For Students / Getting StartedWorking with Career Advisors
Our Engineering Career Development advisors are available for one-on-one appointments with students throughout the academic year. Students can make an appointment with their Career Development advisor by using McCormickConnect or by calling the office.
Career Development advisors offer several different types of appointments, as described on this page.
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- Initial Appointment
- Resume/Cover Letter Review
- Job Search
- Job Offer/Negotiation
- Interview Prep
- Advisor Mock Interview
- Registration Meeting
- General Appointment
- Debrief Meeting
- Exit Meeting
Initial Appointment
This is your first meeting with your Career Development advisor. For undergraduates, this will typically occur during the CRDV301 course. During this appointment, you can:
- Talk about your career interests, goals, and academic plans
- Ask any questions you have about Engineering Career Development's services and work-integrated learning programs
- Review your resume
Resume/Cover Letter Review
This type of appointment can be made at any point during a student’s career at Northwestern. During this appointment, you can talk with an advisor about:
- Resume or cover letter formatting
- Tailoring your resume or cover letter for specific jobs
- How to best reflect your education and experience on a resume or cover letter
- How to enhance your resume or cover letter
Job Search
This type of appointment can be made at any point during a student’s career at Northwestern. During this appointment, you can talk with your Career Development advisor about:
- Job search strategies and where to apply for positions
- Company and industry research
- Networking
- Career fair preparation
- Interview preparation
- A job offer you’ve received
JOB OFFer/Negotiation
This type of appointment is for students who have questions or concerns about how to handle a job offer, or multiple job offers:
- Evaluating a specific job offer
- Handling multiple offers
- Tactics for negotiating pay or other benefits
- Tips for evaluating job offer paperwork, such as non-disclosure or non-competition agreements, the offer letter itself, or other documents
Interview Prep
The interview prep appointment is designed to help you prepare for interviewing with an employer. In these meetings, students can discuss:
- Past interview experiences
- Expectations for upcoming interviews
- Relating past experiences to job descriptions
- Behavioral interviewing techniques
- Interviewing pitfalls
- Presentation tips
- Interview follow-up
Per advisor recommendation, the interview prep appointment may be followed by a mock interview with an advisor at a later date.
Advisor Mock Interview
This is a 60-minute appointment that will allow you to practice your interview skills and receive feedback on interviewing techniques.
You need to complete an Interview Prep appointment prior to scheduling a mock interview. After your Interview Prep appointment, you can ask your advisor to help you set up a mock interview appointment if you are interested in additional interviewing practice.
During this appointment, your advisor will address:
- Eye contact and non-verbal communication
- Ways to improve interview responses
- Questions to prepare for employers
- Arrival and departure times
- How to handle different interviewing styles
Registration Meeting
This type of appointment can be made once you’ve accepted a co-op, internship, research experience or service learning experience. Bring your offer letter and any other important documents to this appointment.
During this appointment, you can talk with your Career Development advisor about:
- The terms of your offer and your role and responsibilities
- Questions you have about pre-employment paperwork
- Your academic plans and work term schedule
- Enrollment in a work integrated learning program and CRDV course (Including grading processes, CAESAR registration and holds)
- Questions you have regarding financial aid, housing, or meal plans
- Work authorization (for International Students)
- How to have a successful work experience
General Appointment
This type of appointment can be made when you have general questions for a Career Development advisor. Topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Work-related issues
- Changing a co-op schedule
- Essays/short answer questions for job applications
DEBRIEF MEETING
This appointment should occur when a student returns to campus after a work term. During this appointment, you can talk with your Career Development advisor about:
- Your overall level of satisfaction and learning during your work experience
- What you did or didn’t like about the work you were doing
- Projects for your upcoming work term (if applicable)
- Your performance evaluation and evaluation of experience
Exit Meeting
This type of appointment is meant for co-op students who have finished their co-op experience. During this appointment, you can talk with your Career Development advisor about:
- Your overall level of satisfaction and learning over all of your work terms
- What you did or didn’t like about the experience
- How this experience has informed your future career decisions
- Plans for the future