Annie Rao (GRD ’04) was appointed the inaugural director of the Graduate Career Center made specifically for students of Georgetown’s Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

The new career center is expected to open in the fall of 2019 and is set to be located in Car Barn Suite 312, the graduate school announced in an email to Georgetown community members March 21.

Over the coming months, the new graduate career center will phase in new programs in advance of its official opening, according to university spokesperson Matt Hill.

By providing individually tailored career services to graduate students, the center will work to fulfill Georgetown’s mission of preparing students for professional careers, according to Hill.

“After an intensive review process that solicited feedback from faculty, students, and staff from across the university, Georgetown decided to create the Graduate Career Center and provide a more tailored career services approach to serving graduate students,” Hill wrote in an email to The Hoya.

The university announced its intention to establish a career center for students of the graduate school September 2017, declaring plans to open the center in the fall of 2018. The opening has since been delayed, and the center is now expected to open next fall.

Rao previously worked at The George Washington University, where she served as director of Graduate Career Management in the GWU Business School. Rao also worked at National Geographic in digital marketing as well as at American Express as a business analyst.

Rao’s experiences working the private sector have contributed to her success as a career counselor, she wrote in an email to The Hoya.

“It is my 15 years of professional experience in the corporate world that really allows me to connect the dots for students who are unsure of their career options or how to go about achieving their goals,” Rao wrote.

The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Career Center will work independently, but collaboratively, with the undergraduate Cawley Career Education Center, according to Susan Campbell, director of Cawley.

“Dedicated resources for graduate students provided by this new center as well as other existing graduate career centers will allow us to sharpen our focus on undergraduates while continuing to partner with other centers in ways that benefit all students,” Campbell wrote in an email to The Hoya.

The Cawley Career Center, Georgetown’s current career center for both graduate and undergraduate students, has drawn criticism from students for a lack of available appointments, low support for international students and turning students away during drop-in hours.

The graduate career center will join Georgetown’s six established career centers: Cawley for undergraduates, one for each of the four graduate schools and Alumni Career Services.

“To create a campus-wide ecosystem that supports holistic career development, Georgetown is working to build a career services model that breaks down traditional silos and integrates career services with academic programs and co-curricular activities in all undergraduate and graduate schools,” Campbell wrote.

The new center will take a holistic approach to career services, according to Rao.

“It goes far beyond resumes, cover letters and interviewing – but those things are the foundational components, and there are proven practices to make them effective,” Rao wrote. “That’s the science part and it is non-negotiable. The art is figuring out how to make yourself stand out from all the others whose skills also meet the needs of the organization.”

The new graduate career center will emphasize sensitivity to the specific needs of graduate students, including balancing coursework with family and jobs, according to Rao

“We will consider the unique factors of being a graduate student while developing our suite of career services, resources, and programs,” Rao wrote.

Preparations for the services the center will provide are ongoing and supported by other career resources on campus, according to Rao.

“I am meeting with and listening to students, faculty, staff, alumni, and employers to understand the specific needs of graduate students and those who hire them,” Rao wrote.