balancing academic priorities, athletics, student organization membership, and career development is one of the most challenging tasks facing students these days. Dartmouth offers excellent resources to help students find balance, reduce anxiety, and maintain wellness. The Student Wellness Center, the Undergraduate Deans Office and the Office of Pluralism and Leadership are just a few of the offices that support students with finding balance.
Parent & Family Talks: Center for Professional Development, April 26, 2022
Watch our video recording and hear how our CPD team supports all Dartmouth students here.