FAU Davie Career Center Successfully Helping Students Reach Their Goals

The FAU Career Center at the Davie campus, a division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, provides expert career guidance, internship and job opportunities for FAU students. Two other offices are located at the Boca Raton and Jupiter campuses. Cristina C. Lopez, Director of the FAU Career Center and Director of Experiential Learning & Internships, is in charge of career related programs and services on the Davie campus. The Career Center partners with Handshake, a modern career development platform that allows virtual appointment scheduling. Handshake is a search engine that shows the latest internship and job postings from thousands of companies, including nonprofits and government organizations. It also allows students to build professional online profiles for potential employers to view. It is an excellent tool for viewing and registering for all the career workshops, networking events, career fairs, and more. Students can claim their Handshake account at https://fau.joinhandshake.com/.

"When you need guidance or a little push, the Career Center will be there to point you in the right direction and be with you every step of the way. The best experience that I have had with the Career Center was teaching myself to be patient in searching for a career opportunity," said Joe Burgese a marketing major in the College of Business who expects to graduate this Spring. "I benefited greatly from the internships that I found through the Career Center."

According to Karen Gough, Assistant Vice President, Career Center, in fiscal year 2020, enrollment in University-wide internships and co-ops reached almost 3,900 – with almost 2,000 internships reported to the FAU Career Center.

"Internships play an important role in a student’s professional career development as they give students the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in a related field or industry," said Gough. “Internships are a great way to apply the knowledge from the classroom to real-world experience. No matter what the major or area of study doing an internship gives students experience in the career field they may want to pursue. By interning, students will benefit from building a professional network – and the majority of internships are paid."

Gough points out that students can also earn academic credit for their internship experience. The FAU Career Center offers a Professional Internship course, through which students can earn 0-4 credits and acquire career skill training to prepare them for the world-of-work.

"Through interning, students will have the opportunity to build their resume. Most organizations look for some level of experience when hiring new graduates," Gough said. "Internships provide an excellent opportunity for obtaining some professional involvement and knowledge, while learning and receiving feedback about a career field. Students will also be able to figure out what types of work and environments they like and don’t like."

The FAU Career Center also connects students to micro-Internships. Micro-internships are short-term, more project driven, paid, professional assignments. They are used by companies ranging from those in the Fortune 100 to emerging start-ups and go across a variety of departments including sales, marketing, technology, HR, and finance. Unlike traditional internships, Micro-Internships typically range from 5 to 40 hours of work, with projects due between one week and one month after kick-off. FAU students and recent graduates can access micro-internships at https://info.parkerdewey.com/fau, or contact intern@fau.edu for more information, she said.

The Career Center offers a variety of career readiness programs and services available to all FAU students and alumni. Through Handshake, it is easy to view the many opportunities available to FAU students and Alumni and to schedule an appointment and connect with a Career Center professional. "Don't be afraid to schedule an appointment with a career advisor.," said Chase Sansone, who graduated with a degree in marketing in 2019. "The information they share may be helpful for you in the future, even as your situation changes."