Career Advising and Experiential Learning - Virtual Office

Our career advisors are available for in-person, phone or zoom appointments!

Students/postdocs may request an appointment with a career advisor via Next Steps Caltech (students/postdocs should sign in via SSO using their Access credentials.) Once logged in click on "Career Advising" > "Request New Appointment".

Appointments are typically available Monday through Friday between 9:00am and 4:00pm PT.

CAEL's Career Guide contains tips on how to prepare for phone and video interviews on pages 24-25. Caltech students, postdocs, and alumni can schedule a practice interview with an advisor, please refer to the first question above for info on making an appointment.

Yes! We are converting our workshops to a virtual format (on Zoom.)

All other in-person events have been temporarily suspended. However, employers, grad schools, and other organizations are continuing to host virtual events. Please look out for our weekly email of upcoming events.

Check to see if the prospective school has offered a virtual alternative or postponed their events. Contact the graduate program to see if there are additional materials or other graduate students they can connect you with to ask questions that might help you decide if the program is the right fit for you. Identify what your priorities, goals, and values are when considering programs, and center your questions around those topics.

Yes, employers are still hiring for summer internship and full-time employment opportunities. Please visit Next Steps Caltech to view employment opportunities!

The following are some resources to potentially identify a new opportunity for the summer. For more assistance tailored to your interests, please schedule a phone or video appointment with a career counselor.

• Use job boards such as Next Steps Caltech, Handshake, Builtin.com, Indeed, LinkUp, LinkedIn Jobs, Engineerjobs.com
• Explore careers through informational interviews.
• Use LinkedIn's Find Alumni Feature to connect with Caltech alums near you.
• Connect with local companies or alums doing interesting work. Propose a project you would like to help them with.
• Complete short term or contract-based projects through AngelList.

Alternatives to internships:

• Build your skills with free online courses offered through Coursera, EdX, and LinkedIn Learning.
• Reach out to research labs at local universities to inquire whether they need summer research help.
• Begin or update your portfolio.
• Develop an independent project - design and/or build something and add it to your portfolio.
• Explore graduate school programs that align with your interests. How might they help you with your career path planning? Review websites of schools, read research papers that interest you and figure out where the authors teach, send emails to potential PIs, and video chat with graduate students in different programs.

Finding opportunities closer to home:

In addition to the above-mentioned resources, investigate remote work opportunities with employers. If you currently have a summer experience lined-up, ask your employer about the possibility of working remotely or working at another office location closer to home. If you are searching for a new opportunity, look for descriptions that include flexible work arrangements or that signal the work would be remote.

Check your local universities for opportunities to conduct research. Look for formal summer programs open to external applicants, or consider sending an inquiry directly to a faculty member who is conducting research of interest to you to see if there is a possibility of working with them this summer.

Yes! We will add resources to this section as they come our way!

• The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) recently introduced the ORISE GO mobile app. ORISE GO offers college students, recent graduates and postdocs a mobile tool to search and apply for hundreds of STEM internships, fellowships and research opportunities at national labs and facilities across the United States. ORISE GO also provides a platform to remain engaged, connected and informed during the ORISE experience—from application, to offer, through the appointment and even as an ORISE alum.
• Get hired remotely! - This is a resource page from Handshake. They have posted a lot of useful information such as free resources to help you right now, advice on how to ace your virtual interview, how to impress employers at virtual events, and how to get a last-minute internship.

In March 2020, Caltech developed and maintained a comprehensive response plan to the Covid-19 virus, and the campus has reopened to students, staff, faculty, and visitors. Please see more information about requirements for visiting here -https://together.caltech.edu/going-to-campus. We are supporting our students' career development needs in-person and/or remotely. Workshops will remain virtual, but we plan to offer on-campus recruiting activities.

When possible, we ​encourage in-person connections with employers. We are also happy to assist companies and organizations in promoting their internships and full-time roles. If you have current positions you would like to share with the Caltech community, please post them on Next Steps Caltech. If you have any questions, email us at career@caltech.edu.

Employment opportunities can be posted on our new recruiting platform - Next Steps Caltech!

Learn more about recruiting at Caltech here.

Please contact our Employer Engagement team at career@caltech.edu if you would like to host an info session or other event for the Caltech community.

You can set up a schedule for virtual or in-person interviews through Next Steps Caltech. Before you request an interview schedule, please contact our Employer Engagement team at career@caltech.edu for more information!

Yes! Caltech hosts three Career Fairs per academic year - Fall, Winter, and Spring. Click here for more information.