There are many career-related tools and resources out there. We have made the following premium resources available to all BU students at any degree level and all alumni for free, unless otherwise noted below.
Career Resources
Handshake
Handshake is BU’s online hub for career resources, including internship and job listings, in the US and globally. All degree program students and alumni are eligible for a Handshake account. The Center for Career Development (CCD) automatically creates accounts for most students prior to their first semester. More than 38,000 employers post to Handshake seeking BU talent—undergrads, graduate students, and alumni. Browse employers, apply for positions, register for events, schedule appointments, and much more.
Alumni can request an account if they have graduated from a BU program.
Pro Tips
The more you use the system, the better the recommendations you will see. Ready to apply to internships and jobs? Get your profile to 80% and make it public to employers. For an extra boost, upload your best resume and make that public too.
For more tips, browse the blog, BU + Beyond.
Interstride
Interstride is your one-stop shop for building your international career! Whether you’re an international student seeking employment or sponsorship in the U.S., or an American interested in career opportunities abroad, Interstride supports you throughout the job search process and student journey.
- American & International Student-Friendly Employers Jobs and internships in 80+ countries including U.S. employers that sponsor international students.
- Global Resources & U.S. Immigration Support Comprehensive country guides for all students considering opportunities abroad and visa & immigration resources curated for international students.
- Career Guidance & Support Monthly workshops, webinars, and resources specially curated for international students.
- Networking & mentorship opportunities Leverage your network of classmates and alumni on Interstride.
Interstride is available to all BU students, alumni, faculty, and staff. BU kerberos login required.
Get started with Interstride
VMock
Perfect your resume, cover letter, LinkedIn, and interview game with VMock—an AI-powered toolkit designed to elevate your career readiness at every stage.
VMock is available to all BU current degree program students. Alumni may use VMock for two years after graduation.
Pro Tips
While VMock’s scores can give you a general sense of changes that may be needed, you don’t have to reach 100. Anything above 70 indicates a strong result.
For MacBook users, we recommend the use of www.pdfonline.com/convert-pdf to convert .docx files to .pdf files.
For more tips, browse the blog, BU + Beyond.
AI & Your Career
We encourage students and alumni to utilize Generative AI tools responsibly and purposefully in the career development process. Here are some ways you might incorporate Generative AI tools into your career development journey.
Job and Internship Search
CareerShift
CareerShift is a digital tool that enhances the job search experience, now available to Boston University degree-program students. With CareerShift, it’s easy to aggregate job databases, keep track of applications, and research prospective employers. You can store custom resumes and cover letters, schedule follow-up reminders, and organize all your correspondence with employers in one place!
CareerShift is available to all BU students, alumni, faculty, and staff. BU kerberos login required.
Pro Tips
Use the “school attended” field in the contact search tool to find alumni at organizations you are applying to.
Parker Dewey
Parker Dewey connects students to micro-internship opportunities—short-term, professional, paid work experiences. Unlike a traditional internship, these opportunities typically range from 5 to 40 hours of work, and many can be completed remotely. Through micro-internships, you can demonstrate skills, explore career paths, and develop professional networks all while providing support on short-term projects and tasks. This can be a great way to build experience that you can leverage for internships/jobs later.
Parker Dewey is available to all students and alumni.
Career Exploration and Research
Candid Career
Curious about what it is really like to work in your intended industry or in a certain role? Candid Career is a database with thousands of videos clips from interviews with people about their careers. Thousands of companies, industries, and positions are represented. You can search Candid Career by industry, career title, or college major to see what kinds of careers are available with your academic background. Videos are broken up into short clips so you can browse. Access via the Resource Library in Handshake.
Candid Career is available to all BU degree program students and alumni.
Pro Tips
In addition to industry- and role-specific videos, watch topical videos on mentorship, grad school, networking, and more. Plus, explore identity-based videos on LGBTQIA+ rights, transferable military traits, and disclosing a disability.
Forage
Forage provides a hands-on way for all students—including international students—and alumni to learn about a variety of career paths through virtual work experience programs built with and endorsed by leading companies. Each program has a series of resources and tasks designed to simulate a role in that career. Forage work experiences can be a great way to get to know an organization or industry of interest.
Forage is available to all students and alumni.
GoinGlobal: Country and City Guides
Thinking about job searching outside of your home country? GoinGlobal is a robust database for researching employers and careers around the world. It can be accessed via the Resource Library in Handshake.
Country Guides: Information on more than 30 countries around the world, including work permit/visa regulations, resume guidelines, employment trends, salary ranges, and cultural/interviewing advice.
USA/Canada City Guides: Information on major US and Canadian cities, including employment outlook, networking, and the cost of living. This also includes H1B employer listings for all 50 states.
GoinGlobal is available to all BU degree program students and alumni.
Labor Market Insights
Use Labor Market Insights to explore real-time job market data and make informed decisions about your future career path, explore relevant salary data, or identify the skills you need to build or market to get your next role. You can search by keyword (job title, skills, etc.) or by industry and occupation.
Vault
Vault (formerly Firsthand) is available to BU students and has valuable resources for exploring career paths and conducting job searches. Features include premier employer profiles, rankings and reviews, field of study/occupational insights and guides, and career preparedness training and materials. Use Vault’s guides to get insider information without knowing anyone at the organization. Access it via the Resource Library in Handshake.
Vault is available to all BU degree program students and alumni.
What Can I Do With This Major?
Questions about which major to choose and where each option might lead? Need help exploring what to do with your chosen field? This platform can help you narrow down your options as well as learn about typical career areas and what employers look for in various fields. Access it via the Resource Library in Handshake.
What Can I Do With This Major? is available to all BU degree program students and alumni.
Pro Tips
As you explore career paths in your academic area, cross-reference what employers seek with our career-readiness guide to get ideas for building relevant skills.