Gaining Experience

Experience Matters

There’s no substitute for having practical, hands-on experience no matter what career path you want to take. Experience helps you build your resume, strengthen your applications, and learn what you do (or don’t) want to pursue. 

Employers are increasingly interested in key transferable skills that demonstrate a candidate’s career readiness. Most graduate schools, fellowships, and similar programs want candidates who have clear career goals, can speak to the value of the program in achieving those goals, and have experience to demonstrate their ongoing interest. 

There are many ways to gain the practical, hands-on experience that employers look for—from internships and jobs to volunteering and student activities to internships. These experiences are known as experiential learning.

Experiential Learning at BU

With experiential learning, you learn by doing and then by reflecting on your experience. At BU, there are a variety of experiential learning opportunities available such as:

  • Internships
  • Fellowships
  • Research
  • On-Campus leadership positions

Featured Articles

Why so many young professionals feel like impostors and how to build real confidence anyway

By Jasmine Escalera, PhD, Career Expert at MyPerfect Resume 

You got the job and should be celebrating. But there’s still that voice in your head saying things like:

What if I don’t actually belong here?
What if they realize …

By College Recruiter
College Recruiter believes that every student and recent grad deserves a great career.
Read more

How can an employee turn a part-time, seasonal job into a full-time, permanent insurance career?

This practical guide presents expert-backed strategies for transforming seasonal insurance positions into lasting careers. Insurance professionals share actionable advice on earning industry designations while working part-time and maintaining full-time professional standards regardless of hours worked. The article offers clear steps …

By College Recruiter
College Recruiter believes that every student and recent grad deserves a great career.
Read more

Forage

Forage is a risk-free way to experience work on the job with leading companies. In just a few hours, complete a job simulation, a series of tasks guided by pre-recorded videos and example answers from teams at leading companies. Log …

Read more

Career Resources

Handshake is BU’s online hub for career resources.

News & Advice

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Contact & Location

Phone
617-353-3590
Address

Boston University Center for Career Development
100 Bay State Road, 6th Floor
Boston, MA 02215

Career Service Hours

Monday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Tuesday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Wednesday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Thursday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm