The Virtual Career Center (VCC) uses career communities, curated tracks that help students explore fields of interest and connect with resources—such as blogs, guides, tips, job and internship opportunities, and upcoming events and career panels—tailored to their goals.

University News

Hunting for a Job or Internship or Exploring Careers? The Center for Career Development Launches New Virtual Career Center and Internship Gateway

One offers tailored career support, the other gives students a campus-wide resource for internships, funding, and connections

Boston University’s Center for Career Development website has a spiffy new look thanks to the launch of its Virtual Career Center (VCC), a centralized, personalized platform offering career resources, tips, and tools for students and alumni. 

Replacing the CCD’s former landing page, the VCC aims to make career support more accessible and user-friendly than ever. After logging in with their BU credentials, users can set their interests to receive curated content driven by the platform’s filters, tagging, and opt-in features. 

“The Virtual Career Center makes career support more visible and easier for students to navigate,” says Colby Sim, associate director for career communities and student engagement.

The site continues to be the home for essential CCD tools, including labor market insights, industry guides, résumé writing tips, and interview prep. What’s new is the way this content is delivered, i.e., customized to user preferences. The site also launches the Internship Gateway, a central hub of internship opportunities, funding, and resources for students across BU that underscores the University’s priority of making internships an integral part of every student’s academic journey.

“What makes this site amazing,” says Zanefa Walsh, CCD associate director for marketing and communications, “is that the content you see on the site is available in email form, driven by the preferences you set in your profile.”

One primary aspect of the VCC is its use of career communities, curated tracks that help students explore fields of interest and connect with resources—such as blogs, guides, tips, job and internship opportunities, and upcoming events and career panels—tailored to their goals. There are currently six communities: Business Careers, STEM Careers (science, technology, engineering, math, healthcare), Public Service Careers (government, policy, law, international affairs), Creative Careers (media, arts, entertainment, design), Education & Human Services Careers (teaching, counseling, social work, and nonprofits), and Explore Careers (for students still discovering their path). Each career community is led by a career success coach, who meets with students, plans events, and curates resources and opportunities. 

An important aspect of these career communities is that students are not limited to just the community in their major—they can join multiple career communities if they choose. In this way, Sim says, the career communities “cut across those traditional academic boundaries that we might see, because we know that your major doesn’t equal your career,” which allows students to really explore. 

For example, a student in the College of Fine Arts might also be interested in entrepreneurship or an engineering student could learn more about careers in nonprofits and environmental advocacy. The communities are meant to support that kind of exploration.

“Students don’t have to be put in a box,” she says. “They don’t have to be engaging only in business careers or creative careers. They can engage in all the communities if they’d like.” 

The “Explore” careers community is a space where students can weigh their career options and discover possible career paths in a major they are considering. 

Sim points to an upcoming Curvy Career Path alumni panel, organized by the Explore career community. “These are successful alumni who are doing excellent things in their industries,” she says, “but their major was something completely different, or they changed fields multiple times, and I think that’s really helpful for students to hear—that there’s not always a linear path from point A to point B. It’s OK to change your mind, it’s okay to dip your toe in different types of paths.”

Rachel Yu (Questrom’26) is a CCD student career ambassador, which means she advises fellow students on career tips, promotes the CCD on social media, and hosts informational events for student clubs.

Yu describes the new VCC as clean, but packed with information. She has spent time browsing blogs (some directly from other business journals) related to her career interests—she hopes to pursue auditing after graduating—and likes that it shows her current trends and explains what hiring folks in the field are looking for.

“I did an internship with PricewaterhouseCoopers last summer, and if I had had the Virtual Career Center, it would have been helpful because the company could have posted the job there, and the CCD’s blogs and resources would have been helpful for interviewing,” she says.

Walsh emphasizes that the VCC complements several other career platforms offered by BU, including:

“The CCD doesn’t just offer résumé and cover letter reviews—we offer so much more,” Walsh says. “We connect you to resources, individuals, jobs, and employers. This new content we’re curating on the website will answer students’ most frequently asked questions about their job search. The VCC really expands our reach and meets the needs of the students.”

These new resources are part of the University’s larger “Career Everywhere” approach in preparing students. In addition to dedicated professional internship experiences and professional development, they also include integrated experiential learning and AI experiences embedded in their academic coursework. 

“These new initiatives—the Internship Gateway, Career Communities, and Virtual Career Center—represent bold steps taken by the CCD with our partners across campus to empower students and take action on President Gilliam’s strategic initiative for careers and internships,” says Steve Koppi, assistant provost for career education.

At the inaugural Career Champions Summit, held last week, faculty and staff from across BU’s schools and colleges, as well as from the CCD, shared best practices and fostered stronger collaboration on these topics. 

They are now part of a Career Champions Network, whose aim is to make sure that regardless of their major, students receive the same level of support in preparing for their careers. This initiative complements academic advising, ensuring that BU students possess the interdisciplinary and professional knowledge necessary to succeed in their first postgraduation job.

“The work happening is about creating a culture where career preparation is integrated into every part of the student experience,” says Sarah Hokanson (CAS’05), associate provost for academic initiatives and operational excellence. “It’s not just about securing that first job after graduation—it’s about equipping students and alumni with the tools and networks they need to thrive throughout their careers.”