Identify Your Interests
Choose your major, develop your resume, learn how to interview with top companies, and more.
Making choices about your major, career, or graduate school plan. Can feel overwhelming. The UVA Career Center is here to help guide you through the process and provide you with resources to help You make the right decisions for you.
Assess Your Interests, Values, & Strengths
Career assessments can help you identify career interests and give you a starting place for your job search. One of the first steps in understanding yourself as a professional is to identify your goals, interests, values, skills, and strengths. These assessments can help you discover connections to the many major and occupational options available to you. The following career assessments are available through the UVA Career Center.
PathwayU
PathwayU is a platform with assessments to help you identify education and career pathways that fit you and make the most sense for your unique interests and values.
- Complete your 4 assessments (Interests, Values, Personality, and Workplace Preferences) in 20-25 minutes.
- Review your personalized assessment reports.
- Explore your career matches to see what education and career pathways are the best fit for you.
CliftonStrengths
Finding a career that is a good fit for your natural strengths is a key element of the career exploration process. CliftonStrengths helps students recognize their unique gifts and learn how these assets can be used in their everyday lives to maximize the potential for personal growth and career satisfaction. The Strengths Finder assessment identifies a student’s top five strengths from a list of 34 talents while providing ideas on how to leverage their strengths to overcome challenges and reach personal, academic, and career goals.
Explore Your Options
Find out more about your career options by doing research, connecting with professionals, and gaining hands-on experience through the UVA Career Communities, volunteering, clubs, and internships.
- Seek diversity in your courses to explore possible majors/degree programs.
- Get involved with student organizations and extracurricular activities.
- Find out where UVA alumni in your field have been employed through LinkedIn and Virginia Alumni Mentoring.
- Brainstorm ways to get hands-on experience through part-time jobs, student organizations, and volunteering.
- Attend UVA Career Center workshops, events, and career fairs.
- Get an internship during the summer or academic year to gain relevant job experience and test out the field.