Graduate business students are invited to take advantage of invaluable support, connections, programs, resources and tools to propel you toward your career goals. From co-creating comprehensive career action plans to mentorship from industry leaders and events that deliver tangible skills and insights, you will find what you need to confidently and successfully move your career to the next level.
If you are an employer interested in hiring our students, please review our Employer Resource page.
One-on-one career advising
We offer individual advising throughout your career development, from initial exploration to salary negotiations. You have access to one-on-one advising as soon as you are admitted to The School of Business, as well as limited support as an alumnus once you graduate.
All appointments are being conducted remotely. Reach out to Allen to schedule.
Allen Thayer
Professional Development Specialist
503-725-6484
allen.thayer@pdx.edu
Job Skills & Interview Prep
- Skill Building:
- Even short term or part-time internships are a great way for you to demonstrate skills and knowledge in a new career area. Career transitions go more smoothly when you can put what you’re learning into practice and have recent, relevant experience to enhance your resume. Whether you find opportunities on our exclusive job site PSU Handshake or through your own research, we will help you learn to prepare your resume so it shows the value you bring to the employer. There is even an option to earn academic credit through an internship if you like.
- Gain leadership experience and network with community members by joining a student organization. Groups are organized by industry, job function or interest and there are countless ways for you to plug into an existing group or start a new group.
- Shed light on your skills and potentially win a prize. Graduate business program competitions range from pitching your startup idea to a competing against teams from other schools in case competitions. All these experiences are great additions to your resume, especially if you do not have a lot of professional experience in your industry.
- Career Management Resources: Explore a wealth of PSU-specific career resources accumulated over the years to help with resume, cover letter and previously-recorded workshops.
- Resume, Cover Letter & LinkedIn Workshops: Workshops will be offered throughout the year focused on these three anchor elements of career management. We encourage students to attend one of these workshops before seeking out one-on-one help with any of these items.
- Career Design Workshop: This core workshop gets you started on the key aspects of a career exploration: identifying and exploring your skills, passions, and goals and matching them to relevant sectors and potential employers.
- Mock Interviews: Interviewing for jobs can be intimidating and we want you to be as prepared as possible. We offer the opportunity to practice your skills in a few formats, including interviews with a real recruiter, a mock phone interview or a private, one-on-one videotaped interview with your career advisor, so you can review it immediately afterward.
Professional Networking
- Job & Internship Search:
- Our mission is to help you not only find a job, but gain the expertise to keep building an impactful and rewarding career. We know the job search process can be intimidating, but having a coach in your corner makes all the difference.
- Handshake is your hub for connecting with employers who want to hire students, recent graduates and alumni. Handshake is where you will find postings of jobs and internships as well as announcements about upcoming career events.
- Held both on and off campus, career fairs provide opportunities to talk one-on-one with recruiters looking to hire our students, show them your resume and hear what they consider a ‘great fit’ candidate. In addition to all-PSU career fairs, The School of Business holds two invitation-only career fairs exclusively for business students.
- Employers seeking to increase awareness of their company among business students conduct information sessions on campus. Many of these recruiters have an established relationship with our program and seek to hire our students every year. Company information sessions are a great way to get an insider’s look at a particular company’s culture, its recruiting timeline, the qualities they value most when hiring, and details about the different roles available to you. Many companies also follow these with on-campus interviews.
- Professional Networking Workshop: Learn the skills you need to turn the first interview into a second, how to utilize resources and connections to locate job opportunities, how to prepare for phone, one-on-one, and panel interviews; and how to follow up after an interview.
- Career Panels & Roundtables: Learn about a variety of fields that may interest you by having small group conversations with professionals working in them. They will share how they got there, take questions from you, and discuss industry trends.
- Informational Interviews: When you meet with a professional contact you get insight into the nature of their job, an insider's view of their company and their advice. We will teach you to how to secure informational interviews, how to make the most of them, and how to use them to build a broader professional network. Sometimes, we can even make an introduction on your behalf.
- Mentoring: The Professional Mentor program matches Graduate Business students with industry professionals for a full-year of engagement and mentorship.
- Career Fairs: Held both on and off campus, career fairs provide opportunities to talk one-on-one with recruiters looking to hire our students. In addition to all-PSU career fairs, the School of Business holds two invitation-only career fairs exclusively for business students.
- On-Campus Recruiting & Company Visits: Employers seeking to increase awareness of their company among business students conduct information sessions on campus. Many of these recruiters have an established relationship with our program and seek to hire our students every year. Company information sessions are a great way to get an insider’s look at a particular company’s culture, its recruiting timeline, the qualities they value most when hiring, and details about the different roles available to you. Many companies also follow these with on-campus interviews.