Campus Services
Career Development Services
Career Development Services (CDS) offers services to assist all ODU undergraduate and graduate students as well as alumni with career decision making, internal assessment and external exploration, reflection, and career readiness skills. Teaching career readiness skills and an educational developmental philosophy are keys to students’ success as well as internships, networking, active career research, timely intentional involvement in each stage of career development, and meaningful student employment and internship engagement. A range of comprehensive services includes individual career counseling, career fairs, student employment, on-campus interviews, career classes, internship support, assisting in maximizing career outcomes, workshops, outreach, in-class presentations, web content, and more. CDS has received national recognition for select programs, and staff members provide national and regional leadership in the field. CDS has the main center as well as college-based services.
The Student Employment Program is designed to assist students in locating on- or off-campus, part-time, or seasonal, or Federal Work-Study (FWS) positions for those who qualify. Traditional on-campus employment programs for students with Federal Work-Study (FWS) include the Student Temporary Assist Team (STAT), Community Service Internship Program (CSI), and the America Reads (AR) program. Students without FWS may qualify for hourly student employment positions. Freshmen may qualify for the Learn and Earn Advantage Program (LEAP.) Career Development Services lists jobs of all types, including permanent full-time positions, through ODU Handshake. This powerful interactive web-based system is available free to students and alumni of Old Dominion University. The ODU Handshake database contains employer information, career information, a career event calendar and interview schedules, as well as the means to electronically apply for positions posted. Handshake is the primary tool used by Career Development Services to communicate with students about various career opportunities and events to help students succeed at Old Dominion University and into their careers.
Individual career consultations and electronic assessment tools, as well as seminars on career exploration, are available to assist in major and career path selection. Each college has an experienced professional CDS staff member assigned to offer career development services to students at all levels. CDS maintains full-service college-based services in the Colleges of Arts and Letters, Business, Education and Professional Studies, Engineering and Technology, and Sciences, which house the CDS Liaison to that college.
Cooperative education and internship experiences are available at the junior, senior and graduate levels. These programs allow students to gain valuable experience related to their major while testing out career choices. All students are encouraged to participate.
Professional seminars in resume writing, job search strategies, interview skills, salary negotiation and other career-related topics are offered throughout the year and are also available in video-streamed and online versions. These are complemented by classroom and group presentations and other special career events, including employer information sessions, as well as employer and alumni career information panels and etiquette dinners.
General career fairs are held twice a year and are supplemented by specialized fairs for specific populations, including an Education Expo, a graduate recruitment fair, a co-op/intern fair and a summer job fair. Students may also take advantage of the On-campus Recruiting Program, which provides the opportunity to interview, on campus, with employers for internships, cooperative education, and entry-level positions.
Career Development Services offers a comprehensive range of services for current students and alumni, including assistance with campus and part-time jobs, internship/job search strategies, career fairs, resume and interview preparation, graduate school application assistance, and all things career related. Programs and services available on campus are also offered online through digital platforms, the CDS website, career services platform, Handshake, and the Career Commons. CDS offers drop-in coaching, scheduled appointments, and career assistance on-campus and online.
More information is available by calling the CDS main office at 757-683-4388 during normal office hours, via email at cds@odu.edu, or via the website at http://www.odu.edu/cds. Staff members are also available in offices in the colleges or the main CDS office in Webb Center North, Suite 2202.
Health Insurance for Graduate Students and Post-Doctoral Fellows
Degree-seeking graduate students enrolled in courses at Old Dominion University's main campus or one of the higher education centers are eligible to enroll. Graduate assistants being paid $5,000 or more per semester are eligible to enroll as subsidized graduate assistants. Degree-seeking domestic graduate students who reside within a 50-mile radius of campus and who are enrolled in online courses are eligible to enroll for the plan. These students have access to the Student Health Center with payment of the student health fee. All other eligible graduate students may enroll as non-subsidized graduate students. In addition, individuals in post-doctoral fellow positions hired by Old Dominion University or the ODU Research Foundation are eligible to enroll in this insurance plan. For more information, go to http://www.odu.edu/graduateschool/graduate-student-health-insurance or email gradhealth@odu.edu.