Career Services for Online Bachelor’s Degree Students

Key Infor­ma­tion:

• Over half of all U.S. col­lege stu­dents in 2022–2023 were enrolled in online pro­grams, yet many still under­es­ti­mate the avail­abil­i­ty and qual­i­ty of career ser­vices offered to them.
• Online stu­dents have access to com­pre­hen­sive career support—including vir­tu­al coun­sel­ing, resume help, mock inter­views, and job place­ment services—tailored to their unique needs.
• Effec­tive career ser­vices for online learn­ers also include net­work­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties, alum­ni con­nec­tions, and flex­i­ble resources for adult learn­ers and veterans.
• Career suc­cess for online stu­dents depends on proac­tive­ly uti­liz­ing the robust sup­port sys­tems avail­able through their institutions.

Did you know that 26% of the 24.9 mil­lion col­lege stu­dents were enrolled exclu­sive­ly in online pro­grams? Plus, 27.4% were enrolled in some form of online learn­ing. That’s 53.4% of total enroll­ment or over 13.29 mil­lion col­lege stu­dents (2022–2023).

But a com­mon mis­con­cep­tion per­sists despite its increas­ing pop­u­lar­i­ty. Many peo­ple still think that career ser­vices for online stu­dents are non-exis­tent. At best, online stu­dents only have access to infe­ri­or or inef­fec­tive career services.

This is far from the truth, and we’ll prove it here. We’ll dis­cuss the wide range of career and employ­ment sup­port for online degree pro­grams. Then, we’ll pro­vide tips on max­i­miz­ing the ben­e­fits of these ser­vices and rec­om­mend the best schools that offer them.

Relat­ed:

• Max­i­miz­ing Online Library Resources for Research and Learning
• Lever­ag­ing Online Learn­ing: Flex­i­bil­i­ty for the Work­ing Adult Student
• Con­tin­u­ing Edu­ca­tion Options for Work­ing Professionals
• E‑Learning Bachelor’s Degrees: Tips for Nav­i­gat­ing Online Education

Why Career Services Matter for Online Students

Career plan­ning for dis­tance learn­ers is as cru­cial as it is for on-cam­pus stu­dents. Online stu­dents also invest their time, effort, and mon­ey into earn­ing their degrees.

For both online and on-cam­pus stu­dents, career ser­vices enable them to:

• Clar­i­fy their inter­ests and career goals
• Iden­ti­fy their strengths and work on their weaknesses
• Cre­ate their career strategies

Many online stu­dents are adult learn­ers seek­ing career advance­ment or a career change. Career ser­vices enable them to:

• Iden­ti­fy their cur­rent and poten­tial hard and soft skills 
• Align their skill sets with their career advance­ment goals or new career path
• Devel­op their per­son­al­ized career plans

For both groups, career ser­vices pro­vide them with:

• Guid­ance on cre­at­ing their resume and cov­er let­ter and prepar­ing for interviews
• Access to job search resources and net­work­ing opportunities
• Sup­port in explor­ing their career options that they may have overlooked

Career readi­ness for online grad­u­ates means being equipped with essen­tial job search tools. With these tools, your chances of suc­cess in the com­pet­i­tive job mar­ket increase.

Types of Career Services Offered to Online Bachelor’s Students

Career ser­vices for dis­tance learn­ers are designed with their unique needs in mind. The usu­al deliv­ery method is via an online plat­form, but in-per­son ser­vices are also avail­able. On-site employ­er net­work­ing events and in-per­son career fairs are common.

Virtual Career Counseling

One-on-one ses­sions are com­mon vir­tu­al career coun­sel­ing ser­vices. You’ll meet with a career advi­sor via live chat or video con­fer­enc­ing (e.g., Zoom).

Dur­ing these ses­sions, you’ll receive per­son­al­ized guid­ance in:

• Set­ting your career goals
• Iden­ti­fy­ing your skills
• Devel­op­ing your long-term pro­fes­sion­al strategy

Resume and Cover Letter Assistance

Your resume is your first impres­sion, so it’s best to make it a good one. Take advan­tage of online stu­dent resume assis­tance to receive:

• Per­son­al­ized feedback
• Access to work­shops to craft pro­fes­sion­al documents
• Oppor­tu­ni­ties to use tem­plates, AI tools, and school-spe­cif­ic platforms

Mock Interviews and Interview Coaching

You’ll build your con­fi­dence and refine your respons­es dur­ing sim­u­lat­ed inter­views. Career coach­es can also pro­vide tips on answer­ing behav­ioral and remote job inter­view questions.

Internship and Job Placement Support

Intern­ships are the gate­way to jobs. Job place­ment sup­port can increase your chances of get­ting hired.

Finding Remote Internships

Intern­ship sup­port for online stu­dents usu­al­ly comes in the form of:

• Online work­shops to devel­op pro­fes­sion­al skills and pre­pare for internships 
• Vir­tu­al intern­ship place­ments made pos­si­ble through the school’s part­ner­ships with employers
• Remote super­vi­sion and men­tor­ing by indus­try professionals

You can also access intern­ship data­bas­es and plat­forms. Chegg Intern­ships, Hand­shake, and Intern­Match are the most pop­u­lar today.

Job Placement Services

Online bach­e­lor’s degree job place­ment ser­vices include:

• Job boards that grant exclu­sive access to uni­ver­si­ty stu­dents and alumni
• Career fairs host­ed online for net­work­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties with recruiters

Career Fairs and Employer Partnerships

Many uni­ver­si­ties also have strong part­ner­ships with employ­ers. These part­ner­ships are vital for online stu­dents because employ­ers offer real job leads.

Employ­er part­ner­ships also result in vir­tu­al hir­ing events, work­shops, and webi­na­rs. You’ll not only get job leads, but you’ll also learn about indus­try demands and trends, among others.

Online Job Search Tools and Resources

The job search process is eas­i­er, thanks to online job search resources and tools.

School Job Portals

Check with your uni­ver­si­ty for its inter­nal job por­tal or plat­form. UC Berke­ley and NYU, for exam­ple, use Hand­shake, while Ohio State has Buck­eye Careers. In these plat­forms, employ­ers recruit future employ­ees from spe­cif­ic programs.

Here’s how you can tai­lor your job search. 

• Use the fil­ter func­tion to estab­lish your cri­te­ria (e.g., job type, expe­ri­ence lev­el, and industry). 
• Set up alerts for new job post­ings based on your criteria.

Job Boards and Aggregators

Many uni­ver­si­ties also inte­grate exter­nal tools and job search engines. LinkedIn Jobs, Indeed, and Glass­door are among the most pop­u­lar job search plat­forms. Use them to expand your job search.

Be sure to use key­word opti­miza­tion tech­niques to make your online pro­file stand out. Employ­ers use appli­ca­tion track­ing sys­tems (ATS) for this purpose.

Career Development Courses

These cours­es also enhance career readi­ness for online grad­u­ates. You can com­plete elec­tive cours­es and/or mod­ules on diverse top­ics. LinkedIn use, pro­fes­sion­al brand­ing, and work­place com­mu­ni­ca­tion are popular.

Networking Opportunities for Online Students

Build­ing and strength­en­ing pro­fes­sion­al con­nec­tions is vital to your career suc­cess. So, max­i­mize your net­work­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties for online stu­dents available.

Virtual Alumni Networks

Don’t over­look vir­tu­al alum­ni net­works, as these are essen­tial career ser­vices for online stu­dents. These can lead to sol­id intern­ship and employ­ment oppor­tu­ni­ties, as well as men­tor­ing opportunities.

Col­leges fos­ter alum­ni and stu­dent con­nec­tions by:

• Host­ing LinkedIn alum­ni groups, meet-and-greet events, and men­tor­ship programs
• Offer­ing exclu­sive access to alum­ni plat­forms and directories
• Facil­i­tat­ing career talks and pan­els with alumni

Professional Associations

If pos­si­ble, join indus­try-spe­cif­ic asso­ci­a­tions, too (e.g., NABA or FBLA). Doing so expands net­work­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties and results in sol­id job leads. Free mem­ber­ships and stu­dent dis­counts are also avail­able through the school.

Group Projects and Student Communities

Join vir­tu­al clubs and hon­or soci­eties for col­lab­o­ra­tion and cama­raderie. Con­sid­er enrolling in online cours­es that encour­age group projects and col­lab­o­ra­tion. Doing so will help you build your pro­fes­sion­al rela­tion­ships and devel­op your soft skills.

How Career Services Support Career Changers and Adult Learners

These indi­vid­u­als have unique needs that these career ser­vices address.

Tailored Advising for Career Transitions

Career plan­ning for dis­tance learn­ers tran­si­tion­ing between careers involves:

• Help­ing them reframe past work expe­ri­ences and trans­fer­able skills
• Build­ing a com­pelling nar­ra­tive about their career change

You’ll work with career coach­es to build your appli­ca­tion, too.

Flexible Scheduling for Busy Adults

Instead of the usu­al 9‑to‑5 hours, evening and week­end ses­sions are avail­able. Busy online stu­dents also have access to asyn­chro­nous resources (e.g., record­ed tutorials).

Of course, per­son­al­ized plans are still the norm. You’ll find dig­i­tal career plan­ning tools for this purpose.

Support for Veterans and Military Students

Employ­ment sup­port for online degree pro­grams also cov­ers vet­er­ans and mil­i­tary stu­dents. Spe­cial­ized sup­port includes:

• Resume trans­la­tion of mil­i­tary skills
• Spe­cial employ­er programs
• Cer­ti­fi­ca­tions

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Online Career Services

Career ser­vices for online stu­dents aren’t hand­ed to them on a sil­ver plat­ter. You must be proac­tive and active­ly take full advan­tage of these services.

• Make con­tact as ear­ly as pos­si­ble, even dur­ing the first week of classes.
• Get to know the avail­able career services.
• Set your career goals first before set­ting your first appoint­ment with a career coach.
• Work with your career coach to refine your career plan and its goals and steps.
• Attend vir­tu­al and in-per­son events as your sched­ule allows.
• Learn from the resource speak­ers dur­ing webi­na­rs, work­shops, and tutorials.
• Uti­lize the job search plat­forms and tools avail­able to max­i­mize your job search.
• Take part in mock inter­views and inter­view coach­ing sessions.
• Tap into the alum­ni net­work for intern­ship and job leads.
• Meet with employ­ers and recruiters dur­ing career fairs.

Ulti­mate­ly, career readi­ness for online grad­u­ates is their pri­ma­ry responsibility. 

Featured Schools Offering Exceptional Career Support

These are among the well-known online uni­ver­si­ties that offer excep­tion­al career sup­port services.

Arizona State University (ASU Online)

Employ­ment sup­port for online degree pro­grams is avail­able through the Hand­shake plat­form. Online stu­dents access the Online Career Mile­stones Pro­gram, a step-by-step guide in career plan­ning. ASU Online also offers per­son­al­ized career coach­ing and vir­tu­al career fairs.

Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU)

SNHU’s Career Ser­vices team offers top-notch online bach­e­lor’s degree job place­ment ser­vices. There are also one-on-one career advis­ing ser­vices and career explo­ration tools. SNHU’s exten­sive employ­er con­nec­tions also ben­e­fit online students.

Penn State World Campus

The Nit­tany Lion Careers por­tal pro­vides exclu­sive access to avail­able jobs for stu­dents. Penn State WC also offers vir­tu­al career coun­sel­ing, employ­er events, and mock interviews.

Conclusion

In con­clu­sion, career ser­vices for online stu­dents are a vital resource for career suc­cess. How­ev­er, these are also under­uti­lized resources among online stu­dents. There is a per­cep­tion that these ser­vices are either non-exis­tent or ineffective.

How­ev­er, this isn’t entire­ly true, espe­cial­ly among well-estab­lished online uni­ver­si­ties. Career ser­vices for online stu­dents aren’t only avail­able but also rival career ser­vices for on-cam­pus stu­dents. Both are char­ac­ter­ized by ease of access, excel­lent qual­i­ty, and effec­tive outcomes.

For this rea­son, online grad­u­ates are as com­pet­i­tive as their on-cam­pus coun­ter­parts. But career readi­ness for online grad­u­ates isn’t guar­an­teed even with the best career ser­vices. Again, it’s the online stu­den­t’s ulti­mate responsibility.