Career Advising

Our career advisors are here to assist MSU graduate students who need help in planning their career paths.

Students can schedule one-on-one appointments on Handshake or use our Advising Drop Box to have career-related documents reviewed online.

The following groups are eligible to receive these advising services:

Currently enrolled graduate (Master's and Ph.D.) or professional students (including part-time students)
Alumni of any MSU graduate program, for up to two years after graduation
- Note: Postdoctoral scholars/fellows should connect with the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs for programming and support

Click the “Book an Appointment” button above.
From the options given at the top of the page under “How can we help you today?,” select the far-right panel titled “Career Center”.
On the landing page, select the panel titled “Appointments” under “What can we help you find?”.
On the landing page, click on the blue box that says, “Schedule a New Appointment”.
Select “Graduate Career Services”
Next, choose an appointment type from the list given.
1. Choose the option that best aligns with your needs. You’ll be able to provide further details in the next step.
Once an appointment type is selected, you can then select the week in which you are seeking an appointment, using the arrow buttons.
1. When you’ve selected a particular week, your screen should indicate on which days appointments are available.
2. If you click on a given day, timing and advisor options will appear below.
3. Select one, enter the details requested (What can we help you with? and your Phone number) and press the green request button to submit your request.

Note: in the details of your request, please provide a link to your document so it can be reviewed prior to your meeting.

For Master's:

Career Exploration (Master’s)
Mock Interview (Master’s)
Resume Review (Master’s)
Develop a Resume (Master’s)
Cover Letter Review (Master’s)
Develop a Cover Letter (Master’s)
Job Search Strategy (Master’s)

For Ph.D.:

Developing a Cover Letter for PhDs (30 min)
Developing a Resume for PhDs (30 min)
Developing a CV for PhDs (30 min)
Developing a Diversity/Teaching/Research Statement for PhD (30 min)
Career exploration for PhDs (30 min)
Job Search Strategies for PhDs (30 min)
Mock Interview for PhDs

For Student Organizations:

Proposed Workshop Request Form

LJ Shackleford: Ph.D. Advisor

Doctoral candidate in Higher Adult and Lifelong Education

LJ Shackleford (she/they) is a doctoral candidate in the Higher, Adult, Lifelong Education program in the College of Education. Before becoming a Spartan, LJ earned their degrees from Eastern Michigan University in Information Assurance and Higher Education Student Affairs.

LJ’s research interests center around elevating minoritized voices and, through these spaces, helping foster a sense of belonging and ensuring individuals are not traumatized in their own workplace environments. Specifically, they are interested in studying how full-time LGBTQ+ student affairs practitioners live through and build resiliency through work-related discriminatory trauma.

In their final year, LJ looks forward to serving as a Graduate Assistant within the Office of Graduate Career Development and as a Leadership Fellow, exploring programming focused on mental health and preventing graduate student burnout.

Emma Stolinas: Master's Advisor

Master's student in Earth and Environmental Sciences

Emma Stolinas (she/her) is a second-year MS student in MSU's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. She is from Allentown, PA and graduated from Penn State with her BS in Geosciences in December 2023.

Despite starting at MSU in Fall 2024 and planning to earn her Ph.D. doing igneous geochemistry research, she quickly realized that that was no longer her passion. With guidance from MSU faculty and staff, she re-evaluated her goals and values and found her place in education.

Her thesis focuses on the perceptions that college students have about particular careers, how their ideas compare to reality, and how that information can be used to improve academic advising and career counseling in higher education.

In her final year at MSU, in addition to writing her thesis, she is looking forward to supporting other graduate students and gaining hands-on advising experience in the Office of Graduate Career Development. After graduation, she hopes to pursue a career in student affairs.